Access to the Arts in Houston 

Spending on arts and culture is increasing in our region, but not at a pace consistent with our growing population

While access to and interest in art and cultural organizations is generally increasing, the three-county area still lags behind the nation in overall support. 

The data

Measuring arts and cultural organizations in Houston

What does access to the arts mean? One way to measure access to the arts in Houston is to measure the number of arts and cultural organizations operating in the three-county region. More arts and cultural organizations mean more art in our communities and more opportunities for artists with different skill sets and backgrounds to contribute to our cultural landscape. And over the past 25 years, these nonprofit organizations have enjoyed consistent growth throughout the three-county area. 

As of 2015, there were 602 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations across Fort Bend, Harris and Montgomery counties, up from just 181 in 1990. In Fort Bend County, nonprofit arts and cultural organizations have grown sevenfold from six in 1990 to 49 in 2015. Both Harris and Montgomery counties also saw significant growth in their arts and culture sectors. Harris County gained 358 organizations, and the number of arts and cultural institutions in Montgomery County more than tripled. 

Arts and cultural organizations per 100,000 residents

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Harris County is home to the vast majority of our region’s artistic and cultural resources. However, Fort Bend and Montgomery County are also experiencing some growth relative to the size of their populations. 

When compared to similarly-sized communities throughout the country, all three counties fall near the middle of the pack or lag behind. While Harris County experienced the largest total growth in arts and cultural organizations per 100,000 residents between 1990 and 2015, all counties have seen growth during the time period.

Art providers in the Houston area

Another way to measure art access in Greater Houston is through the Arts Vibrancy Index. Created by our partners at SMU DataArts, the Arts Vibrancy Index measures key indicators of artistic health in a region on a scale from 0 to 100. The Arts Vibrancy Index scores are akin to percentiles, meaning that if an area shows a score of 52, it outperforms 52% of other similar areas (in this case, counties) on that measure.*  

The art providers score is part of the Arts Vibrancy Index and evaluates the overall presence of art in a given area as indicated by the number of artistic organizations and practitioners per capita. These components are combined in an overall score ranging from 0 to 100. 

Although arts, culture and entertainment firms are well represented across the three-county area, our overall arts providers scores place us near the middle or the bottom of the pack. Notably, Montgomery County has both the highest score for independent artists (36) and the lowest score for arts and culture organizations (24) in the area. 

Cultural and ethnic awareness organizations in the Houston area

Houston is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the country. And as our diversity continues to increase, cultural organizations that reflect the contributions and traditions of our multi-ethnic population are becoming increasingly important. 

Consistent with our growing diversity, the numbers of cultural and ethnic organizations have skyrocketed in the three-county area, with Harris County contributing the lion’s share of growth. In 1990, only six cultural and ethnic organizations existed and all of them were in Harris County. As of 2015, Fort Bend, Harris and Montgomery County have all seen growth in this vital category, with Harris County jumping from six to 87, and Fort Bend County jumping from zero to eight. Although these numbers may seem low, growth in this area suggests that the nonprofit arts sector is aware of the cultural needs of our region’s diverse populations and is taking meaningful steps toward serving and engaging them. 

Measuring spending by arts and cultural organizations

Houston’s art and cultural sector plays a crucial role in our overall economic prosperity, and examining how creative organizations use their resources in our communities helps us understand their larger role in the Greater Houston economy. Per the Arts Vibrancy Index, this spending indicates how much money the region uses on arts and cultural programming, helping to gauge the overall demand for arts and culture offerings in Houston. 

Between 2000 and 2015, total spending by arts and cultural organizations in the three-county area more than doubled, jumping from $267 million to $563 million. The vast majority ($514.4 million) of the spending in 2015 occurred in Harris County. Fort Bend County’s spending increased by 32% over the 15-year period, moving from $4.8 million to $6.4 million; and Montgomery County’s arts and cultural spending also saw a twofold increase, rising from about $21 million to nearly $42 million. 

However, these increases are much more modest when weighed against overall population growth. Between 2000 and 2015, Fort Bend County’s per capita arts and cultural spending actually decreased by 35%, suggesting that Fort Bend’s population growth over that time outpaced the growth of arts spending in the region. 

What we spend on art and culture

The Arts Vibrancy Index also tells us how much money is spent on the arts, including state and federal funding for Texas art grants.. Scores range from 0 to 100 and are comparative based on other areas of similar size and population.

Across the three-county area, total expenses scores range from 84–92%, indicating greater levels of spending by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations than in the majority communities across the country. And while government support is largely consistent with the total expenses in each county, Montgomery County shows a striking disparity with a Government Support Score of 20 compared to a score of 86 in total expenses. 

Learn more about arts attendance and jobs in the arts in Houston

Data Note: 

* The Arts Vibrancy Index includes 12 measures that fall under three main rubrics: total arts providers, considering the number of independent artists, arts and culture employees, nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and arts, culture and entertainment firms in the community; total arts dollars in the community, including earned revenue from program activities, contributed revenue supporting the arts, total compensation to artists and staff and total expenses; and public support using state and federal arts funding.

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• Houston is Vibrant
• Houston is Diverse
• Houston is Engaged
• Houston is Big

Arts Attendance in Houston 

Houstonians value the arts in their communities, but socioeconomic barriers make engagement difficult

While interest in the arts is high, residents of color aren’t always able to participate at the same rates as White residents. 

The data

How race and income affect arts participation in Harris County

As one of the most diverse regions in the country, it’s crucial that our artistic community cater to people of all backgrounds. Based on a 2012 survey of 1,200 Houstonians, there appears to be no relationship whatsoever between the ethnic background of an individual and their participation in the arts.

