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In 2022, Vermont’s arts and culture sector generated $158.6 million in economic activity, $34.8 million in tax revenue and supported about 2,700 jobs.

That’s according to a recent study by national arts advocacy organization Americans for the Arts, which publishes research documenting the arts’ economic impact in communities across the U.S. approximately every five years.

The Vermont Arts Council, the Paramount Theatre in Rutland and Burlington City Arts partnered to help collect data for the study through surveys of audience members and 120 nonprofit arts and culture organizations across the state.

The arts are “such a big part of Vermont’s overall economy,” Vermont Arts Council executive director Susan Evans McClure said. “To be able to have hard numbers helps us make an even stronger economic case about the value that we're bringing in terms of dollars.”

The study confirms the arts’ significant impact on tourism, McClure said. Among the findings is that about a quarter of the 1.4 million people who attended arts events in Vermont in 2022 traveled from out of state. Almost 80 percent of those tourists said the primary reason for their visit was to attend a cultural event.

The cost of a ticket alone doesn’t begin to capture the full economic impact of the arts, Evans McClure said. Attendees don’t simply go to a performance and leave — they eat at restaurants, stay at hotels and shop at local stores.

On average, tourists spent almost 80 percent more than locals on expenses beyond the cost of admission to an event: $51.69 per person per event, compared to $28.88 for Vermonters.

Beyond economics, the study also asked questions about how arts and culture organizations contribute to community pride. About 80 percent of attendees agreed that the venue where they were surveyed is “an important pillar for me within my community,” and about 84 percent agreed they “would feel a great sense of loss if this activity or venue were no longer available.”

The study helps “expand the reasons that we're funding the arts,” Evans McClure said. “We're doing it because it's good for communities, but it's also good for the economy. And now we have some really strong data to prove that.”