SF Ranked Among Most “Arts-Vibrant” US Cities

San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Jackson rank among the most “arts-vibrant” places in the United States, according to a recent report from the SMU DataArts research center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Announced last month by SMU DataArts, the Top Arts-Vibrant Communities of 2024 ranking was determined based on an index of 13 weighted metrics considering state and federal arts funding, number of arts providers, and revenue and expenses of nonprofit arts organizations in more than 900 communities in the US. This year’s ranking marks the ninth year of the index. 

“Arts vibrancy” refers to a score based on arts supply and demand and government support adjusted for population and cost of living. Some of the data for the ranking was derived from IRS 990 forms filed by nonprofit organizations and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, SMU DataArts Executive Director Jennifer Benoit-Bryan told Hyperallergic. Other data sources included the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

“Getting really good, consistent, and quality data that’s available for every zip code in the country is challenging,” Benoit-Bryan said. 

The SMU DataArts Top Arts-Vibrant Communities ranking ranks the top 20 large cities and the top 10 medium and small communities. 

San Francisco, including San Mateo and Redwood City, ranked the highest among the large communities for the second year in a row. According to SMU DataArts, the city was first in the nation in total compensation for staff and artists by nonprofit arts organizations.

The geographic area delineated as New York, New Jersey, and White Planes trailed San Francisco in second place, followed by Boston and the Washington DC area, which ranked first in the nation in government support. Rochester, New York made a return to the list for the first time since 2018.

Santa Fe moved into the highest-ranked medium-sized arts community this year, ranking second in the country for independent artists, followed by Ithaca, New York; San Rafael, California; and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. 

The city of Jackson in Wyoming ranked highest in the “Small Communities” category for the fifth year in a row, scoring high on markers such as the number of independent artists living there and arts and culture nonprofits. For the first time, Taos, New Mexico, joined the rankings in seventh place. 

Benoit-Bryan explained that there are still significant metrics that aren’t accounted for in the ranking due to constraints caused by only using “strong quality data,” but that the research center is looking to add more data sources as they become available. 

“Ranking is not something we use super often in research, but it always gets a lot of attention,” Benoit-Bryan told Hyperallergic. “It’s been fascinating to see some friendly competition among cities who really want to get on the top 20 list.”

Benoit-Bryan said the rankings are used by organizations and foundations, like the Houston Endowment, to understand how their cities might be falling behind their “peers” in arts vibrancy. SMU DataArts, Benoit-Bryan said, is working with the Houston Endowment to strategize their support for independent artists and mid-sized arts and cultural organizations, categories the city currently trails their peers in.

“Other cities are also often considering them as they think about where to deploy resources,”  Benoit-Bryan said. 

See the full rankings from the Top Arts-Vibrant Communities of 2024 report below.