Fast facts about performing arts statistics
Performing arts statistics show a field that is still large, highly attended, and unevenly distributed across art forms, audiences, and regions. Broadway alone brought in $1.893 billion in the 2024-25 season and drew 14.66 million attendances (The Broadway League 2024-25 season stats), while national participation data shows that live performance habits are changing in ways that matter for venues, artists, and audiences (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
Table of contents
- At a glance
- Broadway and season-level performance
- National arts attendance patterns
- Who attends live performance
- Regional comparisons
- Performing arts company workforce
- Wages and career outlook
At a glance
Here are the biggest numbers to know before digging into the details.
- $1.893 billion gross for Broadway in 2024-25, the highest figure in the dataset (The Broadway League 2024-25 season stats).
- 14.66 million attendances for Broadway in 2024-25, showing the scale of live theater demand (The Broadway League 2024-25 season stats).
- 47.9% of U.S. adults attended at least one arts activity in person in 2022, equal to 122 million adults (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
- 74.8% of U.S. adults consumed art via media in 2022, equal to 184 million adults (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
- 56.9% of U.S. adults had some form of arts participation across the listed measures when looking at the broader mix of attendance, creation, reading, media use, and learning signals in the source set (inference from the NEA 2022 SPPA highlights figures).
- Musicians and singers in performing arts companies numbered 21,290 in May 2023, the largest occupation count listed for NAICS 711100 in the dataset (BLS OEWS performing arts companies).
- The median hourly wage for musicians and singers was $42.45 in May 2024 (BLS Musicians and Singers OOH).
- Musicians and singers are projected to grow 1% from 2024 to 2034, with 1,800 net openings and about 19,400 openings per year (BLS Musicians and Singers OOH).
Broadway and season-level performance
Broadway is the clearest high-volume benchmark in the dataset because it has clean season-to-season comparisons. The 2024-25 season delivered $1.893 billion in gross revenue, 14.66 million attendances, 1,712 playing weeks, and 43 new productions (The Broadway League 2024-25 season stats).
That matters because those figures do not stand alone. They show how a live performance ecosystem can combine high ticket demand, sustained occupancy, and a steady pipeline of new work.
Recent Broadway seasons compared
| Season | Gross | Attendances | Playing weeks | New productions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | $1.893 billion | 14.66 million | 1,712 | 43 |
| 2023-24 | $1.539 billion | 12.29 million | 1,471 | 39 |
| 2022-23 | $1.578 billion | 12.28 million | 1,474 | 40 |
| 2021-22 | $845 million | 6.73 million | 946 | 39 |
| 2019-20 | $1.358 billion | 11.14 million | 1,282 | 33 |
| 2018-19 | $1.829 billion | 14.77 million | 1,737 | 38 |
The comparison points to a clear pattern. Broadway in 2024-25 outpaced 2023-24 on every measure listed here: gross revenue rose from $1.539 billion to $1.893 billion, attendances increased from 12.29 million to 14.66 million, playing weeks climbed from 1,471 to 1,712, and new productions increased from 39 to 43 (The Broadway League 2023-24 season stats; The Broadway League 2024-25 season stats).
A few practical observations follow from that table:
- Revenue and attendance moved together, which is what you want to see in a healthy live theater season.
- The rebound from 2021-22 to 2024-25 is large in absolute terms, especially in gross and attendance.
- The 2024-25 season nearly matched the pre-pandemic 2018-19 attendance level of 14.77 million, while exceeding its gross of $1.829 billion with $1.893 billion (The Broadway League Broadway season table; The Broadway League 2024-25 season stats).
- New production counts stayed in a fairly narrow band from 38 to 43 across the listed seasons, suggesting that the volume of premieres remained active even as audience totals changed (The Broadway League Broadway season table; The Broadway League 2024-25 season stats).
National arts attendance patterns
The NEA data shows that live performance participation is part of a much wider arts ecosystem, and it also shows where participation is thinning. In 2022, 47.9% of U.S. adults attended at least one arts activity in person, down from 53.8% in 2017, a decline of 5.9 percentage points (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
That drop is important because it is not a one-category story. It covers a broad live-arts environment that includes music, theater, dance, and other performance formats.
