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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 114 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
San Jose News BureauSan JoseCA$1.2M2
March on Washington Film FestivalWashingtonDC$1.2M2
PAGE SEVENTY-THREE PRODUCTIONS INCBrooklynNY$1.2M1
STUDIO ART QUILT ASSOC INCHebronCT$1.2M2
THE WILLAMETTE HERITAGE CENTERSalemOR$1.1M1
RALEIGH LITTLE THEATRE INCRaleighNC$1.1M2
GULFSHORE OPERA LLCEsteroFL$1.1M2
ICICLE CREEK CENTER FOR THE ARTSLeavenworthWA$1.1M1
MEN ALIVESanta AnaCA$1.1M1
Tacoma Little Theatre and Drama League IncTacomaWA$1.1M1
CORAL GABLES CINEMATEQUE INCCoral GablesFL$1.1M0
THE TAKI ALSOP CONDUCTING FELLOWSHIP INCBaltimoreMD$1.1M1
NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE INCNew YorkNY$1.1M0
THE THALIAN ASSOCIATON OF WILMINGTON INCWilmingtonNC$1.1M0
SOCIETY OF THE EDUCATIONAL ARTS INCNew YorkNY$1.1M2
SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATER FOUNDATIONSeattleWA$1.1M2
Victory Music & Dance Company IncBrooklynNY$1.1M5
THE KUHN FOUNDATION C/O DR ROBERT KUHNSanta MonicaCA$1.1M0
OREGON REPERTORY SINGERSPortlandOR$1.1M1
INDIANA BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME FOUNDATION INCNew CastleIN$1.1M1
Opera Idaho IncBoiseID$1.1M1
Sandwich Historical Society IncSandwichMA$1.1M2
THE AVERITT CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCStatesboroGA$1.1M0
CITYDANCE ENSEMBLE INCWashingtonDC$1.1M2
Peggy R McConnell Art Center of WorthingtonWorthingtonOH$1.1M1
Center for Traditional Music and Dance IncNew YorkNY$1.1M1
Southwest Florida Music Education Center IncNaplesFL$1.1M1
Friends of the Brentwood Art CenterLos AngelesCA$1.1M2
LAURIE C MCGRATH FOUNDATIONSan DiegoCA$1.1M0
LAKE GEORGE OPERA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION INCSaratoga SpringsNY$1.1M1
CIRCUIT ARTS INCWest TisburyMA$1.1M1
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST RAILWAY MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCLa MesaCA$1.1M0
GUJARATI SAMAJ OF HOUSTON INCHoustonTX$1.1M0
LEAGUE OF LIVE STREAM THEATER INCNew YorkNY$1.1M0
MONTEREY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYSalinasCA$1.1M0
FRIENDS OF HISTORIC SEDGELEYPhiladelphiaPA$1.1M0
CURIOUS KIDS MUSEUMSaint JosephMI$1.1M1
Montana Theatreworks IncBozemanMT$1.1M1
Stapleton School of Performing ArtsSan AnselmoCA$1.1M2
CARLISLE REGIONAL PERFORMING ARTS CENTERCarlislePA$1.1M1
STAGEONE FAMILY THEATRE INCLouisvilleKY$1.1M1
The American Classical Orchestra IncNew YorkNY$1.1M1
CULTURE WORKSDaytonOH$1.1M1
THEOREM MEDIA INCWestportCT$1.1M2
The Rick & Victoria Salisbury FoundationSpringvilleUT$1.1M0
Sisters in Cinema NFPChicagoIL$1.1M1
OLD SALT FISHING FOUNDATION INCMadeira BeachFL$1.1M0
ORIGAMISherman OaksCA$1.1M0
FRIENDS OF THE MUSEES DES ARTS DECORATIFS INCNew YorkNY$1.1M1
NEWPORT CONTEMPORARY BALLETNewportRI$1.1M2