Atlanta’s arts economy combines substantial spending, employment, volunteer activity, and cultural participation. The figures below cover the City of Atlanta, Fulton County audiences, the wider Atlanta region, and selected institutions, with measurement periods kept explicit.
Atlanta arts statistics at a glance
- $890.0 million: Total economic activity generated by Atlanta’s nonprofit arts and culture sector in 2022 (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
- 12,719 jobs: Employment supported by that sector in the City of Atlanta (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
- $616.7 million: Personal income generated for residents (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
- 11.4 million: Aggregate attendees reported by 131 participating organizations at in-person events in 2022 (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
- 89,000-plus: People employed by creative industries across the Atlanta region (ARC Cultural Assessment report).
- 20,000-plus: Works in the High Museum of Art’s collection (High Museum of Art website).
Atlanta’s nonprofit arts economy in 2022
The Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report measured the local nonprofit arts and culture sector during 2022. It recorded $890.0 million in total economic activity. That total consisted of $410.1 million in direct organizational spending and $479.9 million in event-related spending by audiences (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
The sector supported 12,719 jobs and generated $616.7 million in personal income for residents. It also generated $133.0 million in tax revenue for local, state, and federal governments (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
Organizational spending alone supported 6,590 jobs and generated $77.4 million in government revenue. The report identifies 5,369 of those 6,590 jobs as direct jobs supported by organizational spending (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
The spending figures separate the work of organizations from the activity of their audiences:
| Measure | Amount or result | Measurement period or geography |
|---|---|---|
| Total arts and culture economic activity | $890.0 million | City of Atlanta, 2022 |
| Direct organizational spending | $410.1 million | City of Atlanta, 2022 |
| Audience event-related spending | $479.9 million | City of Atlanta, 2022 |
| Personal income generated | $616.7 million | City of Atlanta, 2022 |
| Government tax revenue | $133.0 million | City of Atlanta, 2022 |
| Jobs supported | 12,719 | City of Atlanta, 2022 |
The $410.1 million spent directly by the 131 participating organizations generated $363.7 million in resident household income and $77.4 million in total tax revenue. Audience spending of $479.9 million generated another $55.6 million in tax revenues (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
The AEP6 City of Atlanta report describes the nonprofit arts and culture industry as significant even after the disruption caused by COVID-19. That statement is the report’s characterization of the industry, rather than an independently verified conclusion here.
Arts audiences, visitors, and local spending
Atlanta’s AEP6 audience sample framework consisted of 52.5% Fulton County residents and 47.5% nonlocal attendees from outside Fulton County. The audience survey collected 493 respondents between May 2022 and June 2023 (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
Audiences spent an average of $42.24 per person per event beyond admission. Spending differed by geography: nonlocal attendees spent an average of $51.27 each, while local attendees spent $34.08 each (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
The nonlocal audience data also describes how strongly arts events were connected to travel decisions. 92.7% of nonlocal attendees said the primary purpose of their trip was attending the cultural event. 53.8% said they would have traveled to a different community for a similar arts activity if the Atlanta event had not been available. Among Fulton County resident attendees, 45.0% said they would have gone to a different community for a similar cultural activity (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
These figures describe survey responses, not a forecast of future tourism or a count of all visitors to Atlanta. They also refer specifically to the AEP6 audience sample and its survey period.
Community value and organizational priorities
The AEP6 survey measured perceived community value among both attendees and participating organizations. Among attendees, 90.5% said the activity or venue inspired a sense of pride in their neighborhood or community. 89.2% said they would feel a great sense of loss if the activity or venue were no longer available, while 88.0% called the venue or facility an important pillar in their community. 90.1% said the experience should be preserved for future generations (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
Participating organizations reported similar priorities, though the percentages were lower for some measures. 80.8% said the activity or venue inspires neighborhood or community pride, and 80.8% said they would feel a great sense of loss if it were no longer available. 65.4% said future generations should be able to have the cultural experience (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
The organizational survey also captured responses about post-pandemic practices. 50.0% of responding Atlanta arts organizations said they expanded services beyond arts and culture during the height of the pandemic. 65.6% said they had addressed pay equity through policy or practice changes since the pandemic began (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
Geographic placement was another measured feature of the organizations. 32.4% were located in or operated within a designated cultural district, while 29.6% were located in or operated within an Empowerment Zone or Renewal Community (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
Atlanta arts nonprofits, attendance, and volunteers
The FY2022 organizational survey included 131 nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Atlanta. Those organizations reported 11.4 million aggregate attendees at in-person events in 2022 (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
They also reported 9,012 volunteers, who contributed 228,675 hours during 2022. The estimated dollar value of those volunteer hours was $6.8 million (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
On average, each participating organization had 68.8 volunteers. Each volunteer averaged 25.4 hours of service, and each organization averaged 1,746 volunteer hours (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
In-kind support added another measured resource. Atlanta arts organizations received $1,885,806 in in-kind contributions during FY2022, with an average in-kind contribution value of $14,395 per organization (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 City of Atlanta report).
