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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 115 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
VALLEY ART CENTER INCChagrin FallsOH$1.1M0
MID-HUDSON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM D/B/A MID-HUDSON DISCOVERY MUSEUMPoughkeepsieNY$1.1M1
TRYON FINE ARTS CENTER INCTryonNC$1.1M0
YOUTH OVER US INCColumbusOH$1.1M1
FARMERS ALLEY THEATREKalamazooMI$1.1M3
ANNAPOLIS OPERA COMPANYAnnapolisMD$1.1M1
PONY EXPRESS MUSEUM INCSt JosephMO$1.1M1
JOHN KIRKPATRICK FUND FOR HISTORIC CULTURAL & CIVIC UNDERSTANDING AFF FUNDOklahoma CityOK$1.1M2
RIVERSIDE AVONDALE PRESERVATION INCJacksonvilleFL$1.1M0
SONOMA VALLEY FILM FESTIVALSonomaCA$1.1M1
LOUDOUN COMMUNITY MEDIALeesburgVA$1.1M2
FRIENDS OF WEYMOUTH INCSouthern PinesNC$1.1M1
Downtown Bentonville IncBentonvilleAR$1.1M0
Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Association IncPittsburghPA$1.1M1
RICHARD ELLIS RADIODallasTX$1.1M1
LEAF GLOBAL ARTSAshevilleNC$1.1M2
SISTERS NETWORK INCHoustonTX$1.1M2
Contemporary Arts CenterNew OrleansLA$1.1M0
THE ATTIYEH FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$1.1M0
SPACE GalleryPortlandME$1.1M2
NEW YORK STATE ARCHIVES PARTNERSHIP TRAlbanyNY$1.1M1
3S CONTEMPORARY ARTSPACE INCPortsmouthNH$1.1M1
JAPANESE LANGUAGE ADVANCEMENT SCHOOL OF DALLAS INCDallasTX$1.1M1
AMELEB HERITAGE FOUNDATION INCSan AntonioTX$1.1M0
GOLD YOUTH ARTS ORGANIZATION INCLemon GroveCA$1.1M4
Eaves Family FoundationWilmingtonDE$1.1M0
CAPITAL COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCSalemOR$1.1M1
di Rosa PreserveNapaCA$1.1M2
CONGREGATION SHEMA SHLOMOBrooklynNY$1.1M0
INDIANA BALLET CONSERVATORY INCCarmelIN$1.1M0
WOODLAND OPERA HOUSE INCWoodlandCA$1.1M0
CRAFT ALLIANCESt LouisMO$1.1M1
MOVING ARTS ESPANOLA INCORPORATEDVelardeNM$1.1M1
TOPEKA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCTopekaKS$1.1M0
ARC STAGES INCPleasantvilleNY$1.1M0
FRIENDS OF MINIDOKA INCTwin FallsID$1.1M1
THE FLINT CHILDREN'S MUSEUMFlintMI$1.1M1
SOMERVILLE COMMUNITY ACCESS TELEVISION INCSomervilleMA$1.1M2
REPUBLIC COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYBellevilleKS$1.1M0
City Ballet of Boston IncJamaica PlainMA$1.1M5
UTAH METROPOLITAN BALLETLindonUT$1.1M0
Haight Street Art CenterSan FranciscoCA$1.1M2
Arts WestSeattleWA$1.1M2
DELAWARE CELEBRATION OF JAZZLewesDE$1.1M0
Austin City Art FundAustinTX$1.1M1
THE ARTS COUNCIL OF ERIEEriePA$1.1M1
VIA INTERNATIONALSan DiegoCA$1.1M1
COMMUNITY ARTS ASSOCIATION IN NEWTON COUNTY INCCovingtonGA$1.1M2
PITTSBURGH URBAN MAGNET PROJECTPittsburghPA$1.1M1
SHAW CENTER FOR THE ARTSBaton RougeLA$1.1M0