This report examines arts participation in the ten largest metropolitan areas in the United States using data from the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. These data indicate that, in general, these metropolitan regions tend to be more alike than different with respect to arts participation patterns. Analysis reveals that while statistically significant differences in live arts participation rates do exist between metropolitan regions, these differences occur in the minority of cases. For this reason, this report focuses on describing demographic characteristics, the arts landscape, arts participation rates, personal art creation rates, and arts education rates within regions. This document summarizes six categories of statistics: demographic data on each metropolitan area, a profile of the arts landscape, information on live arts attendance, data on media engagement in the arts, information on personal arts creation rates, and data on exposure to arts education. Major findings in each of the arts participation categories are reviewed in this report. Appendices include: (1) Description of Data Used in Analysis; (2) Methodologies; (3) Summary Tables; and (4) SPPA Survey Questions. A bibliography is included. (Contains 67 tables, 10 figures and 56 footnotes.) [For the accompanying reports, see "Geography and Public Participation in the Arts: Ten States" (ED511706) and "Geography and Public Participation in the Arts: U.S. Census Regions" (ED511707).]