2022 Southern California

Although the creative economy in Southern California (Los Angeles and Orange Counties) is roughly equal in size to the Bay Area, it has fallen far behind over the past decade in terms of growth. From 2007 to 2019, creative economy employment fell by 0.2% in the region—even as total employment increased by 7.1%—while the Bay Area grew by 64.3% growth over this same period. The lack of creative economy job growth is mainly attributed to the huge job losses in the Fashion sector, which saw employment decline by over 41,000, or 46.6%, from 2007 to 2019.

The pandemic only amplified these losses, shedding almost 8.8% of jobs from 2019 to 2020 and leaving the creative workforce 1.5% smaller than it was in 2007. The Fine and Performing Arts sector was the hardest hit by the pandemic and saw employment contract by 21.2%, while employment in the Architecture and Related Services sector only slipped by 2.3%. Average annual wages were $117,339 in 2020, up by 64% from 2007. This is over 50% higher than the average annual wage of the overall economy in the region, which stood at $69,967 in 2020.

For more information on the regions, please download the 2022 Otis College Report on the Creative Economy.