Measuring the experience economy

There are many ways to gauge the growth of the experience economy in your area.

The easiest, though not the most current or comprehensive, way is through the U.S. Department of Commerce's County Business Patterns database.  Here you can get information on business activity at the federal, state, county and even zip code level. (But not the town/city level, which is odd.)  Depending on what level you're looking at, you can find out the number of establishments, annual payroll and employment. (CBP covers private-sector businesses and nonprofit organizations, but not many government agencies.) County Business Patterns is updated annually, but it is usually two years out of date.  But that's generally ok for planning and policy research, because it is better to make long-term decisions based on long-term trends.

Many experience economy businesses can be found under NAICS code 71 (Arts Entertainment and Recreation Industry). It's not a complete list (Retail stores fall under NAICS codes 44 and 45), but Code 71 establishments are representative of the kinds of businesses that exist to offer an educational, artistic or entertainment experience: Museums, amusement parks, historic sites, etc.

The Economic Census offers information on receipts, so you can gauge the financial health of an industry. (Receipts might be a better measure than employees for many industries because technology could reduce the need for some workers.)  Unfortunately, the Economic Census is every five years, and detailed data isn't available for a long time.  The last census was 2007, and as of March 2010, there is limited data at the state level. (Alaska information is there, but New Jersey numbers won't be available until August.)

Still, you can find some comparative statistics on experience economy businesses for the United States as a whole.

For more current information, check with organizations that focus on tourism, historic preservation, arts or entertainment at the state,county or city level.  They probably will not have the type of comprehensive information you would find in CBP or the Economic Census, but they are more likely to have their ear to the ground.

The most expensive way to measure the experience economy is to inventory and survey experience economy businesses.  This will help give you the most current information, as well as insights that a statistical table can't.

--Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP

For more information:  The Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program offers various Deep Learning courses and Learning Labs.  Upcoming courses and Learning Labs (as of March 2010) include Cultural Economic Development Studio, Programming Cultural Uses and Cultural Heritage Tourism Basics.