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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 119 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTERCincinnatiOH$1.1M1
THE KENTUCK MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCNorthportAL$1.1M0
THE PIANO SCHOOL OF NEW YORK CITY INCNew YorkNY$1.1M1
Flower City Arts Center IncRochesterNY$1.1M1
NEW JERSEY REPERTORY COMPANYLong BranchNJ$1.1M1
NEWARK SCHOOL OF THE ARTSNewarkNJ$1.1M1
HEURICH HOUSE FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$1.1M1
LONG ISLAND MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT HALLStony BrookNY$1.1M3
NAREK CULTURAL FOUNDATION INCGlendaleCA$1.1M1
NATIONAL BLACK ARTS FESTIVAL INCAtlantaGA$1.1M1
THE LIONHEART FOUNDATION INCDedhamMA$1.1M1
Willcox Theater and Arts IncWillcoxAZ$1.1M0
MICHIGAN GUILD OF ARTISTS ANDAnn ArborMI$1.1M1
CENTER FOR INTERFAITH RELATIONSLouisvilleKY$1.1M0
BALLET SUN VALLEY INCSun ValleyID$1.1M1
THE YALE LAW JOURNAL COMPANY INCNew HavenCT$1.1M0
TRAVELLERS REST HISTORIC HOUSE MUSEUM INCNashvilleTN$1.1M1
MISSISSIPPI COAST MODEL RAILROAD MUSEUMGulfportMS$1.1M2
TENNESSEE SHAKESPEARE COMPANYMemphisTN$1.1M1
ASHTABULA ARTS CENTERAshtabulaOH$1.1M1
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTSState CollegePA$1.1M0
THE PHARMACY ART GALLERY ART SPACESpringfieldIL$1.1M0
Wave Foundation IncNewportKY$1.1M2
GIRLS ROCK SBSanta BarbaraCA$1.1M1
Bellevue Youth Symphony OrchestraBellevueWA$1.1M3
THE CHRISTINE CENTER INCWillardWI$1.1M2
POSITIVE FUTURES NETWORK DBA YES MEDIAPoulsboWA$1.1M5
Wyoming Historical & Geological SocietyWilkes BarrePA$1.1M1
THE BON TEMPS SOCIAL CLUB OF SAN DIEGOSan DiegoCA$1.1M0
ROANOKE CULTURAL ENDOWMENTRoanokeVA$1.1M1
ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA FOUNDATIONLittle RockAR$1.1M0
CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES OF THE VALLEYWeslacoTX$1.1M0
CHARLOTTE STREET FOUNDATIONKansas CityMO$1.1M0
ANYONE CAN FLY FOUNDATION INCEnglewoodNJ$1.1M0
WYO THEATRE INCSheridanWY$1.1M0
FEATHERSTONE CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCOak BluffsMA$1.1M1
CONNECTICUT CHILDRENS MUSEUM INCNew HavenCT$1.1M0
DANCE WORKS INCBrooklynNY$1.1M2
NIMBUS ARTSSt HelenaCA$1.1M1
SOUTH ARKANSAS ARTS CENTEREl DoradoAR$1.1M1
THE NORTHAMPTON ACADEMY OF MUSIC INCNorthamptonMA$1.1M1
TWELFTH AVENUE ARTS ASSOCIATIONSeattleWA$1.1M3
GOTHAM EARLY MUSIC SCENE INCNew YorkNY$1.1M2
SYNCHRONICITY PERFORMANCE GROUPAtlantaGA$1.1M2
THE WHALE MUSEUMFriday HarborWA$1.1M1
KUNHARDT FILM FOUNDATION INCPleasantvilleNY$1.1M8
Mountain Town StagesPark CityUT$1.1M1
SEVENTH ART CORPORATION OF ITHACAIthacaNY$1.1M1
CURIOUS THEATRE COMPANYDenverCO$1.1M2
AESTHETIC SURGERY EDUCATION AND RESEARCH FOUNDATIONGarden GroveCA$1.1M2