February 5, 2013

Texas: Economic Impact of the Arts

In December, the Texas Cultural Trust published a report quantifying the economic impact of the state’s creative sector, its arts and culture industries, and its cultural tourism. Update 2012: The Impact of Arts and Culture Industries on the Texas Economy is the latest addition to a suite of materials—shared with state arts agencies at an Assembly 2010 briefing session—documenting how the creative industries contribute to social and economic well-being. The new study reports that Texas’s creative sector employs about 680,000 people, yielding more than $49.5 billion in wages and $4.3 billion in tax revenue. The arts and culture industries, meanwhile, generate $4.6 billion in taxable sales. Arts-related tourism supports 21,000 jobs and generates $158.5 million in tax revenue.

The Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) welcomes the new economic impact data and will use it in a number of ways. Such information supports TCA’s communications with legislators and constituents, its strategic planning process, and its application for NEA partnership funds. To learn more about how TCA uses economic impact data, contact TCA Deputy Director Jim Bob McMillan.