New Study Ranks San Diego as Top U.S. Arts Capital with $1.4 Billion Annual Impact

A new study of the economic impact of the arts ranks San Diego County as one of the most “culturally robust” regions in the United States.

“San Diego is taking its place as one of the largest and most robust culturally vibrant regions in the country,” said Randy Cohen, vice president of research at Americans for the Arts, which conducted the study. “It competes with Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco.”

The research, unveiled Thursday for local arts leaders, found that nonprofit arts organizations generated nearly $1.4 billion in economic activity in 2022, supported over 19,000 jobs and served 19.2 million visitors.

The impact figure includes $731 million spent by organizations and $638 million attributed to audiences in event-related spending for meals, parking, hotels and shopping. And $41 million of all that spending went to local governments in San Diego County in the form of taxes and fees.

The sixth in a series of Arts & Economic Prosperity studies examined 373 cities and regions across the United States, collecting expenditure and attendance data via questionnaires sent to individual organizations and members of their audiences. Arts organizations in San Diego and six other cities as well as the Balboa Park Cultural District and Oceanside Cultural District participated.

The results mirror another recent study, which included not just nonprofits, but commercial arts like movies, music venues, galleries, architecture, digital media and educational institutions. That study found such “creative businesses” add nearly $11 billion to the local economy.

Cohen attributed San Diego’s emergence on the national arts scene to “cultural authenticity” stemming from its history and location in a binational region.

He said the study makes it clear that the nonprofit arts sector should be viewed as a business — one that is good for the local economy.

“The arts are not some black hole of goodness,” Cohen said, explaining that the study will help change the conversation “from one of charity to one of industry.”