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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 117 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
BAY AREA CREATIVE FOUNDATIONSan RafaelCA$1.1M1
THE TEXAS DEMOCRACY FOUNDATIONAustinTX$1.1M1
CANYONLANDS FIELD INSTITUTE INCMoabUT$1.1M0
LOST DEBATE INCWashingtonDC$1.1M2
ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY AMERICA INCNew YorkNY$1.1M1
MILWAUKEE YOUTH ARTS CENTER INCMilwaukeeWI$1.1M0
BCT MANAGEMENT INCBloomingtonIN$1.1M1
THE ART CENTER HIGHLAND PARKHighland ParkIL$1.1M1
ROOTS MUSIC PROJECT FOUNDATIONBoulderCO$1.1M2
SMARTHISTORY INCPleasantvilleNY$1.1M2
ROCKFORD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS INCRockfordIL$1.1M1
CALIFORNIA ART CLUBPasadenaCA$1.1M1
Sebastopol Center for the ArtsSebastopolCA$1.1M2
HOME TO COMMUNITY LIVING INCLittle RockAR$1.1M0
THE RENAISSANCE SOCIETY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGOChicagoIL$1.1M2
4 LEARNINGLos AngelesCA$1.1M0
BLACK TRANS FEMMES IN THE ARTS INCBrooklynNY$1.1M1
LARCHMONT-MAMARONECK COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCMamaroneckNY$1.1M1
One Plympton Preservation Foundation IncCambridgeMA$1.1M0
THEATREZONEINCNaplesFL$1.1M1
THE WINNIPESAUKEE PLAYHOUSEMeredithNH$1.1M3
HISTORIC GEORGE RANCH ASSOCIATIONRichmondTX$1.1M0
COLOUR OF MUSICCharlestonSC$1.1M1
MUSEUM OF WESTERN COLORADO INCGrand JunctionCO$1.1M1
PARAMOUNT HERITAGE FOUNDATION INCAndersonIN$1.1M1
Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community CenterBerkeleyCA$1.1M3
ELLA SHARP MUSEUM ASSOCIATION OF JACKSONJacksonMI$1.1M1
FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN CONTENT AND ENTERTAINMENTFarmington HillsMI$1.1M3
SOCIAL EQUITY THROUGH EDUCATION ALLIANCE INCSarasotaFL$1.1M1
THE TOMAQUAG INDIAN MEMORIAL MUSEUMExeterRI$1.1M1
THE OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN MUSEUM AND THEATRE EDUCATION CENTERDoylestownPA$1.1M0
The Museum of Information ExplosionHuntsvilleAL$1.1M2
EPIC PLAYERS INCBrooklynNY$1.1M4
DONALD F HOLM TR FBO HEARTLAND HUMANE SOCIETYMitchellSD$1.1M0
THE ORRIN G HATCH FOUNDATIONSalt Lake CityUT$1.1M1
Center for Native FuturesChicagoIL$1.1M2
MORRIS THOMPSON CULTURAL AND VISITORS CENTERFairbanksAK$1.1M0
VOLCANO ART CENTERVolcanoHI$1.1M6
SAN JOSE YOUTH SYMPHONYSan JoseCA$1.1M2
DENVER THEATRE DISTRICT INCDenverCO$1.1M3
WACO SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION INCWacoTX$1.1M1
ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FOUNDATIONSherman OaksCA$1.1M3
artEquity CommunityPasadenaCA$1.1M2
SOLVANG THEATERFEST INCSolvangCA$1.1M0
SPARTANBURG LITTLE THEATRESpartanburgSC$1.1M1
RICHARDSON SYMPHONY INCRichardsonTX$1.1M3
KORNER'S FOLLY FOUNDATION INCKernersvilleNC$1.1M1
MICHIGAN CHAMBER FOUNDATIONLansingMI$1.1M1
Friends of the Weston Community IncWestonVT$1.1M0
ARTS EXPRESSTucsonAZ$1.1M0