While the summary findings in this Profile focus on arts participation for states and metropolitan areas, the SPPA can also be used to generate estimates for regions and regional divisions.

Divisions are nine groupings of states that are subdivisions of four regions. For example, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania compose the Mid-Atlantic division, which, along with New England, makes up the Northeast Region. (See list.)

Chapter 6 of A Decade of Arts Engagement: Detailed Findings from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, 2002-2012, released in tandem with this Profile, reports arts and leisure participation for the nine regional divisions.

The findings in this chapter show, for example, that 13 percent of residents of the Mountain division (which includes states such as Colorado, Wyoming, and Nevada) attended classical music concerts in 2012. That rate was among the highest in the country, and it was significantly greater than the 2012 U.S. classical attendance rate of 8.8 percent.

Other topics explored in Chapter 6 include regional differences in music preferences. To illustrate, hymns, gospel, and choir music is well liked among residents of East South Central (a division comprising Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi). In this division, 37 percent of adults like gospel music. By comparison, 26 percent of adults across the country like hymns and gospel music.

Other leisure activities, including those involving civic engagement, are also reported. In 2012, for example, 34 percent of New England's residents engaged in community activities and meetings. That rate was nearly 9 percentage points greater than the national share of adults participating in community events.