This profile features U.S. and state-level estimates of arts participation rates from the 2020 Arts Basic Survey. The Arts Basic Survey (ABS) is a short-form edition of the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), which typically has been conducted on a five-year basis. The ABS and the SPPA are designed by the National Endowment for the Arts and fielded by the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to the Current Population Survey.

The 2020 ABS covered the pre-pandemic period of February 2019 to February 2020. Respondents to the 2020 survey were asked one of two sets of questions pertaining to either: (1) attending live arts events and literary reading; or (2) personally performing or creating art. 

For each U.S. state, the interactive map below illustrates the share of U.S. adults who did the following activities at least once in the 12-month period: attend an arts event or visit sites for their historical or architectural or design value; personally perform or create artworks; read literature; and use a device to watch, listen to, or download arts content.