The creator economy has emerged as the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. digital economy, with full-time equivalent (FTE) creator jobs increasing 7.5 times since 2020, according to the fifth installment of the “Measuring the Digital Economy” report commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).
The comprehensive study, published in April 2025, reveals that there are now 1.5 million full-time equivalent creator jobs in the United States, a significant increase from approximately 200,000 in 2020, when the previous study was conducted. This growth rate is five times faster than the traditional media sector over the same period.
“Creators are the largest and fastest growing job segment within the digital economy and now account for more than 1 out of every 10 full-time, internet-dependent jobs,” the report states.
Digital creators have taken center stage in the media field, with The New Yorker referring to 2024 as “The Year Creators Took Over,” noting in the report that while legacy media continues to have a following and influence, “it has nowhere near the power it once had to control or define the cultural narrative.”
Three Key Factors Driving Creator Growth
The report attributes this remarkable growth to three key factors:
- The shift of advertising budgets to digital platforms, streaming services, and online publishers
- The ease of creating and distributing digital content through smartphones, video-editing software, and, more recently, generative AI
- The rise of a more professionalized creator economy with formal business structures and revenue models
Creators are building substantial businesses across platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitch, and the podcasting ecosystem.
Creators Central to Major Cultural Events
The report notes that the 2024 U.S. election was often referred to as “the podcast election” due to the critical role that long-form conversations with candidates played in influencing voters.
For the 2025 Super Bowl, the NFL provided 150 digital creators with unrestricted access to create their own unfiltered coverage of the event. They broadcast directly from their digital devices to their millions of followers, with the #SuperBowl hashtag generating 2 billion views during game week.
Digital Economy Reaches $4.9 Trillion, Creator Growth a Key Component
The broader digital economy has more than doubled in size over the past four years, reaching $4.9 trillion and now representing 18% of total U.S. GDP, up from 11% in 2020. The digital economy now supports 28.4 million U.S. jobs, with 11.2 million directly employed and another 17.2 million in supporting sectors.
Within this growth, creators have been a standout segment, with the report noting that 30% of digital economy job growth comes from “digital creators building businesses through content and community.”
Investment Flowing to Creator Space
The financial sector is taking note of this growth, with significant investments flowing into the creator economy:
- Amazon’s investment in Spotter, a company offering investment and services to digital creators, has paid out close to $1 billion to creators over the past five years
- Publicis’ acquisition of influencer marketing company Influential
- Razorfish North America’s Creator CoLab initiative brings creators on as employees
- PSG Equity invested $150 million in the creator platform Uscreen
- Early-stage VC firm Slow Ventures launched a Creator Fund offering $1-3 million to digital creators for a 10% equity stake in their business
Creators Influence Brand Marketing Strategies
The growth of the creator economy is also reshaping how brands approach marketing. In Q1 of 2025, Unilever’s new CEO, Fernando Fernandez, outlined plans to increase the company’s social media spending from 30% to 50% of its total budget, stating they “will work with 20 times more influencers.”
This shift reflects how digital creators have become essential partners for brands seeking to reach audiences in authentic ways.
Methodology for Estimating Creator Economy Size
The report’s methodology for calculating the size of the creator economy drew on three major studies:
- Goldman Sachs estimated that in 2023, the global creator economy was worth $250 billion, with about 2 million professional creators (those earning over $100,000 annually)
- Doug Shapiro, BCG Senior Advisor, defined creators as independent content producers with direct consumer relationships via platforms, arriving at a similar $250 billion global figure
- Richard Florida of the University of Toronto studied creators with over 1,000 followers who create and share original content, estimating that there are 38.7 million creators in the U.S.
The IAB report ultimately relied most heavily on the Goldman Sachs and Shapiro reports, adjusting the figures to equivalent full-time earners to yield the 1.5 million FTE creator population.
Digital Economy Structure Supports Creator Growth
The report outlines a three-layer structure in the digital economy that supports creator activities:
- Infrastructure: The technical foundation enabling content creation and distribution
- Support Services: Tools, platforms, and services that help creators operate
- Consumer Services: Where creators directly engage with audiences
The study concludes that the virtually barrier-free nature of digital content creation and distribution in a landscape free of gatekeepers has been instrumental in the growth of the creator economy, allowing individuals to build businesses directly with their audiences without relying on traditional media intermediaries.
The full report is available here.
The creator economy has emerged as the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. digital economy, with full-time equivalent (FTE) creator jobs increasing 7.5 times since 2020, according to the fifth installment of the “Measuring the Digital Economy” report commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).
The comprehensive study, published in April 2025, reveals that there are now 1.5 million full-time equivalent creator jobs in the United States, a significant increase from approximately 200,000 in 2020, when the previous study was conducted. This growth rate is five times faster than the traditional media sector over the same period.
“Creators are the largest and fastest growing job segment within the digital economy and now account for more than 1 out of every 10 full-time, internet-dependent jobs,” the report states.
Digital creators have taken center stage in the media field, with The New Yorker referring to 2024 as “The Year Creators Took Over,” noting in the report that while legacy media continues to have a following and influence, “it has nowhere near the power it once had to control or define the cultural narrative.”
Three Key Factors Driving Creator Growth
The report attributes this remarkable growth to three key factors:
Creators are building substantial businesses across platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitch, and the podcasting ecosystem.
Creators Central to Major Cultural Events
The report notes that the 2024 U.S. election was often referred to as “the podcast election” due to the critical role that long-form conversations with candidates played in influencing voters.
For the 2025 Super Bowl, the NFL provided 150 digital creators with unrestricted access to create their own unfiltered coverage of the event. They broadcast directly from their digital devices to their millions of followers, with the #SuperBowl hashtag generating 2 billion views during game week.
Digital Economy Reaches $4.9 Trillion, Creator Growth a Key Component
The broader digital economy has more than doubled in size over the past four years, reaching $4.9 trillion and now representing 18% of total U.S. GDP, up from 11% in 2020. The digital economy now supports 28.4 million U.S. jobs, with 11.2 million directly employed and another 17.2 million in supporting sectors.
Within this growth, creators have been a standout segment, with the report noting that 30% of digital economy job growth comes from “digital creators building businesses through content and community.”
Investment Flowing to Creator Space
The financial sector is taking note of this growth, with significant investments flowing into the creator economy:
Creators Influence Brand Marketing Strategies
The growth of the creator economy is also reshaping how brands approach marketing. In Q1 of 2025, Unilever’s new CEO, Fernando Fernandez, outlined plans to increase the company’s social media spending from 30% to 50% of its total budget, stating they “will work with 20 times more influencers.”
This shift reflects how digital creators have become essential partners for brands seeking to reach audiences in authentic ways.
Methodology for Estimating Creator Economy Size
The report’s methodology for calculating the size of the creator economy drew on three major studies:
The IAB report ultimately relied most heavily on the Goldman Sachs and Shapiro reports, adjusting the figures to equivalent full-time earners to yield the 1.5 million FTE creator population.
Digital Economy Structure Supports Creator Growth
The report outlines a three-layer structure in the digital economy that supports creator activities:
The study concludes that the virtually barrier-free nature of digital content creation and distribution in a landscape free of gatekeepers has been instrumental in the growth of the creator economy, allowing individuals to build businesses directly with their audiences without relying on traditional media intermediaries.
The full report is available here.