Economic Engines - The following is excerpted from "Museums as Economic Engines," conducted by the AAM & Oxford Economics in 2017 with post-pandemic data from the "2023 Annual National Snapshot of United States Museums," conducted by AAM and Wilkening Consulting For more information visit www.aam-us.org

The following is excerpted from "Museums as Economic Engines," conducted by the AAM & Oxford Economics in 2017 with post-pandemic data from the "2023 Annual National Snapshot of United States Museums," conducted by AAM and Wilkening Consulting For more information visit www.aam-us.orgMuseums play an essential role in cultural and social life across the United States by collecting. preserving, researching and interpreting objects, living specimens and historical records. In doing so, museums enrich our lives, providing forums for learning and support, as well as a variety of services to our communities. Museums preserve and protect more than a billion objects and help the public better understand and appreciate cultural diversity.

The following is excerpted from Museums as Economic Engines, conducted by the AAM & Oxford Economics in 2017 with post-pandemic data from the 2023 Annual National Snapshot of United States Museums, conducted by AAM and Wilkening Consulting For more information visit www.aam-us.org

Museums play an essential role in cultural and social life across the United States by collecting. preserving, researching and interpreting objects, living specimens and historical records. In doing so, museums enrich our lives, providing forums for learning and support, as well as a variety of services to our communities. Museums preserve and protect more than a billion objects and help the public better understand and appreciate cultural diversity.

But beyond this cultural impact, the museum sector is also essential to the national economy-generating Gross Domestic Product, creating jobs and contributing taxes.

Demand for the kind of opportunities and engagement that the museum sector provides is widespread, and data about visits and exhibits is readily available. More than 850 million visits are made each year to American museums. In 2009, AAM completed a financial study of museums, but despite this, no comprehensive economic analysis [had] attempted to address the overarching impact of the museum sector on the U.S. economy, [and] we have lacked comprehensive economic data representing the diverse museum field.

To address this, in 2017, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM)... commissioned Oxford Economics to conduct research, analysis and impact modeling to clearly quantify the economic contribution of [this country's] museums...Explore findings from this study on museums' economic impact pre-pandemic, and a 2023 snapshot of the museum sector, on the following page...

The Mont Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts, Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo courtesy The Mint Museum.