Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $129k and $205k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $267k, roughly 1.7 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $266,627 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $205,440 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $154,020 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $128,718 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $106,896 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 48 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (55% of the 87 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.
State-level medians for CIOs in arts, culture & humanities, ranked by typical pay.
The ten highest-paid arts, culture & humanities CIOs by filing.
| # | Organization | Location | Total compensation | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | American Museum Of Natural History | New York, NY | $533,674 | 2023 |
| 02 | Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation | Brighton, MA | $419,749 | 2023 |
| 03 | The Carnegie Hall Corporation | New York, NY | $361,998 | 2023 |
| 04 | National Gallery Of Art | Landover, MD | $313,143 | 2023 |
| 05 | National September 11 Memorial And Museum At The World Trade Center | New York, NY | $307,344 | 2024 |
| 06 | Intrepid Museum Foundation Inc | New York, NY | $283,976 | 2023 |
| 07 | Pittsburgh Cultural Trust | Pittsburgh, PA | $269,994 | 2024 |
| 08 | New York Historical Society | New York, NY | $268,124 | 2023 |
| 09 | Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Inc | New York, NY | $265,629 | 2023 |
| 10 | Whitney Museum Of American Art | New York, NY | $262,816 | 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 CIO compensation for arts, culture & humanities nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.
Arts, Culture & Humanities CIO pay, answered
- How much does an Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofit CIO make?
- The median total compensation for a CIO at an arts, culture & humanities nonprofit is $154,020, based on 87 organizations in IRS Form 990 filings. The middle 50% fall between $128,718 and $205,440.
- What is the salary range for a CIO in Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofits?
- Pay ranges from $128,718 at the 25th percentile to $205,440 at the 75th and $266,627 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 87 arts, culture & humanities nonprofits reporting a CIO.
- Why does Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofit CIO 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.