National Survey of Artists
Problem
We have long lacked a complete picture of who artists are and how they live and work.
A crucial segment of the U.S. artist population is not represented in federal labor surveys because they do not structure their artmaking in a way that those surveys typically define “work” and “labor.”
Thus, there is insufficient data on the number of working artists nationwide and how their lives and livelihoods are structured. This limits the ability of funders and policymakers to make crucial decisions about how best to support them.
Solution
NORC designed a first-of-its-kind survey and sampling approach to identify and learn about U.S. artists.
With support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and in partnership with an advisory board of artists, culture bearers, and academics, NORC designed and fielded a new survey with an expansive, nationally representative sample of working artists. This sample includes the previously “invisible” population of artists and was constructed using NORC’s AmeriSpeak® Panel and multiple nonprobability panels, and calibrated using NORC’s TrueNorth methodology.
Our survey explores the following questions:
- How many artists live and work in the United States today?
- Who are these artists?
- How do they describe their creative practice(s)?
- How do they support themselves financially?
- What can we learn about their physical and mental health and well-being?
Result
Our study sheds new light on the lives, work, and economic realities of artists across the United States.
By expanding notions of who “counts” as an artist and surveying this expanded artist population, this study offers one of the most comprehensive portraits to date of how artists live, work, and sustain their practices.
Findings reveal that artists across the United States face significant financial insecurity and complex work arrangements. More than half (57 percent) of artists reported being somewhat or very worried about at least one form of financial vulnerability—such as affording food, housing, medical care, or utilities—and more than one-third (37 percent) reported using some form of public assistance.
The study also highlights the multifaceted nature of artistic employment:
- 34 percent of artists are fully self-employed
- 50 percent are self-employed in their primary job
- 11 percent juggled three or more jobs in the past year
- 84 percent had access to health insurance, but the majority did not access it through their primary job
These and other findings illuminate how artists live and sustain their practices amid overlapping economic, professional, and personal demands.
A public use dataset is available through the National Archive of Data on Arts and Culture (NADAC), enabling researchers to explore their own questions about artists’ lives and livelihoods.
Contact Us
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Project Leads
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Gwendolyn Rugg
Senior Research ScientistProject Director -
Michael Reynolds
Senior Vice President & DirectorSenior Advisor -
Nadarajasundaram Ganesh
Principal StatisticianChief Statistician
“This study provides much-needed, scientifically rigorous data about the conditions under which artists are living and working today. We hope this study increases the recognition of artists as a vital and distinctive component of the national workforce, and lays the groundwork for creating programs and policies that are truly responsive to artists’ needs.”
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Data & Findings
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