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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 17,106 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
$58,760
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $58,760 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$23k
75th pct
$106k
90th pct
$191k
17,106 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $23k and $106k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $191k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$190,896Top 10% of earners
75th$105,94425% earn more than this
50th · median$58,760The typical executive
25th$22,69025% earn less than this
10th$7,10010% 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$14k$37,456$67k11,916
$1M – $10M$87k$125,000$180k4,363
$10M – $100M$240k$342,226$522k774
$100M – $500M$569k$823,592$1.4M49
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
Geography

Pay varies by state.

District of Columbia pays $59,352 more than the national median across arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

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

Board & trustee pay

Arts, Culture & Humanities board & trustee pay norms

9% of arts, culture & humanities nonprofits pay at least one board member or trustee, with a typical per-person payment of $16,516 across a median board of 4 paid members.

Organizations paying board members
9%
Median board pay
$16,516
Median paid board size
4
By filing type
Form 990: 10%
Form 990-EZ: 7%
Form 990-PF: 9%
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 43,040 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

43,040 organizations · Page 106 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MISSISSIPPI JOURNALISM AND EDUCATION GROUPJacksonMS$1.3M2
THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ROMAN CULTURE INCWestonMA$1.3M1
RAYMOND M ALF MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGYClaremontCA$1.3M5
RURALORGANIZING-DOT-ORG EDUCATION FUNDColumbusOH$1.3M1
THE MUSEUM STORE ASSOCIATION INCGreenwood VillageCO$1.3M0
MUSEUM OF CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND INCChincoteagueVA$1.3M0
CHESAPEAKE ARTS CENTER INCBrooklynMD$1.3M1
HARRY AND DELLA BURPEE MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONRockfordIL$1.3M1
EAA WARBIRDS OF AMERICA INCOshkoshWI$1.3M1
RINO GIVES BACKDenverCO$1.3M0
THE INSTITUTE FOR AEGEAN PREHISTORY STUDY CENTER FOR EAST CRETEC/O MILLBURNNew YorkNY$1.3M0
EMBROIDERERS' GUILD OF AMERICA LOCAL AND REGIONAL CHAPTERSLouisvilleKY$1.3M0
CHICAGO SPECIAL PROJECTS GROUPNorthbrookIL$1.3M0
NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCNorthfieldMN$1.3M0
Air Force Heritage Flight FoundationHoustonTX$1.3M1
WOMEN ORGANIZED TO RESPOND TO LIFE- THREATENING DISEASES (WORLD)OaklandCA$1.3M3
MIDWAY CONTEMPORARY ARTMinneapolisMN$1.3M1
Arlington Music HallArlingtonTX$1.3M0
MUSEUM OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY INCBentonvilleAR$1.3M0
SACRAMENTO CHILDRENS MUSEUMRancho CordovaCA$1.3M1
NIMBUS DANCE WORKS INCJersey CityNJ$1.3M2
OUTSIDE THE FRAMEPortlandOR$1.3M1
NASW FOUNDATIONCape MayNJ$1.3M0
KIM FOUNDATION C/O LARRY J COURTNAGEOmahaNE$1.3M2
All Ages Music Portland dba Friends of NoisePortlandOR$1.3M1
THE GREAT NORTHERN WINTER FESTIVALMinneapolisMN$1.3M2
Woodlands Waterway Arts Council IncThe WoodlandsTX$1.3M0
The Beaumont Children's MuseumBeaumontTX$1.3M1
THE BRINTON MUSEUM ENDOWMENT FUNDBig HornWY$1.3M1
CASTLE AIR MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCAtwaterCA$1.3M0
Saratoga Automobile MuseumSaratoga SpringsNY$1.3M1
CULTURAL ISLAND TRAVEL INCGreat NeckNY$1.3M1
GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES INCLinvilleNC$1.3M0
ARTOLUTION INCBrooklynNY$1.3M2
BROADWATER PRODUCTIONS INC GRANDSTREET THEATREHelenaMT$1.3M1
United We PledgeSt GeorgeUT$1.3M2
ANGELINA ARTS ALLIANCE INCLufkinTX$1.3M0
THE MUSEUM OF ART AND LIGHT INCManhattanKS$1.3M0
LEXINGTON PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY INCLexingtonKY$1.3M1
BROOKSIDE IRISH FEST INCKansas CityMO$1.3M0
The Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona IncKingmanAZ$1.3M1
HUMANITIES KANSAS INCTopekaKS$1.3M1
UPPER VALLEY MUSIC CENTER INCLebanonNH$1.3M1
CULTURE AID NOLANew OrleansLA$1.3M1
Artist TrustSeattleWA$1.3M2
Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts IncMatthewsNC$1.3M0
LATINO DONOR COLLABORATIVE INCBeverly HillsCA$1.3M1
MARIN CIVIC BALLET ASSOCIATION DBA MARIN BALLETSan RafaelCA$1.3M2
ENSEMBLE STUDIO THEATRE INCNew YorkNY$1.3M1
1ST STAGE INCMcLeanVA$1.3M1