Broadway Sees Lowest Suburban Attendance in 30 Years
While Broadway had its second-highest attendance on record in the 2024-2025 season, it also saw its lowest percentage of admissions from the suburbs. According to data released by the Broadway League Wednesday, less than 13 percent of admissions in that season came from the surrounding New York suburbs, which was the lowest percentage on Broadway…
While Broadway had its second-highest attendance on record in the 2024-2025 season, it also saw its lowest percentage of admissions from the suburbs.
According to data released by the Broadway League Wednesday, less than 13 percent of admissions in that season came from the surrounding New York suburbs, which was the lowest percentage on Broadway in 30 years. The demographic, which once made up 20 percent of the audience, has been trending down over the past few years, which has been attributed to the break in suburbanites’ theatergoing habits, caused by the pandemic, as well as an increase in working from home, rather than from a city office.
This dip is “massively concerning,” according to producer Ken Davenport, as the decreasing audience segment comes as producing expenses continue to rise.
“When we talk about profitability problems on Broadway, that’s it,” Davenport said.
Overall, Broadway welcomed 14.66 million theatergoers last season, but this comes in behind the record 14.77 million in the 2018-2019 season, meaning the industry is still measuring its performance and its comeback against pre-pandemic benchmarks, while the costs have far exceeded that.
The 2024-2025 season was also the highest-grossing season on record, bringing in $1.89 billion thanks to mega hits like Othello and Good Night, and Good Luck. This was a massive jump in growth for grosses over the prior year, but only slightly above 2018-2019. Davenport argues those numbers would be (and should be) even higher if the industry had continued on its typical growth trajectory of about 6.7 percent in each of the preceding years.
The League has been working to combat the suburban problem with initiatives including its inaugural New Jersey Night, which took place one night in October, where New Jersey residents were offered buy-one, get-one-for-$17.87 tickets to certain shows and discounts on NJ Transit.
“There’s a lot to be proud of here. Our audiences are continuing to grow and become more diverse post-pandemic. We’re focused on continuing to drive attendance, including looking for ways to continue to attract our suburban audience,” said Broadway League President Jason Laks.
The higher grossing 2024-2025 season, but lower attendance than the 2018-2019 season also points to high ticket prices, particularly for certain star-driven shows. However, theatergoers in the League’s survey reported having paid an average of $145.70 per ticket in the 2024-2025 season, down from the reported $154.70 the prior season, suggesting it was not increased prices across the board.
U.S. tourists made up the biggest segment of the audience, making up 42 percent of theatergoers, followed by 25 percent of admissions from New York City theatergoers and 20 percent of admissions from international visitors.
The season also attracted the highest proportion of BIPOC theatergoers in 30 years, at 34%, with new highs among Asian and Hispanic audience members. New shows in the season included Buena Vista Social Club, Gypsy, Glengarry Glen Ross, Good Night, and Good Luck, Maybe Happy Ending, Othello, Purpose and more.
The average household income for a Broadway theatergoer remains high at $276,465.
