DALLAS, TX.- SMU’s National Center for Arts Research today released its first annual Arts Vibrancy Index. The index ranks more than 900 communities across the country. Vibrancy is measured as the level of supply, demand and government support for arts and culture on a per capita basis. The report highlights the top 20 large markets and top 20 medium and small markets. NCAR provides rank scores on all measures for every U.S. county on its website.

“The numbers are only the start of the story, not the end. Each city in our report is unique in what makes it a vibrant community for the arts,” said Dr. Zannie Giraud Voss, Ph.D., director of NCAR and chair and professor of arts management and arts entrepreneurship in SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts and Cox School of Business. “Our intention in developing this report is to stimulate conversation about what makes a city vibrant in the arts and how arts vibrancy varies across cities.”

The overall index is composed of three dimensions. Supply is assessed by the total number of arts providers in the community, including the number of independent artists, arts, culture and entertainment employees, and arts organizations; demand is gauged by the total nonprofit arts dollars in the community, including program revenue, contributed revenue, total expenses and total compensation; and level of government support is based on state arts dollars and grants and federal arts dollars and grants.

Geographically, the rankings utilize Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), which are delineated geographic areas consisting of one or more counties that have high social and economic integration with an urban core as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. By focusing on MSAs, the index captures the network of suburbs that rise up around a city or town rather than considering them separately.

Among cities with populations of 1 million or more, the five most vibrant arts communities are as follows:

1.Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
2.Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN
3.New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ
4.Boston, MA
5.San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA

For medium and small cities, with population under 1 million, the top five cities are all in the West:

1. Glenwood Springs, CO
2. Santa Fe, NM
3. Jackson, WY-ID
4. Breckenridge, CO
5. Edwards, CO

The full top-20 lists are available on the NCAR website, including scores on each of the three dimensions (supply, demand and government support).

Beyond the specific rankings, select key findings in the Arts Vibrancy Index include:

· No region has cornered the market on arts vibrancy. Cities large and small from every region appear in the top 40 cities, although there is high representation from Western communities in the set of Medium-Small cities.

· Arts vibrancy takes many shapes and forms. Some cities have impressive financial resources invested in nonprofit arts and cultural institutions, others are filled with many smaller organizations and venues, some are tourist destinations and still others are artist colonies. Some cities are strong in numerous arts sectors while others are capitals of a particular art form.

· There are interesting differences across very large Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Those that made the list tend either to have a strong concentration of arts vibrancy in an urban core and less going on in surrounding communities, or they are vibrant throughout the greater metropolitan area, and less so in the city center.

· The majority of arts vibrant cities have a population either under 300,000 or between 1,000,000 and 3,000,000.