NYC, Columbus, & Louisville Top List of the 10 Most Creative Cities in America
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When it comes to creativity, there are few countries in the world that can beat America for raw talent, artistic variety, and creative innovation. From photography to sculpture, we asked 1,518 Americans of all ages and backgrounds to tell us if they’re currently in, or training to be in a creative industry, what their favorite creative outlets are, and how much time they spent immersed in their hobbies and tasks. With all this data in hand, we can now reveal the top 10 most creative cities across America.
1. New York City
Unsurprisingly, the top spot on our rankings goes to New York City. A hub of creativity of all types, if you want to find people swimming in the creative industries, look no further than NYC. In fact, over 75% of the people we asked in New York said they are currently in or are training to work in a creative industry. Not only that, but out of the top 10 cities, New York has the highest number of budding novelists and musicians. It seems the city that never sleeps is never short for inspiration.
2. Louisville
Coming in at a very close second, Louisville is more famous for its Kentucky Derby than its creative endeavours. But Kentucky’s biggest city clearly has a flourishing creative side coming to the surface. Creatives in Louisville appear to have the most free time on their hands, with 54% of those asked loving nothing more than perfecting the look of their homes and playing games with their families. But it seems they’ve also a liking for photography, which makes sense when you have the Ohio river right on your doorstep.
3. Columbus
Barely beating San Diego for the third spot, if you want to experience a city dedicated to singing, acting and dancing, Columbus is the place to be. A full 28% of those we asked said that this was how they liked to spend their creative time, 2% more than those in New York City despite New York City being the home of Broadway.
4. San Diego
Not to be outdone by Columbus, San Diego is still one of the most artistic cities out there. The City in Motion sits next to Denver in the second-place spot for the most training creatives, with 72% of those asked going into this or currently being in a creative industry. While the top three spots might have more people involved in writing, performance and musical ventures, San Diego is the capital of gardening and flower arranging. Rather fitting for a city with so many picturesque locations.
5. Boston
When most people think of art, their minds are often drawn to paintings of sweeping landscapes or incredible works of ancient sculptures – and that seems truer than ever in Boston. When it comes to painting, drawing, and sculpting, Boston is the city of choice for creatives with a passion for the oldest outlets.
6. Austin
Austin might be known for its eclectic music scene, but it turns out that it’s potentially home to the largest number of graphical designers in America. 16% of those we asked said their favoured creative hobby was graphic design, beating both New York and Louisville.
7. Seattle
Many of America’s top creative cities have a broad range of artists in all categories. For Seattle, however, it seems that all the novelists and musicians got their craft on instead. While only 8% of those we asked were interested in poetry and novel writing, and just 2% in playing musical instruments, 42% of those we asked were into some form of crafting.
8. Charlotte
Despite being America’s 17th largest city, Charlotte actually ranked lowest in our entire rankings for people training in creative industries. Just 42% of those we surveyed had an interest in an artistic career. Still, Charlotte has a burgeoning photography scene and is the best place in America to find homes decked out with the latest wall hangings.
9. San Jose
San Joes comes top of our rankings for hobbies such as photography and journaling, 35% and 24% of people dedicating their free time to them. Unfortunately, it seems creatives in San Jose have some of the most limited free time out all of America’s cities, with just 7.99 hours a week. This actually places San Jose in the 5th lowest spot for free time, just above Houston, Dallas, Baltimore, and Oklahoma City.
10. Denver
Last but not least, Denver makes the top 10 of America’s most creative cities thanks to 72% of those asked diving straight into creative training or industries. It seems people in Denver have a lot of free time on their hands, love to upcycle furniture, and generally get involved in all the creative options out there.
But creativity isn’t just limited to the top 10 cities we’ve mentioned. All of the cities we surveyed were a budding hub of creative intellectuals. Chicago just missed out on the 10th spot, with Nashville and LA close on its heels. So, no matter where you go in America, you’re sure to find something to get your creative juices flowing.
Following a new study, experts at SINGULART have revealed America’s 10 most creative cities
- New York City takes the top spot, with 75% of residents sharing that they’re currently in, or training to move into a creative industry
- Louisville, Columbus, San Diego, and Boston finalize the top five ranking for the most innovative individuals
From art, photography, and writing to fashion, textiles, and interior design, creativity often presents itself in many different forms. With this in mind, experts at SINGULART conducted a new study1 to reveal the cities in America that are home to the most creative residents…
Looking at factors* such as the hours per week spent on creative tasks and hobbies, the percentage of people in or training to be in a creative field, as well as those who create art, clothing, and textiles, enjoy performing and writing music and poetry, SINGULART created an index that ranks the top creative cities across the states.
The top 10 areas are revealed as follows:
- New York City, New York
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Columbus, Ohio
- San Diego, California
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Austin, Texas
- Seattle, Washington
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- San Jose, California
- Denver, Colorado
Bursting with art studios and galleries, and with fashion inspiration everywhere you look it’s no surprise that New York City tops the list. However, what is perhaps surprising is 75% of residents who are currently in, or training to be in an innovative industry, as well as residents spending an average of 8.56 hours on creative hobbies and tasks.
Louisville comes in second, with almost four in 10 (38%) of those who live in the city sharing that they enjoy crafts, and 34% redesigning different rooms at home, as well as spending the most time on creative hobbies and tasks than any other city on the list (13.92).
Taking third place is Columbus with over a quarter of residents enjoying performing such as singing, dancing, and acting, with a further 20% getting creative when upcycling their furniture. San Diego follows in fourth, and Boston fifth.
Commenting on the report, Marion Sailhen, Chief Curator at SINGULART, says: “It’s so refreshing to see how many individuals across the country love to immerse themselves in creative tasks and hobbies. Creativity isn’t limited to just one area, and it’s so nice to see how different cities find their inspiration, and which are home to the most creative of all.”
To see the full study, including the cities that didn’t quite make the top 10, please visit: https://www.singulart.com/
Notes to editors:
- A survey of 1,518 Americans carried out by Censuswide in September 2021
*All factors included in the survey are as follows: percentage of people in, or training to be in a creative industry, the mean hours spent on creative tasks and hobbies each week, as well as the percentage of people who enjoy photography, creating art, performing, making clothing, journaling, writing, making their own music, designing, organizing their home, playing games with family, rearranging furniture, hanging art on their walls, getting creative in the garden, redecorating, crafts, upcycling furniture and creating mood boards.
Methodology
Following the survey, each question was compiled into an index with a weighting, normalized and then summed together. Each category was provided a weight of one, apart from the “mean time spent on creative hobbies and tasks per week”, which had a weight of two. This then provided a total creativity score for each U.S. city surveyed, which they were then ranked on. The city with the highest creativity score is ranked highest, whereas the city with the lowest creativity score is ranked lowest.
About SINGULART
Founded in 2017 in Paris by the trio Vera Kempf, Brice Lecompte and Denis Foyolle, SINGULART has become one of the leading contemporary online art galleries worldwide and 2 million visitors per month and around 1,600 artworks that make their way to collectors every month. SINGLUART’S brand purpose is to empower artists and inspire art enthusiasts to curate their lives with art. It is the platform’s aim to enable artists to focus solely on creating art, whilst art lovers can explore a wide range of artists to fall in love with. On SINGULART one will find an incomparable selection of paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other works of art over 10,000 creatives.
