Guitar Industry Statistics and Facts for 2024

The guitar industry is always changing, especially now when the world has seen a dramatic change over the past 2 years. In this article, we’ve put together some of the most useful and important statistics and facts for the guitar industry.

The Guitar Industry Today

Now that we’ve seen the past and the ‘most likely’ future, let’s take a look at how the guitar industry is doing today.

The market size, measured by revenue, of the Acoustic & Electric Guitar Manufacturing industry is $713.1m in 2022.

IBISWorld

Taking into account how the industry was doing up until 2020 (more specifically until COVID), today, the market faces a rather grim sales number but this is no surprise considering everything.

The market size of the Acoustic & Electric Guitar Manufacturing industry is expected to decline -0.1% in 2022.

IBISWorld

The difference can best be seen when considering the entirety of the past 5 years of the industry compared to today’s decline of -0.1%.

The market size of the Acoustic & Electric Guitar Manufacturing industry in the US has grown 0.5% per year on average between 2017 and 2022.

IBISWorld

The Guitar Market

It’s truly something to see the changes of an entire industry in the past 15 years or so and get a picture of things to come in the following years, from the previous data up until now.

In 2020, the guitar market retail sales value amounted to approximately 1.67 billion U.S. dollars in the United States, up from around 1.57 billion in the previous year.

Statista

These we’re the statistics up until COVID-19 was still in its early stages, so the industry hadn’t been impacted as much yet. Going back a little, the past decade or so, the guitar industry has grown exponentially.

The guitar market retail sales value reached its lowest point in 2009, when the U.S. guitar market retail sales value was around 821 million U.S. dollars.

Statista

In comparison, the numbers in 2020 seem a lot less grim and resemble a more healthy market and industry value.

In 2020, the wholesale guitar market value in the U.S. was nearly 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, up from around one billion one year earlier.

Statista

The average guitar price and Projections

It’s almost shocking to know that from 2010 up until 2020, the average guitar price has almost doubled.

The average price of a guitar in the U.S. has grown steadily in the last decade and reached a record high of around 609 U.S. dollars in 2020, rising from 353 U.S. dollars ten years prior.

Statista

It’s only natural that this growth will continue even in the following years.

The guitar market is expected to witness market growth at a rate of 3.05% in the forecast period of 2022 to 2029.

DATA BRIDGE MARKET RESEARCH

More specifically and in the more recent future, the market is expected to grow according to its natural Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR).

The guitar market has the potential to grow by USD 1.14 billion during 2021-2025, and the market’s growth momentum will decelerate at a CAGR of 5.38%.

technavio

Acoustic vs Electric Guitars

Let’s take a closer look and see how the acoustic and electric guitar performed separately during these past few years.

When looking at the different types of products in the guitar market in the U.S., sales figures show that acoustic guitars were purchased more frequently than electric guitars.

Statista

When it comes to acoustic or electric guitars, it’s no shocker that acoustic guitars were purchased more as they have always been the standard for many.

Although the number of acoustic guitars sold in the U.S. was highest in 2005, this market was close to reaching its previous sales record in 2020, with 1.6 million units sold in that year.

Statista

After 15 years, the sales numbers were close to record-breaking when it comes to acoustic guitar sales and that is simply great to hear.

Meanwhile, the number of electric guitars sold in the U.S. decreased from around 1.66 million units in 2005 to 1.1 million units in 2020.

Statista

While electric guitar numbers have decreased in that 15-year gap, they still have a high demand and great overall sales number.

Guitar Demographics

50% of new and aspiring guitar players today are female.

Fender/Egg Strategy

The guitar is more common among 18-to 29-year-olds (23%) than among any other age group.

YouGov

Conclusion

The guitar industry is doing relatively well today, especially when considering how COVID had an impact. While there is a decline in sales, it is important to remember that this market is ever-changing and the industry will grow again. In conclusion, the guitar industry is healthy and has the potential for more growth in the future.

Milan Trajkovikj

Milan Trajkovikj

I’m the Deputy Editor for Musician Wave and a touring and recording bass guitarist. I love to share my passion for all things music. I’ve been playing music for over ten years and I love exploring it further through writing. You'll also find me on the Musician Wave YouTube channel.

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