Category shifts from 2017 to 2022
| Category | 2017 | 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall arts attendance | 53.8% | 47.9% | -5.9 pts |
| Other performing arts | 15.0% | 21.2% | +6.2 pts |
| Jazz music | 8.6% | 6.3% | -2.3 pts |
| Latin, Spanish, or salsa music | 5.9% | 3.9% | -2.0 pts |
| Classical music | 8.6% | 4.6% | -4.0 pts |
| Opera | 2.2% | 0.7% | -1.5 pts |
| Musical stage play | 16.5% | 10.3% | -6.2 pts |
| Non-musical stage play | 9.4% | 4.5% | -4.9 pts |
| Ballet | 3.1% | 2.0% | -1.1 pts |
| Other dance | 6.3% | 3.3% | -3.0 pts |
The most striking figure in that table is the rise in other performing arts, which climbed from 15.0% to 21.2% (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights). That suggests that audience interest is not disappearing evenly; it is reshaping itself across formats.
At the same time, several traditional live performance categories declined:
- Musical stage plays fell from 16.5% to 10.3%.
- Non-musical stage plays fell from 9.4% to 4.5%.
- Classical music attendance fell from 8.6% to 4.6%.
- Opera attendance fell from 2.2% to 0.7%.
- Ballet attendance fell from 3.1% to 2.0% (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
Those changes do not mean demand vanished. They mean attention is being distributed differently, which is a critical distinction for programming, fundraising, and audience development.
Who attends live performance
Performing arts statistics become more useful when you look at participation by audience segment. The 2022 NEA figures show strong differences by gender, race, education, and disability status.
Gender and live performance
Women reported higher live performance attendance than men in several categories. Women attended live performances at a 40% rate in 2022 versus 35% for men (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
For specific art forms, the gaps were smaller but still visible:
- Classical music: 5% for women versus 4% for men.
- Ballet: 3% for women versus 1% for men.
- Musical stage plays: 11% for women versus 9% for men (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
That pattern suggests that women were more likely to participate across live performance broadly and in several of the best-known traditional categories.
Race, education, and disability
The source also shows sharp differences in live performance participation by background and education.
- Adults with more than one race reported any live performance attendance at 52% in 2022 (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
- White adults reported any live performance attendance at 42% (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
- Hispanic adults reported 31% (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
- Black adults reported 28% (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
- Asian adults reported 26% (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
Education shows one of the clearest gradients in the entire dataset:
- Adults with a bachelor’s degree attended any live performance at 53% in 2022.
- Adults with a master’s degree or higher attended at 56%.
- Adults with a high school education attended at 25%.
- Adults with less than a high school education attended at 13% (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
Disability status also matters:
- Adults without a disability attended any live performance at 39%.
- Adults with a disability attended at 24% (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
These are not small differences. They affect where audiences come from, how tickets are marketed, which accessibility investments matter, and which outreach channels are likely to produce results.
Regional comparisons
Regional arts participation makes the dataset more actionable because it shows where live performance audiences are strongest and weakest. The NEA region figures point to consistent differences across the country.
Live performance attendance by region
| Region | Live performance attendance | Arts events in person | Learning an art form or subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England | 40.2% | 55.9% | 34.6% |
| Midwest | N/A | 54.6% | 31.8% |
| West | N/A | 49.6% | 31.5% |
| Mid-America | N/A | 47.8% | 27.9% |
| Mid-Atlantic | N/A | 43.4% | 25.9% |
| South | 27.9% | 42.9% | 23.5% |
Two things stand out. First, New England posted the highest live performance attendance rate at 40.2% in 2022 (NEA 2022 SPPA comprehensive report). Second, the South posted the lowest at 27.9% (NEA 2022 SPPA comprehensive report).
The broader arts participation figures reinforce that split:
- New England had a 55.9% rate for attending arts events in person.
- The Midwest had 54.6%.
- The West had 49.6%.
- The Mid-Atlantic had 43.4%.
