Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $29k and $173k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $257k, roughly 2.4 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $257,164 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $173,388 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $108,539 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $29,155 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $6,480 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 471 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (34% of the 1,396 orgs in this slice). Each share is the average across orgs of the fraction of total comp that goes to this component, so the bar fills 100%.
The number in context.
Every row links to its own dedicated benchmark page.
All figures are median total reported compensation · IRS Form 990, Schedule J
Pay varies by state.
District of Columbia pays $72,053 more than the median CFO compensation in arts, culture & humanities nationally.
The ten highest-paid arts, culture & humanities CFOs by filing.
| # | Organization | Location | Total compensation | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Simon Wiesenthal Center Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $1,259,875 | 2023 |
| 02 | Museum Of Modern Art | New York, NY | $1,128,299 | 2023 |
| 03 | Wgbh Educational Foundation | Boston, MA | $957,073 | 2023 |
| 04 | Metropolitan Museum Of Art | New York, NY | $822,020 | 2023 |
| 05 | The Museum Of Fine Arts Houston | Houston, TX | $817,469 | 2023 |
| 06 | National Gallery Of Art | Landover, MD | $811,870 | 2023 |
| 07 | Colonial Williamsburg Foundation | Williamsburg, VA | $650,734 | 2023 |
| 08 | The Children'S Museum Of Indianapolis Inc | Indianapolis, IN | $639,237 | 2023 |
| 09 | Public Broadcasting Service | Arlington, VA | $602,039 | 2023 |
| 10 | The Vivian Beaumont Theaterinc D/B/A Lincoln Center Theater | New York, NY | $580,155 | 2023 |
Total includes base, bonus, other reportable, and deferred/retirement compensation per Schedule J.
What does a $X org pay?
Adjust the slider to your organization's revenue. The median CFO compensation for arts, culture & humanities nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.
{sector} {role} pay, answered
- How much does a Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofit CFO make?
- The median total compensation for a CFO at a arts, culture & humanities nonprofit is $108,539, based on 1,396 organizations in IRS Form 990 filings. The middle 50% fall between $29,155 and $173,388.
- What is the salary range for a CFO in Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofits?
- Pay ranges from $29,155 at the 25th percentile to $173,388 at the 75th and $257,164 at the 90th. The spread reflects differences in organization size, budget, and region within the sector.
- Is this Arts, Culture & Humanities compensation data reliable?
- Yes. It comes from IRS Form 990 filings, legal documents filed under penalty of perjury, not self-reported surveys. Figures cover 1,396 arts, culture & humanities nonprofits reporting a CFO.
- Why does Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofit CFO pay differ from other sectors?
- Compensation reflects the typical organization size, revenue, and operating complexity of each sector. Larger, better-funded arts, culture & humanities organizations pull the upper percentiles higher, while smaller ones anchor the lower end.