Music Education Statistics 2027: The Complete Data Roundup

By ABC Academy of Music teaching team · Updated August 2026

Parents ask us this almost every week: “Does music education actually make a difference?” It’s a fair question. So we pulled together the most current, verified data on music education in the US and Canada. Who gets access to it. What parents and teachers believe. What the research says about grades. And which instruments families are choosing. This is the flagship page in our Music Education Research hub. We also dig deeper into the best age to start lessons and piano-specific data. Below, we start broad.

How many kids and teens get music education

The best national picture comes from the Arts Education Data Project (US). It’s a joint effort between state arts directors and Quadrant Research. Their study covered over 30,000 schools in 17 states. That’s 18 million students, or about 36 percent of all US public school students. The finding: 92 percent of public school students have access to music education. That sounds high, and it is. But the other 8 percent adds up to roughly 3.6 million students with no music access at all.

That gap isn’t spread evenly. Students without access are more common in large city school districts. They’re also more common in schools with high rates of free and reduced-price meals, and in schools where most students are Black, Hispanic, or Native American. Charter schools showed lower access too. Where a child goes to school still shapes whether music is part of their day. For families outside the school system, private and community programs often close that gap. That’s part of why outside lessons have stayed popular even as school budgets get tighter.

What parents and teachers actually believe

The most detailed US survey on this is the NAMM Foundation’s “Striking a Chord” study. It polled 1,000 teachers and 800 parents nationally. The numbers are consistent. 77 percent of teachers and 64 percent of parents said music and arts education are extremely or very important. 87 percent of teachers and 81 percent of parents believe kids should start learning an instrument in elementary school. And 83 percent of teachers and 73 percent of parents said cutting music programs hurts students.

One detail stands out. Among parents whose schools already offer music classes, 76 percent of Black parents and 75 percent of Hispanic parents enroll their kids. That compares with 67 percent of white parents. Where the chance exists, families of color use it more than white families do. That matches the access numbers above. Demand for music education is high in every community. Access is what’s uneven, not interest.

What the research says about music and grades

This is the part parents care about most, and the research holds up well. A 2019 Canadian study in the Journal of Educational Psychology looked at more than 112,000 student records. It was led by researchers at the University of British Columbia. About 13 percent of those students had taken music courses in grades 10 through 12. Students who studied instrumental music scored, on average, about one full academic year ahead of their peers. That held true in English, math, and science exams. The gap held up even after researchers controlled for gender, ethnicity, and family income. That’s why the finding is worth taking seriously. It isn’t just wealthier families choosing music lessons.

A separate 2017 US study followed 265 children ages 6 to 14. Most were in an intensive after-school music program, five days a week. Compared with a control group, these students scored higher on standardized tests. They earned better English and math grades too. They also showed measurable gains in memory and focus. The effect grew stronger the longer kids stayed in the program. The biggest gains showed up after two to three years.

Neither study proves that a few months of lessons will change a report card. What the data actually supports is consistency over time. That tracks with what we see in our own studios. Kids who stick with an instrument for a couple of years are the ones whose focus and confidence visibly shift, in lessons and, by their parents’ accounts, outside of them too.

Which instruments families are actually choosing

The NAMM Foundation’s 2025 Global Report is the US music industry’s main yearly data release. It found that fretted instruments, mostly guitars, grew 38 percent in US sales over the past decade. That growth is part of why acoustic guitar and electric guitar options for beginners are cheaper and easier to find than before. Our guitar lessons statistics page covers this in more detail.

Digital instruments grew even faster in the US: 36.5 percent over the same ten years, led by digital pianos and electronic drum kits. That fits what parents tell us directly. A digital piano or keyboard takes less space than an upright. It needs no tuning. It can be played with headphones, which matters in a condo or a house with more than one kid practicing at once. Drums follow a similar path. Electronic kits make the instrument realistic for apartment living.

Two starting instruments keep coming up as first choices for young beginners. Voice needs no equipment at all. That makes it a natural first step for a four or five year old before they commit to an instrument. Our voice lessons statistics page has more on this. And the ukulele is small enough for young hands. It’s easy on the fingers and cheap enough to try without a big commitment. Both are common entry points before kids move on to piano, guitar, or drums.

What this means for Toronto families

The national data lines up with what we see across our Toronto-area locations in Lawrence Park, St. Clair West (Oakwood/Conway), Dufferin Grove, and Brampton. Interest in music education is high. Access is the real bottleneck. Starting early with the right format matters more than picking one specific instrument.

That’s why our programs are built in stages, not one size fits all. Music Together® is our program for babies and toddlers up to age 3. It’s built around group singing, movement, and simple instruments with a parent or caregiver in the room, and it runs at all of our locations. Music Together is a registered trademark of Music Together LLC, and ABC Academy of Music is an authorized Music Together center. From there, Rhythm Kids takes children ages 4 to 7 into a more structured, still playful group setting. It builds toward reading music and keeping a steady beat. At age 5 and up, kids can move into Private Lessons on piano, guitar, voice, drums, ukulele, or another instrument, working one-on-one with a teacher. Private Lessons run at our Lawrence Park and St. Clair West (Oakwood/Conway) studios.

You can see our full class offerings and current rates and payment options on our site. Or contact us to talk through which format fits your child.

Where to go from here

The data is clear on a few points. Most kids have some access to music education. Millions do not. Families in every community want more of it. And sustained study is linked to real gains in school. What the data can’t tell you is which program fits your child. That’s where a conversation with a teacher, not a spreadsheet, helps most.

If you’re weighing Music Together® for a toddler, Rhythm Kids for a young grade-schooler, or private lessons (offered at our Lawrence Park and St. Clair West/Oakwood-Conway studios) for an older child, we’re happy to talk it through. Explore our classes across Lawrence Park, St. Clair West (Oakwood/Conway), Dufferin Grove, and Brampton, or contact us to find the right starting point. For instrument-specific data, see our full Music Education Research hub.