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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 11 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
NATIONAL ARCHIVES FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$17.4M8
LATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF COLORADO INCDenverCO$17.4M1
ARIZONA SCIENCE CENTERPhoenixAZ$17.3M7
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ARTChicagoIL$17.3M10
THE ADLER PLANETARIUMChicagoIL$17.3M10
HARMONY LABS INC C/O WEWORK LOBBYNew YorkNY$17.2M6
ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTERINCOrlandoFL$17.2M2
JOYCE THEATER FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$17.2M7
THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIANew YorkNY$17.2M8
Better World LibrariesBiddefordME$17.2M0
NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM INCCooperstownNY$17.2M10
SAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORYSan DiegoCA$17.1M7
KENTUCKY EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION FOUNDATIONLexingtonKY$17.1M14
VERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART INCVero BeachFL$17.1M3
EASTERN EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION NETWORK INCBostonMA$17.1M12
SPEED ART MUSEUMLouisvilleKY$17.1M5
PALM BEACH MARITIME MUSEUM INCLantanaFL$17M0
DETROIT OPERADetroitMI$17M5
ALL STARS PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$17M12
ASPEN ART MUSEUMAspenCO$17M2
TAMPA BAY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION INCTampaFL$17M5
Theatre Under the Stars IncHoustonTX$16.9M5
SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ARTSan AntonioTX$16.9M3
THE TIVOLI THEATRE FOUNDATION INCChattanoogaTN$16.8M4
FRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN INCMadisonWI$16.7M1
PEARL HARBOR AVIATION MUSEUMHonoluluHI$16.7M5
HISTORIC DEERFIELD INCDeerfieldMA$16.7M6
ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANYNew YorkNY$16.7M4
HAMPTON ROADS EDUCATIONALNorfolkVA$16.7M8
GRAMMY MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCLos AngelesCA$16.7M8
MARCUS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCMilwaukeeWI$16.6M8
THE FLORIDA THEATRE PERFORMING ARTS CENTJacksonvilleFL$16.5M5
GULFSHORE PLAYHOUSE INCNaplesFL$16.5M1
Children's Theatre Company and SchoolMinneapolisMN$16.5M6
THE MARITIME AQUARIUM AT NORWALK INCNorwalkCT$16.5M5
FRENCH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF OREGONPortlandOR$16.5M8
Houston Public Media FoundationHoustonTX$16.5M0
The Virginia Arts Festival IncNorfolkVA$16.4M2
Sarasota Opera Association IncSarasotaFL$16.3M2
NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF LIFE & SCIENCE INCDurhamNC$16.3M5
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRANewarkNJ$16.3M14
EAU CLAIRE CONFLUENCE ARTS INCEau ClaireWI$16.3M0
The Children's Theatre of CincinnatiCincinnatiOH$16.3M3
ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUMTucsonAZ$16.2M7
ARTSFUNDSeattleWA$16.2M2
KVIE INCSacramentoCA$16.2M7
THE STATE THEATRE REGIONAL ARTS CENTER AT NEW BRUNSWICK INCNew BrunswickNJ$16.2M7
FLORIDA WEST COAST PUBLIC BROADCASTING INCTampaFL$16.1M7
MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICANew YorkNY$16.1M8
THE CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL SOCIETY Connecticut Museum of Culture & HistoryHartfordCT$16.1M3