- The South had 42.9%.
- Mid-America had 47.8% (NEA 2022 SPPA comprehensive report).
Learning participation follows a similar pattern:
- New England: 34.6%.
- Midwest: 31.8%.
- West: 31.5%.
- Mid-America: 27.9%.
- Mid-Atlantic: 25.9%.
- South: 23.5% (NEA 2022 SPPA comprehensive report).
For anyone planning tours, subscriptions, arts education programs, or regional audience outreach, the takeaway is straightforward: geography still matters, and it matters at more than one stage of the arts funnel.
Performing arts company workforce
The labor market side of performing arts statistics is often overlooked, but it helps explain how the industry functions behind the scenes. The dataset includes job counts for performing arts companies in NAICS 711100 from May 2023.
Occupation counts in performing arts companies
| Occupation | Workers |
|---|---|
| Musicians and singers | 21,290 |
| Producers and directors | 8,410 |
| Actors | 6,660 |
| Waiters and waitresses | 3,070 |
| Dancers | 3,370 |
| Bartenders | 2,770 |
| Audio and video technicians | 1,970 |
| Set and exhibit designers | 1,470 |
| Lighting technicians | 810 |
| Security guards | 680 |
| Choreographers | 1,200 |
| Food preparation workers | 260 |
| Postsecondary art, drama, and music teachers | 130 |
The table shows that performing arts companies are not just artistic institutions. They are also service workplaces, production environments, and technical operations.
A few points are worth highlighting:
- Musicians and singers were the largest occupation listed at 21,290 workers in May 2023 (BLS OEWS performing arts companies).
- Producers and directors were the next largest at 8,410 (BLS OEWS performing arts companies).
- Actors numbered 6,660, showing the size of on-stage talent employment (BLS OEWS performing arts companies).
- Technical and support roles such as audio and video technicians, lighting technicians, security guards, and bartenders show how production and audience service are embedded in the same sector (BLS OEWS performing arts companies).
The broader occupational groups in the same source show the same structure:
- The overall arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupational group employed 56,420 workers in May 2023.
- The entertainers and performers, sports and related workers group employed 47,100 workers.
- The musicians, singers, and related workers group employed 25,080 workers (BLS OEWS performing arts companies).
That mix matters because it reminds you that live performance is a labor system as much as it is a cultural one.
Wages and career outlook
The salary and projection numbers in the dataset help explain how performers and related workers fit into the labor market over time.
For musicians and singers, the median hourly wage was $42.45 in May 2024 (BLS Musicians and Singers OOH). For entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, the median hourly wage was $26.38 in the same source (BLS Musicians and Singers OOH).
Those figures are useful because they show that pay can vary substantially even within the same broad performance environment.
The long-term outlook for musicians and singers is modest but positive:
- 169,800 jobs in 2024.
- 171,600 jobs projected in 2034.
- 1% growth from 2024 to 2034.
- 1,800 net openings over the decade.
- About 19,400 openings per year on average (BLS Musicians and Singers OOH).
Read together, these numbers point to a stable but competitive occupation. They do not signal explosive expansion, but they do show continuing demand and replacement openings that matter for entrants, freelancers, educators, and institutions planning workforce pipelines.
What the data says about the performing arts market
The combined picture is more nuanced than a simple growth-or-decline story. Broadway remains commercially strong, with 2024-25 revenue and attendance both above the prior season and with production volume still active (The Broadway League 2024-25 season stats). At the national level, in-person arts attendance is below its 2017 level, but media-based consumption is very high, and live performance categories are diverging rather than moving together (NEA 2022 SPPA highlights).
The most useful way to read performing arts statistics is as a stack of related signals:
- Market strength at the top end, especially in Broadway-style live theater.
- Shifting participation across genres, with some forms losing share and others gaining it.
- Strong demographic gradients, especially by education and disability status.
- Clear regional differences that affect where arts audiences are easiest to find.
- A workforce that combines performers, technicians, and service roles in the same operating model.
That combination makes the performing arts a good example of why a single headline figure is rarely enough. The real story lives in the comparisons.