The arts mean business in Washington County
Arts organizations and audiences in Washington County generate more than $21 million a year in economic activity. That includes $13.8 million in direct spending by nonprofit arts organizations, and $7.2 million in spending by arts audiences who attend events.
Arts audiences on average spend $20 per person, per event outside the cost of admission. That could include dinner and drinks before an event, overnight lodging, childcare, transportation, and more.
More than 360,000 people attended arts and culture events in Wahsington County in 2015. Almost 1/3 of those attendees were nonresidents, coming from outside Washington County.
The local arts industry supports more than 940 full-time jobs.
Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 national economic impact study is the most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry in the United States.
The study – released in June 2017 – was conducted by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, in partnership with Tualatin Valley Creates (formerly the Westside Cultural Alliance), an arts service organization in Washington County, Oregon.
AEP5 provides evidence that the nonprofit arts and culture sector is a significant industry in Washington County—one that generates more than $21 million in total economic activity. This spending—$13.8 million by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and an additional $7.3 million in event-related spending by their audiences—supports 942 full-time equivalent jobs, generates $14.9 million in household income to local residents, and delivers $1.5 million in local and state government revenue.
This economic impact study sends a strong signal that when we support the arts, we not only enhance our quality of life, but we also invest in Washington County’s economic well-being.
