Economic Impact

The Arts Mean Business!

Nonprofit arts and culture organizations spend $6.9 million annually in Moore County. This spending is far-reaching: organizations pay employees, purchase supplies, contract for services and acquire assets within our county. In addition, these expenditures leveraged a remarkable $6.4 million in further spending by arts and culture audiences—providing vital revenue for local restaurants, hotels, retail stores, babysitters, and other businesses that serve arts and culture audiences.

Moore County is one of 341 study regions that participated in Americans for the Arts’ Arts & Economic Prosperity 5, the most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted. The study documents the economic impact of the nonprofit arts and culture sector in 228 cities and counties, 81 multi-city or multi-county regions, 20 states, and 121 individual arts districts—representing all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

The study focuses solely on the economic impact of nonprofit arts and culture organizations and event-related spending by their audiences (not including admission costs). Spending by individual artists and the for-profit arts and culture sector (e.g., radio, advertising, architecture, design, and publishing) are also excluded from this study.

Arts & Cultural Events a Huge Draw!

Moore County’s nonprofit arts and culture sector provides attractions that draw visitors to the community. In fact, 54 percent of all non-resident survey respondents reported that the primary reason for their trip was “specifically to attend this arts/cultural event.”

Special Thanks & Acknowledgments

Moore County’s Participating Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations
This study could not have been completed without the cooperation of the 34 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in Moore County, listed below, that provided detailed financial and event attendance information about their organization.

Aberdeen Parks & Recreation Dept.; Artists League of the Sandhills; Arts Council of Moore County; Black History Celebration in Moore County; Carolina Performing Arts Center; Carolina Philharmonic; Given Library/Tufts Archives; Holly Arts & Crafts Festival; House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site; Judson Theatre Company; Longleaf Ensemble; Moore County All-County Orchestra Clinic; Moore County Choral Society; Moore County Concert Band; Moore County Historical Association; Moore Philharmonic Orchestra; New Horizons Band in the Pines; North Moore H.S. Theatre Arts; Pinecrest H.S. Band; Pinecrest Players; Pinehurst Forum; Pinehurst Parks & Recreation Dept.; Robbins Village Theater Foundation; Sandhills Community College Music Dept.; Sandhills Quilters Guild; Seagrove Potters of Historic Busbee Rd.; Southern Middle School Orchestra; Southern Pines Public Library; Southern Pines Recreation & Parks Dept.; Springfest; Sunrise Theater; Union Pines Marching Vikings; UpStage At Union Pines H.S.; Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities

The Arts Council of Moore County is a not-for-profit organization celebrating over 45 years of presenting and promoting the arts in Moore County. By offering and supporting quality arts programs for all Moore County residents and visitors, the Arts Council fulfills its mission:  Inspire and Strengthen Our Community Through the Arts.


This project was supported in part by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.