The newly released Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) is an economic and social impact study of the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry. Building on its 30-year legacy as the largest and most inclusive study of its kind, AEP6 provides detailed findings on 373 regions from across all 50 states and Puerto Rico—ranging in population from 4,000 to 4 million—and representing rural, suburban, and large urban communities.

With its largest cohort ever, AEP6 uses a rigorous methodology to document the economic contributions of the arts and culture industry, demonstrating locally as well as nationally, that arts and culture is a critical economic driver of vibrant communities. The arts and culture industry supports jobs, generates government tax revenue, strengthens the visitor economy and community vibrancy, and helps to preserve authentic cultural experiences.

For the first time, AEP6 expands beyond the economic and financial data to learn about the nonprofit arts and culture sector’s social impact on the overall well-being of communities and the importance of affirming spaces in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and ALAANA (African, Latine, Asian, Arab, Native American) identifying communities.

By measuring the industry’s wide-ranging impact, public and private sector leaders can work together to secure arts and culture funding and arts-friendly policies that shape more vibrant and equitable communities.