This data set exists to understand the financial requirements to live in Travis County to support a family. The data source is reported every two years by the University of Washington's Self-Sufficiency Standard which has been monitoring county-level data across the United States since the mid-1990's. Dr. Diana Pearce is the creator of the Self-Sufficiency Standard. This data can be used to craft policy, targeting resources, and one-on-one job coaching counseling.

View more details and insights related to this data set on the story page here: data.austintexas.gov/stories/s/rt9q-qkym

This score is tabulated by the Creative Vitality Suite, LLC and is a composite of the annual sales of art galleries, museums, and nonprofits as well as number of jobs in the creative sector

Median earnings of metro-area creative sector occupations in the Austin MSA

Median earnings of creative sector occupations tells us how much Austin's artists, musicians, and related creative sector workers are earning per hour. It shows us whether our city's artists and creative sector workers can afford to live and work in Austin.

This data reflects metric CLL.B1 within the City of Austin's Strategic Direction 2023. This metric is meant to inform City efforts in pursuing the Culture and Lifelong Learning Strategic Outcome. The complete metric title is "Median earnings of metro-area creative sector occupations (as defined by specific Bureau of Labor Statistics Standard Occupational Classifications System [SOC] codes)"

Data was gathered directly from the Creative Vitality Suite (cvsuite.org), a subscription-based online research-based, economic development tool that provides creative economy data and reporting. Data extracted from CVSuite software's data analysis from the following sources: Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI), National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Compliance Reports

Number and percentage of people who successfully complete Workforce Development training

Number of small businesses supported by City of Austin programs

Number and percentage of creative-sector professionals who indicated they benefited from a City-sponsored professional development opportunity

Number of community members who attended performances/events arranged through cultural and music contracts

Explanation of the ways in which the Economic Development Department created and retained jobs in 2022