New National Study Offers Fresh Insight into the Lives and Livelihoods of US Artists

At a time when creative work is both celebrated and increasingly difficult to sustain, the Mellon Foundation today released the National Survey of Artists, a study conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC), that sheds new light on the lives, work, and economic realities of artists across the United States.

Drawing on responses from a nationally representative sample of artists and culture bearers, the study offers one of the most comprehensive portraits to date of how creative workers live, work, and sustain their practices. It expands national understanding of who counts as an artist, beyond those who earn a living solely from their art, while revealing the complex ways creative workers build their livelihoods, often across multiple jobs, and the financial challenges they face. Together, these findings illuminate the diverse forms of artistic contributions that drive and enrich the nation’s cultural life amid shifting economic and social conditions.

Key findings reveal that artists across the United States continue to face significant financial insecurity and complex working lives. More than half (57%) of artists reported being somewhat or very worried about at least one form of financial vulnerability—such as affording food, housing, medical care, or utilities—with 22% concerned about having enough to eat and 32% about covering medical costs in the month ahead.

The study also highlights the multifaceted nature of artistic employment: 34% of artists are fully self-employed, 50% are self-employed in their primary job, and 11% juggled three or more jobs in the past year. Nearly one-third (28%) identify as teaching artists, another 28% provide unpaid care for a loved one with a health condition or disability, and 8% have served in the U.S. military. Together, these findings offer one of the clearest pictures to date of how creative workers sustain their practices amid overlapping economic, professional, and personal demands—providing critical insight for funders, policymakers, and arts organizations working to strengthen support systems for artists nationwide.

“Artists are essential to how we understand and shape the world around us, yet we have long lacked a complete picture of who they are and how they make their lives and work possible,” said Deana Haggag, Program Director for Arts and Culture at the Mellon Foundation. “There are many incredible organizations across the country working tirelessly to support artists and ensure they are able to live with dignity. By expanding our definition of what it means to be an artist and illuminating the diverse conditions under which they live and work, we hope this study helps the field imagine systems and possibilities that can more fully sustain creative life in the United States.”

The report arrives at a pivotal time for creative workers and the broader U.S. economy. As inflation and the ongoing rise of gig and contract work reshape the artistic world, artists continue to be affected by income instability and limited access to benefits. By capturing the full scope of artists’ work lives - from employment patterns to financial vulnerability - the study provides the field with evidence to inform smarter investments, public policy, and support systems that can strengthen creative work for the long term.

“We’re proud to partner with Mellon on this groundbreaking effort to better understand artists as workers,” said Gwendolyn Rugg, Senior Research Scientist at NORC and lead author of the report. “Artists contribute immeasurably to our communities, yet we have only ever had very limited data on them which by and large did not reflect the full population of working artists and culture bearers in the U.S. With the publication of this study, we now have for the first time a more expansive national portrait of who artists are, how they live and work, and what challenges they experience. This lays the groundwork for creating programs and policies that are truly responsive to artists’ needs.”

Together, Mellon and NORC invite policymakers, funders, researchers, and arts leaders to use these findings to better understand—and support—the nation’s artists. The full National Survey of Artists topline report, dataset, and accompanying materials are available here.

###

The National Survey of Artists was designed and conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago with funding and research support from the Mellon Foundation. The project outputs include the survey instrument, a public-use dataset, technical documentation, and a topline report. The findings reflect responses from a nationally representative sample of artists and culture bearers who maintain a dedicated, professionalized artistic practice. By centering artists as workers, the study provides essential data for building policies and systems that reflect how creative professionals actually live and work in the United States.

NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, we have studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, we partner with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty and empowerment that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and guided by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.