A clear, citable look at recent public data on live performance attendance, outdoor festivals, arts participation, and what people spend to get out of the house. Last updated October 26, 2026.
These figures put Texas and U.S. live-event culture in context without pretending a festival is a spreadsheet. Every number below is drawn from a named public source and includes its reporting year. The October 2026 refresh adds the latest available U.S. entertainment-spending figures. Use the stable links to quote a specific fact, then give the original source its proper credit.
of U.S. adults attended a live performing arts event in person during the prior 12 months in 2022. The survey definition includes live music, dance, theater, and outdoor music festivals.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts and U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts ↗of Texas adults attended a live performing arts event in person during the prior 12 months in 2022, above the national rate reported in the same study.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts and U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts ↗of U.S. adults attended an outdoor festival featuring performing arts in 2022. The same survey recorded 24.2% in 2017, so these are useful trend numbers, not a claim that every festival behaves the same.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts ↗of U.S. adults attended a craft fair or visual arts festival in 2022. That figure was 23.8% in 2017, according to the same national participation survey.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts ↗was the average U.S. consumer-unit spend on entertainment in 2024. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports this broad category separately from other household spending, making it useful context for stories about paid leisure and live-event culture.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2024 ↗of average annual U.S. consumer-unit spending went to entertainment in 2024. That share was down slightly from 4.7% in 2023, according to the same survey.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2024 ↗was the value of U.S. arts and cultural economic activity in 2023, equal to 4.2% of national gross domestic product.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account, 2023 ↗was the inflation-adjusted growth rate for U.S. arts and cultural economic activity in 2023. The wider U.S. economy grew 2.9% over the same period.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account, 2023 ↗was the inflation-adjusted growth rate for core arts and cultural production industries in 2023. The category includes performing arts, museums, design services, fine arts education, and education services.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account, 2023 ↗arts and cultural jobs were recorded nationwide in 2023. Employment in the sector increased 0.3% from the prior year.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account, 2023 ↗This page collects the latest relevant figures available from the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis as of October 26, 2026. Attendance figures describe the survey year, while spending and economic figures describe their own reporting years.
Colorful Pants ATX. “Texas Live Music and Festival Statistics.” Updated October 26, 2026. https://colorfulpantsatx.com/live-event-statistics.
Exploring festival style? Start with the pieces that can handle the actual day, not just the photo.