This research illuminates the historical development and clustering of creative activity in the United States. Census data is used to identify creative occupations (i.e., artists, musicians, authors, actors) and data on prominent creatives, as listed in a comprehensive biographical compendium. The analysis first sheds light on the socio-economic background of creative people and how it has changed since 1850. The results indicate that the proportion of female creatives is relatively high, time constraints can be a hindrance for taking up a creative occupation, racial inequality is present and tends to change only slowly, and access to financial resources within a family facilitates the uptake of an artistic occupation. Second, the study systematically documents and quantifies the geography of creative clusters in the United States and explains how these have evolved over time and across creative domains.

这项研究阐明了美国创意活动的历史发展和集群。人口普查数据用于识别创意职业（即艺术家，音乐家，作家，演员）和著名创意的数据，如综合传记概述中所列。该分析首先揭示了创意人的社会经济背景以及自1850年以来的变化。结果表明，女性创意者的比例相对较高，时间限制可能成为从事创意职业的障碍，种族不平等存在并且趋于缓慢地变化，并且在家庭中获得财务资源有助于进行艺术职业。第二，