Study shows that the arts generate $19.6 million annually in economic activity and support nearly 300 jobs County-wide.
Every five years, the Americans for the Arts conducts a comprehensive economic and social impact study of the nation's nonprofit arts and culture industry. For the first time, data is available for Carteret County, thanks to an investment in time and funding by the Arts Council of Carteret County (ACCC). The ACCC identified 15 local arts-based nonprofit organizations who completed a detailed survey, and also interviewed over 400 individual attendees at arts-related events throughout the County.
The study findings show:
Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations are Businesses
They employ people locally.
Purchase supplies and services from nearby businesses.
Their very act of doing business – creating, presenting, exhibiting, engaging – has a positive economic impact.
In Carteret County, the sector generated $19.6 million in economic activity during 2022.
$3.7 million in spending by the arts and culture organizations
$15.8 million in event-related expenditures by their audiences (based on aggregate attendance of 375,193)
The Economic impact in Carteret County was:
292 Jobs Supported
 $323,608 in tax revenues from spending by this sector
The arts are not just entertainment....they are an economic driver for our community with both financial and social impact. As such they are worthy of investment by local government, foundations, business, and philanthropic-minded individuals.
A brief PowerPoint presentation can be viewed here.
The complete 53-page report can be found here.
When we support the arts, we are investing in both Carteret County’s economic and community well-being