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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 116 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Opening Act IncBrooklynNY$1.1M2
PRESERVE RHODE ISLANDProvidenceRI$1.1M1
AMERICAN LATVIAN ASSOCIATION IN THE UNITRockvilleMD$1.1M1
PORTLAND BAROQUE ORCHESTRAPortlandOR$1.1M1
LITTLE THEATRE OF ALEXANDRIAAlexandriaVA$1.1M0
GREATER PITTSBURGH ARTS COUNCILPittsburghPA$1.1M1
PENINSULA FOUNDATION INCPeninsulaOH$1.1M1
ART PRODUCTION FUND INCNew YorkNY$1.1M2
Bay State Performing Arts IncBostonMA$1.1M1
Los Angeles Center of PhotographyLos AngelesCA$1.1M1
OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ENDOWMENT FUNDAshlandOR$1.1M1
COSLEY FOUNDATION INCWheatonIL$1.1M1
GENERAL SOCIETY OF COLONIAL WARSWashingtonDC$1.1M0
SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY NFPChicagoIL$1.1M6
USS SILVERSIDES SUBMARINE MUSEUMMuskegonMI$1.1M1
DAYTON PUBLIC RADIO INCDaytonOH$1.1M1
MARK TWAIN HOME FOUNDATIONHannibalMO$1.1M0
STOWE STORY LABS INCStoweVT$1.1M1
EL SISTEMA SANTA CRUZSanta CruzCA$1.1M1
CRESCENDO COMPETITIONS INCMarlboroNJ$1.1M1
FRIENDS OF CLIFTON MANSION INC C/O EBEN D FINNEY IIIBaltimoreMD$1.1M0
Deep Vellum Publishing IncDallasTX$1.1M1
Community Media Center of MarinSan RafaelCA$1.1M1
VENICE INSTITUTE FOR PERFORMING ARTS CENTER MANAGEMENT INCVeniceFL$1.1M0
YOUNG AUDIENCES OF INDIANA INCIndianapolisIN$1.1M1
THE BELLIS BLAUVELT-DEMAREST FOUNDATIONS INCBedminsterNJ$1.1M3
Varna International Music AcademyColumbiaSC$1.1M0
DELAWARE COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONDelhiNY$1.1M1
DENNISTON HILL CORPGlen WildNY$1.1M1
TERRA CLASSICAL THEATER INCHuntington BeachCA$1.1M2
PENINSULA MUSIC FESTIVAL INCEphraimWI$1.1M2
Arts for LAWest CovinaCA$1.1M1
ONONDAGA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONSyracuseNY$1.1M1
MEDIA EDUCATION FOUNDATION INCNorthamptonMA$1.1M1
INDEPENDENT MEDIA ARTISTS OF GA ETCINCAtlantaGA$1.1M1
EAST SAN GABRIEL VALLEY JAPANESE COMMUNITY CENTER INCWest CovinaCA$1.1M0
SPOKANE AMERICAN YOUTH HOCKEY ASSOCIATIONSpokaneWA$1.1M0
SEVEN ANGELS THEATER INCWaterburyCT$1.1M1
ST JOSEPH MUSEUMS INCSaint JosephMO$1.1M1
THE LOUISIANA MUSIC & HERITAGE EXPERIENCE INCNew OrleansLA$1.1M0
KANKOURAN WEST AFRICAN DANCE COMPANYWashingtonDC$1.1M1
Metropolitan Arts CenterBirminghamAL$1.1M2
BAKERSFIELD ART FOUNDATION INCBakersfieldCA$1.1M1
THINK 360 ARTS FOR LEARNINGDenverCO$1.1M1
LAKES AREA MUSIC FESTIVALBrainerdMN$1.1M1
THE ART OF ELYSIUMLos AngelesCA$1.1M1
WATERSHED CENTER FOR THE CERAMIC ARTSEdgecombME$1.1M2
Young Playwrights TheaterWashingtonDC$1.1M1
LOWNDES-VALDOSTA ARTS COMMISSION IValdostaGA$1.1M0
ART CENTER SARASOTA INCSarasotaFL$1.1M1