Black, Asian, Hispanic and White residents are all nearly just as likely to say they attended at least one live performance in the arts during the year preceding the survey. However, more said “no” than “yes” across the board. Asians saw the smallest gap, with 46.1% saying “yes” and 53.9% saying “no.” 

The slightly lower arts participation exhibited by Blacks and Latinos seems to be entirely due to differences in household income, as 75% of those surveyed in both groups agreed that the arts are “very important, ” compared to 72% of Whites and 71% of Asians. 

Looking at arts attendance by education level, about 60% of respondents with graduate degrees said they had attended at least one live performance in the arts during the past year, compared to 56% of residents with college degrees, 46% of those with some college education and only 30% of those with high school diplomas or less. 

This correlates with income levels, as just 29% of Harris County residents who reported household incomes below $37,500 said they had attended live arts performances in the year before the survey. That number nearly doubles to 52% for residents earning between $37,501 and $62,500 annually, and only continues to increase with higher earnings. 

Venues visited for artistic performances

More than 80% of Houston residents who said they attended an art performance within the preceding year said they did so at a traditional venue such as a concert hall or theater. Also noteworthy is that more than a third (37%) of those surveyed said they attended a performance at a church or religious facility. A national study of congregations has shown that the arts (specifically music) are an important part of most worship services.¹ The arts and spiritual institutions can be deeply beneficial to their communities, but both often struggle to garner sufficient resources. A strong partnership between the two types of institutions can serve as an economic and creative model in the face of increasingly limited funding and space in the arts and cultural sector. 

Houstonians’ music preferences

Almost a third of Harris County residents said they most often listened to rock, pop, hip-hop or rap music, and 16% listened to country or folk music. Classical or choral music, jazz or blues, gospel or other religious music were each favored by approximately 10% of Harris County adults. Perhaps unsurprisingly, certain ethnicities account for a greater share of listeners for certain genres. Whites tended to prefer country music, while Black residents were more likely to listen to jazz, blues, and gospel and Hispanic respondents were more likely to say they listened to Latin music.

Arts Employment in Houston 

Houstonians employed in the arts can make decent wages, but employment rates and troubling disparities leave room for improvement

Opportunities for Houston creative professionals are strong, but racial and economic inequalities persist throughout the sector.

The data

Artist occupations in the Houston area

Thanks to our vibrant, diverse communities and relatively affordable cost of living in Houston, the three-county region is home to a wide range of people with careers in art and design. 

Consistent with national trends, designers make up the largest share of artists, representing nearly one-third of the total  jobs in the arts in Houston.²  The “Other” category, which represents 18% of employed artists in Houston, consists of a variety of sports-related workers, entertainers and performers, announcers and more working for any of our six professional sports organizations and other entertainment institutions. 

Art employment scores

The Arts and Culture Employees Score from the Arts Vibrancy Index, created by our partners at SMU DataArts, measures key indicators of artistic health in a region on a scale from 0 to 100. The Arts Vibrancy Index scores are akin to percentiles, meaning that if an area has a score of 52, it outperforms 52% of other similar areas (in this case, counties) on that measure.* 

The Arts and Culture Employees Score provides more valuable context, measuring how Houston’s three main counties compare to other areas based on their numbers of salaried employees or independent contractors in the art sector, which includes museums, historical sites, theaters, dance, music, opera and other performing arts.

Harris County far-and-away leads the region in employment for artists, outperforming 73% of counties nationwide. While Fort Bend County does better when it comes to arts and cultural employment than 57% of the country, Montgomery County lags behind with a score of 39. 

Race and employment in the arts

Since 1980, all three counties have been growing increasingly diverse. And while growing regional diversity can open the door for greater diversity in artistic expression, Houston’s multicultural sensibilities have not yet translated into more equitable employment within Houston arts and culture organizations. 

Though every ethnic group is represented in each artist occupation, white workers occupy a distinct majority of virtually all arts jobs in Houston. White artists account for well over 50% of employees in every artistic occupational category but one — in some cases, as in fine artists, over 60% or 70% — of the workforce. Only in the performing arts category do white performers hold under 50% of the jobs in the arts. This data represents a noteworthy divergence from the region’s increasing diversity in other industries. 

Artist earnings in the Houston area

Earnings and compensation are some of the most important factors determining the health and viability of creative professions in our area. On average, artists working in Houston earn more than $27 per hour, well above the $17 an hour that is considered as the living wage for a family of four.³ However, wages for the majority of artist occupations are unfavorable when compared to what many other technical and professional workers earn across the region. 

While there are some art careers that pay well, there are large discrepancies between different jobs in the arts sector. Architects are the highest-earning artists with a mean hourly wage of $52.56. On the opposite end of the wage spectrum are floral designers, who earn only $12.07 an hour on average. As an employment category, large income disparities exist between careers in art and design. For instance, commercial and industrial designers make more than three times the wages of floral designers with mean hourly earnings of $39.53.

Read more about the importance of equitable access to the arts from Arts Connect Houston.

Data Note: 

* The Arts Vibrancy Index includes 12 measures that fall under three main rubrics: total arts providers, considering the number of independent artists, arts and culture employees, nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and arts, culture and entertainment firms in the community; total arts dollars in the community, including earned revenue from program activities, contributed revenue supporting the arts, total compensation to artists and staff and total expenses; and public support using state and federal arts funding.

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• Houston is Vibrant
• Houston is Diverse
• Exploring the Legacy of Redlining in Houston
• Meet Alice Valdez: Musician, Educator, Advocate and MECA founder
• Exploring New Data: COVID-19’s Impact on Arts and Culture Nonprofits in Houston