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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 113 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Motte Historical Museum IncPerrisCA$1.2M0
SLAMDANCE GROUPLos AngelesCA$1.2M2
The Cincinnati Ballet Foundation IncCincinnatiOH$1.2M2
ECHO THEATER COMPANYPortlandOR$1.2M2
CHICANO PARK MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTERSan DiegoCA$1.2M1
Words AliveSan DiegoCA$1.2M3
NEUSOLE FOUNDATIONForest ParkOH$1.2M1
CLEVELAND POPS ORCHESTRABeachwoodOH$1.2M1
North Alabama Hockey AssociationHuntsvilleAL$1.2M0
WOMEN IN ANIMATION INCSan DiegoCA$1.2M1
MONROE STREET ARTS CENTER INCMadisonWI$1.2M1
WAMBLI SKA SOCIETYRapid CitySD$1.2M4
Podium Society IncLos AngelesCA$1.2M0
ANTHROPOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN AMERICAAnn ArborMI$1.2M2
Cavanaugh Flight MuseumDenisonTX$1.2M0
CONCORD CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC INCConcordMA$1.2M2
FIREHOUSE PERFORMING ARTS CENTERMinneapolisMN$1.2M1
EMMAUS CREATIVE ARTS & INNOVATION CENTER D/B/A JUXTAHUBEmmausPA$1.2M0
RAPPAHANNOCK ART LEAGUEKilmarnockVA$1.2M2
FAITH BROADCASTING INCMontgomeryAL$1.2M1
NEW HAZLETT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSPittsburghPA$1.2M1
KERRVILLE FOLK FESTIVAL FOUNDATIONKerrvilleTX$1.2M0
YOUNG MUSICIANS FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$1.2M1
Jazz EmpowersNashvilleTN$1.2M1
HOWL ARTS INCNew YorkNY$1.2M0
A SOURCE OF JOY THEATRICALS INCLas VegasNV$1.2M0
ABILENE ARTS ALLIANCEAbileneTX$1.2M0
KIDSENSES INCRutherfordtonNC$1.2M0
THE WORCESTER CENTER FOR CRAFTS INCWorcesterMA$1.2M1
Museum of African American History IncBostonMA$1.2M2
KUTTURAN CHAMORU FOUNDATIONLong BeachCA$1.2M0
THEATRE ARLINGTON INCArlingtonTX$1.2M1
WENATCHEE RIVER INSTITUTELeavenworthWA$1.2M1
OWOSSO COMMUNITY PLAYERSOwossoMI$1.2M2
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH SCIENCE TEACHINGMinneapolisMN$1.2M0
THE AVENUE CONCEPT INCProvidenceRI$1.2M1
Borderless Magazine NFPChicagoIL$1.2M1
TruchaMcAllenTX$1.2M3
CONCORDIA CONSERVATORY INCBronxvilleNY$1.2M0
FORWARD MOMENTUM CHICAGOChicagoIL$1.2M1
EAU CLAIRE CONFLUENCE FOUNDATION INCEau ClaireWI$1.2M0
GROUT MUSEUM INCWaterlooIA$1.2M2
CASTINE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETYCastineME$1.2M1
Springfield Daily Citizen IncSpringfieldMO$1.2M1
ACCESS AFTERSCHOOLGlenwood SpringsCO$1.2M2
DALLAS THEATER CENTER ENDOWMENT FUNDDallasTX$1.2M0
FlockworksFort BraggCA$1.2M0
FOREST CREATURES FOUNDATION LTDSan FranciscoCA$1.2M2
CRAFT CONTEMPORARYLos AngelesCA$1.2M2
HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALHonoluluHI$1.2M1