Naperville-based Arts DuPage helped commission a study that puts a price tag on DuPage County's creative sector: roughly $8 billion a year.

The economic impact study, released Oct. 16 by Arts DuPage and the DuPage Foundation, was conducted by Arts Alliance Illinois using 2023 data. It measures earnings and spending across creative industries including books and press, audiovisual and interactive media, design services, arts education, performing arts and cultural heritage.

The breakdown: $5 billion earned directly by creative businesses and workers, $2 billion paid to their suppliers and $1.1 billion generated as those workers spend their wages across the broader economy. For every $1 produced directly by the creative sector, another 61 cents in local economic activity follows, according to the foundation.

The sector also generates $902.2 million in tax revenue, including $311.8 million flowing to state, county and local governments, as first reported by NCTV17.

The two sources disagree on the job count. NCTV17 reported 32,208 creative-economy jobs in DuPage, while the DuPage Foundation's own report page lists 38,208. Both cite the same share of county employment: 7.9%.

Books and press account for the largest slice at $2.6 billion in total output. Audiovisual and interactive media contribute $2.2 billion, and design and creative services add $1.2 billion, according to the foundation.

The study does not count spending by arts audiences at restaurants, retailers, hotels or other local businesses. That makes the $8 billion figure a baseline, not a ceiling.

"DuPage's creative economy is a substantial economic force, and this data gives our communities a much clearer understanding of the scale and economic significance of the creative sector," Mike Sitrick, DuPage Foundation president and CEO, said in a news release.

The report landed alongside a separate announcement: Arts DuPage awarded $244,295 in grants to 34 arts organizations across the county. Among the Naperville-area recipients, ArtForum: The Naperville Partnership for Public Arts received $5,000 to support LOTUS, a free public art installation.

Arts DuPage, directed by Naperville's Debbie Venezia, is a program of the DuPage Foundation now in its 10th year. Over the past three years, the program has awarded more than $605,000 in grants to 77 organizations.

The Collins Family Fund of DuPage Foundation funded the study, which was conducted alongside similar assessments of Chicago and the state of Illinois by Arts Alliance Illinois.