Overview of the DDP Maps Compensation Atlas Dashboard

This interactive dashboard is designed to explore data related to the Largest 150 ballet and classically based companies across the United States. The map provides visualizations of the cost of living, the distribution of the Largest 150 ballet and classically based companies across the U.S. (based on FY2022 expenditures), and the financial expenditures of these companies to uncover financial trends and disparities. Each tab showcases a map of the U.S. and highlights different financial perspectives, allowing users to gain further insights into the ballet industry.

What is the purpose of this dashboard?

Tracks the distribution of the Largest 150 ballet companies (based on FY2022 expenditures) to show where major institutions are concentrated.
The interactive maps highlight gaps in funding representation, such as disparities between well-funded urban companies and smaller regional ones, fostering discussions on equity in funding allocation in the ballet industry.
This map additionally highlights the average compensation by state for artistic and executive directors.

Why is this information important?

This dashboard reveals financial and geographic disparities in the ballet industry, helping to provide a visual understanding of where funding and resources are concentrated, or lacking, across the U.S.
Provides transparency in ballet company finances, allowing dancers, administrators, and policymakers to assess industry trends and advocate for fair compensation and sustainable operations.

How can this information help the dance industry?

The data displayed on this map can help provide data to advocate for equitable arts funding by emphasizing cost-of-living challenges and budget discrepancies among ballet companies of various sizes.
The maps allow users to filter and compare data by company size, location, and FY22 expenditures, enabling tailored insights for different user needs (e.g., dancers, donors, arts administrators, directors).
Metrics are presented in a clear, easy-to-understand format (e.g., cost of living compared to salaries) to help users quickly identify key disparities and opportunities, and to understand if their compensation is adequate to meet the cost of living. Moreover, the compensation enables dance organizations to ensure salaries are competitive and comply with cost-of-living standards.
The use of interactive maps and visualizations helps make complex financial data available to the public and allows users to explore regional trends with ease.

Data Sources:

Cost of Living Data: The cost of living data was obtained from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) via their Family Budget Calculator . This calculator was created to measure what income a family would need to attain an adequate standard of living by estimating community-specific costs for 10 family types (e.g., 1 parent/0 children, 2 parents/0 children, 1 parent/1 child, etc.). The EPI's family budget calculator aims to be a more comprehensive measure of economic security in America as compared to the Federal Poverty Line. The underlying dataset for this calculator includes cost of living by county in each state for categories including housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and other necessities. We use the total cost of living for each county for all family types, group the data set by county, then use the median value for each county. We use the median as our measure of the center and not the mean as the data is not normally distributed.
Compensation Data: DDP utilized proprietary software and manually collected data through the IRS Form 990s via filings sent to DDP, the IRS, ProPublica’s NonProfit Explorer, and CauseIQ. Compensation data was derived from reportable compensation as required in Form 990’s Part VII Section A: Officers, Directors, Trustees, Key Employees, and Highest Compensated Employees or Schedule J. See DDP’s Artistic and Executive Compensation Report 2024 for more information. The map only reports salaries over $100,000, so salaries reported under that threshold are not displayed on the map.

Ballet Companies in the US

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This map displays a map of the United States color-coded by cost of living for each county. Markers overlaid on each state, which vary by size, represent the number of ballet companies in that state, based on data from FY2022.

Toggle the cost of living map: You can choose to display or hide cost-of-living data.
Click on a city marker: Displays a pop-up box with the city's name and total number of Largest 150 ballet companies in that city.
Click on a state marker: Displays a pop-up box with the state's name and total number of Largest 150 ballet companies in that state or region.
Click on a county: Displays a pop-up with the county's name, annual cost of living, and the average artistic and executive director salaries from the Largest 150 ballet companies in that state.
Filter by cost of living: You can choose to only look at counties within certain annual cost of living ranges.
Filter by company count per city/state: In both city and state views, you can adjust the selected range to display only locations with a selected number of the Largest 150 ballet companies.
Regions: The Northeast region includes CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, and VT. The South region includes AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, and WV. The Midwest region includes IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, and WI. The West region includes AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, and WY.
Note: Kansas City Ballet is registered in Missouri, but has locations in both Kansas and Missouri.

Comparison of Expense Categories Across County Types

AD and ED Salaries Averaged Across Regions

AD and ED Salaries Averaged Across Divisions

Notes:

Please note that the salaries included here are base salaries with no additional compensation included. In our 2024 Artistic and Executive Compensation Report (linked here), we utilized total compensation for AD and ED salaries. Please note our limitations for this report, found on page 62. Also note that compensation may be partial due to changes in leadership.
We have utilized FY2022 data in this map because it was the most accessible, complete dataset to illustrate the most accurate information at the time of construction. We plan to release an updated model with FY2023 after the application’s first launch.
For American Ballet Theatre, Kevin McKenzie served as Artistic Director for most of FY22, while Susan Jaffe held the role for only one month; thus, the data reflects McKenzie’s salary.
For Atlanta Ballet, Arturo Jacobus served as Executive Director for the full duration of FY22, while Thomas West assumed the role in August 2022; thus, the data reflects Jacobus’s salary.

Aggregate Budget by Expenditures of Ballet Companies

Dance Data Project® compiled expenditure data for the Largest 150 ballet and classically based companies in the U.S. using FY2022 990 data. Expenditure data for each state is summed and visually represented on the map using gradients to show the financial power of different regions. The markers overlayed on the map show companies located in each city and their total expenditure.

Click on a state: Displays a pop-up box with the state's name and total expenditures of the ballet companies in the Largest 150 in that state.
Click on a city marker: Displays a pop-up box with the city's name and total expenditures of ballet companies in the Largest 150 in that city.

Summary Statistics

Number of Largest Ballet Companies by State

Note that there are only 41 states represented as well as Washington D.C. There are no companies ranked in the Largest 150 ballet and classically based companies in the following states: Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. Most of these states also rank in the bottom quantile of the U.S. population.

Note: Kansas City Ballet is registered in Missouri, but has locations in both Kansas and Missouri.

Median Total Cost of Living by State

DDP uses the total cost of living for each county for all family types, group the data set by State, and then use the median value for each state. Median cost of living is used rather than mean, as the data is not normally distributed. DDP uses this data set in visualizations to help those working in the dance industry gain a better understanding of which states they might consider working in and negotiate pay that is in line with the cost of living.