In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $65,935,504 in federal funding, either directly or through state and regional partners, in California.

In the most recent information (2022) from the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), which is produced jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office of Research & Analysis and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Commerce Department, California...

• Added 8 percent or $290.3 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
• Employed 847,688 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling more than $141.3 billion

Nearly 37 percent of California’s adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while almost 19 percent attended art exhibits, according to the 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition to offering direct grants, the NEA supports national initiatives benefiting people across the country. Over the last five years:

Blue Star Museums program provided free admission to thousands of active military personnel and their families at 263 participating museums in California.

An average of 18,499 students from 859 high schools in California participated in Poetry Out Loud annually.

The NEA Big Read initiative generated 1,030 community events in the state, involving more than 87,812 adults and students.