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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 11 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
TAMPA BAY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION INCTampaFL$17M5
BRUCE MUSEUM INCGreenwichCT$16.9M8
OREGON SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONPortlandOR$16.9M10
LOUISVILLE THEATRICAL ASSOCIATION INCLouisvilleKY$16.9M0
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
ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANYNew YorkNY$16.7M4
HAMPTON ROADS EDUCATIONALNorfolkVA$16.7M8
THE TECH INTERACTIVESan JoseCA$16.7M9
GRAMMY MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCLos AngelesCA$16.7M8
SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ ORGANIZATIONSan FranciscoCA$16.6M8
SOUTH FLORIDA PBS INCBoynton BeachFL$16.6M8
GULFSHORE PLAYHOUSE INCNaplesFL$16.5M1
Houston Public Media FoundationHoustonTX$16.5M0
EXCELLENCE INITIATIVEKirklandWA$16.5M0
The Virginia Arts Festival IncNorfolkVA$16.4M2
FLORIDA WEST COAST PUBLIC BROADCASTING INCTampaFL$16.4M5
MARCUS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCMilwaukeeWI$16.4M8
CIVIC INITIATIVES FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$16.3M0
ATLANTA BELTLINE PARTNERSHIP INCAtlantaGA$16.3M3
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRANewarkNJ$16.3M14
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
FLINT INSTITUTE OF MUSICFlintMI$16.1M4
THE MARITIME AQUARIUM AT NORWALK INCNorwalkCT$16.1M5
MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICANew YorkNY$16.1M8
THE CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL SOCIETY Connecticut Museum of Culture & HistoryHartfordCT$16.1M3
THE CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPYWashingtonDC$16.1M8
GETTYSBURG FOUNDATIONGettysburgPA$16.1M5
HOLOCAUST MUSEUM LALos AngelesCA$16M5
SEATTLE OPERA DBA KAY-SMITH ENTERPRISESSeattleWA$16M8
NAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCPensacolaFL$16M4
MERIT SCHOOL OF MUSICChicagoIL$16M5
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL MUSEUMNew YorkNY$15.9M3
NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF LIFE & SCIENCE INCDurhamNC$15.9M5
CHINESE CULTURE AND COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER INCGaithersburgMD$15.9M0
GEORGIA MUSEUMS INCCartersvilleGA$15.9M3
THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA AND KIMMEL CENTER INCPhiladelphiaPA$15.9M10
ROCHESTER PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA INCRochesterNY$15.8M6
CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETYChicagoIL$15.7M6
COLORADO BALLETDenverCO$15.7M4
PONSOLD MOTHERWELL CHARITABLE TRUSTStanfordvilleNY$15.6M0
TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANYChicagoIL$15.4M2
Portland Museum of ArtPortlandME$15.4M8