The reported attendance, volunteer totals, and in-kind contributions come from the participating organizations in the FY2022 survey. They should not be read as a complete census of every arts organization or cultural event in the city.
Atlanta’s wider creative-industry profile
The ARC Cultural Assessment report describes the broader Atlanta region rather than only the City of Atlanta. It counts 1,705 cultural nonprofit groups, which collectively bring in more than $632 million a year in revenue (ARC Cultural Assessment report).
Creative industries employ more than 89,000 people in the Atlanta region and account for about 3% of total employment. Between 2016 and 2021, creative-industry jobs grew by 1.9% annually, compared with 1.1% annual job growth across all industries in the region (ARC Cultural Assessment report).
Average pay was also higher in the creative-industry measure: $64,500 in metro Atlanta, compared with $54,900 across all industries in the region (ARC Cultural Assessment report).
The ARC Cultural Assessment report’s workforce figures include a racial breakdown of creative jobs: 67% were held by white employees and 24% by Black employees. These percentages are presented as reported in that regional assessment and are not expanded here with unsupported calculations about the remaining share (ARC Cultural Assessment report).
Planning activity is another regional measure. 17 local governments in metro Atlanta had developed arts and cultural plans (ARC Cultural Assessment report).
Atlanta cultural institutions by collection, education, and reach
The High Museum of Art reports a collection of more than 20,000 works of art. Its European art collection includes more than 1,000 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper (High Museum of Art website).
The museum welcomed over 1.3 million visitors during its Louvre Atlanta partnership. Its impact page reports average monthly attendance of 2,772, while the museum’s art and inclusion page says nearly 50,000 schoolchildren visit annually. A current wine auction announcement from the High reports that youth education programs draw more than 35,000 schoolchildren each year (High Museum history page; High Museum impact page; High Museum art and inclusion page; High Museum press release).
The two schoolchild figures come from different High Museum materials and are retained with their original labels. They are not combined or treated as a single estimate.
The Woodruff Arts Center says it enriches the lives of more than one million patrons annually and serves more than 200,000 students and teachers annually. It also describes itself as the largest arts educator in Georgia (Woodruff Arts Center about page).
The Woodruff Arts Center’s 2022–2023 impact report records a rise in BIPOC participation at the High Museum from 15% in 2015 to 57% in 2023, a 42-point gain. The same report says 61% of the High Museum’s audience is under age 35 (Woodruff Arts Center 2022–2023 impact report).
Atlanta theaters and performance audiences
The Fox Theatre has 4,665 seats and hosts more than 200 performances a year (Fox Theatre about page). Its 2024–2025 annual impact materials report more than half a million guests over the past year and say the Fox was supported by nearly 600,000 patrons (Fox Theatre 2024–2025 annual impact report; Fox Theatre annual report).
The Fox’s annual impact report also places it at #1 Highest Grossing Theatre Worldwide in the 2,001–5,000 capacity category (Fox Theatre annual impact report). That ranking is reproduced as reported by the Fox; the supplied data does not provide a separate ranking methodology.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s King Celebration broadcast audience ultimately grew to more than 2.5 million listeners (ASO blog). This is a broadcast audience figure and should not be compared directly with the Fox’s in-person guest or patron counts.
Finally, the national AEP6 methodology connected to the City of Atlanta report collected data from 16,399 arts and culture organizations nationwide and included 224,677 attendees in its national audience sample. Those national figures describe the study’s broader methodology, not Atlanta attendance (Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 national methodology, City of Atlanta report).