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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 arts, culture & humanities nonprofits, 2019 – 2024. Each organization is counted once at its most recent filing, using the highest-paid leader reported on IRS Form 990, Schedule J.

Organizations that promote the arts, culture, and the humanities, including performing and visual arts, museums, historical societies, and humanities programs.

Median executive pay
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% of executives earn less than this
By organization size

Bigger budgets, bigger paychecks.

Median executive pay rises with organization revenue. Each band shows the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of top-executive pay for arts, culture & humanities nonprofits in that revenue range.

Revenue band25thMedian75thOrgs
Under $1M$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

Directory

Museums, performing arts organizations, historical societies, media outlets, and other nonprofits focused on arts, culture, and the humanities. Includes visual arts, music, theater, film, and cultural preservation. There are 40,937 arts, culture & humanities organizations in our database with compensation data from IRS Form 990 filings. Use the table below to browse them, or sort by revenue, location, or number of reported executives.

Organizations in Arts, Culture & Humanities

40,937 organizations · Page 10 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATIONCincinnatiOH$18.6M12
THE SOCIETY OF THE FOUR ARTS INCPalm BeachFL$18.5M8
FLORIDA STUDIO THEATRE INCSarasotaFL$18.5M5
AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA GROUPSt PaulMN$18.4M15
FAIR PARK FIRSTDallasTX$18.3M2
DISCOVERY SCIENCE CENTER OF ORANGE COUNTYSanta AnaCA$18.3M8
CEDARS YOUTH SERVICES INCLincolnNE$18.2M4
DESTINATION CRENSHAWLos AngelesCA$18.2M2
FRIST ART MUSEUMNashvilleTN$18.2M9
NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCBowling GreenKY$18.2M6
COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUMMountain ViewCA$18.1M12
CAPITAL PUBLIC RADIO FDBA KXPR/KXJZ INCSacramentoCA$18.1M10
ARTS FOR LEARNING MARYLAND INCBaltimoreMD$18.1M6
VERMONT PUBLIC COColchesterVT$18M9
The Dallas OperaDallasTX$18M8
OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIAOaklandCA$17.9M8
USS MISSOURI MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION INCAieaHI$17.9M8
MUNSON-WILLIAMS-PROCTOR ARTS INSTITUTEUticaNY$17.9M6
RIVER OF LIFE FOUNDATIONSanta ClaraCA$17.8M2
RIVERSIDE THEATRE INCVero BeachFL$17.8M3
APOLLO THEATER FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$17.8M9
ROCHESTER BROADWAY THEATRE LEAGUE INCRochesterNY$17.7M4
PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATIONSeattleWA$17.6M6
GLOBAL FUND FOR CHILDRENWashingtonDC$17.6M8
HALE CENTER FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS AND EDUCATIONPleasant GroveUT$17.6M9
Sullenberger Aviation MuseumCharlotteNC$17.5M1
KAUFFMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSKansas CityMO$17.5M6
THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND INCNew YorkNY$17.5M14
CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INCCharlotteNC$17.4M7
LATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF COLORADO INCDenverCO$17.4M1
THE ATLANTA OPERA INCAtlantaGA$17.4M8
The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum IncWinterthurDE$17.4M12
Wichita Art Museum IncWichitaKS$17.4M1
ARIZONA SCIENCE CENTERPhoenixAZ$17.3M7
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ARTChicagoIL$17.3M10
THE ADLER PLANETARIUMChicagoIL$17.3M10
SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRESeattleWA$17.3M6
DORIS DUKE FOUNDATION FOR ISLAMIC ARTNew YorkNY$17.2M0
ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTERINCOrlandoFL$17.2M2
JOYCE THEATER FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$17.2M7
Better World LibrariesBiddefordME$17.2M0
KENTUCKY EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION FOUNDATIONLexingtonKY$17.1M14
EASTERN EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION NETWORK INCBostonMA$17.1M12
STATES NEWSROOMChapel HillNC$17.1M6
SPEED ART MUSEUMLouisvilleKY$17.1M5
THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIANew YorkNY$17.1M8
PALM BEACH MARITIME MUSEUM INCLantanaFL$17M0
THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART LOS ANGELESLos AngelesCA$17M11
ALL STARS PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$17M12
ASPEN ART MUSEUMAspenCO$17M2