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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 12 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIAOaklandCA$16.1M8
THE CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPYWashingtonDC$16.1M8
GETTYSBURG FOUNDATIONGettysburgPA$16.1M5
MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUSTNew YorkNY$16M11
NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS INCNew YorkNY$16M5
HOLOCAUST MUSEUM LALos AngelesCA$16M5
NAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCPensacolaFL$16M4
MERIT SCHOOL OF MUSICChicagoIL$16M5
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL MUSEUMNew YorkNY$15.9M3
CHINESE CULTURE AND COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER INCGaithersburgMD$15.9M0
Flint Institute of MusicFlintMI$15.9M4
GLENSTONE FOUNDATIONPotomacMD$15.9M2
THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA AND KIMMEL CENTER INCPhiladelphiaPA$15.9M10
SWC MUSEUM CORPLos AngelesCA$15.8M1
Witte MuseumSan AntonioTX$15.7M7
SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRESeattleWA$15.5M8
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center IncNew YorkNY$15.4M7
ST LOUIS REGIONAL PUBLIC MEDIA INCSt LouisMO$15.4M8
TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANYChicagoIL$15.4M2
GRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL INCJacksonWY$15.4M5
WORCESTER CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS INCWorcesterMA$15.3M5
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGOLa JollaCA$15.3M8
JOSHUA M FREEMAN FOUNDATIONSelbyvilleDE$15.3M5
SARATOGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCSaratoga SpringsNY$15.3M5
COUNTERPUBLICSt LouisMO$15.2M1
FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER INCNew YorkNY$15.2M8
THE NASHER SCULPTURE CENTERDallasTX$15.2M5
Metropolitan Indianapolis Public Media IncIndianapolisIN$15.2M7
MEDIA RESEARCH CENTERHerndonVA$15.2M9
THE ATLANTA OPERA INCAtlantaGA$15.1M7
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE INCSalt Lake CityUT$15M5
REGIONAL CULTURAL AND PERFORMING ARTS DEVELOPMENT COMMISSIONSt LouisMO$15M3
NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONNantucketMA$14.9M7
THE FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGYSan FranciscoCA$14.9M4
Cincinnati Institute of Fine ArtsCincinnatiOH$14.9M6
Prevention InstituteOaklandCA$14.9M8
WASHINGTON PAVILION MANAGEMENT INCSioux FallsSD$14.8M3
SAN DIEGO THEATRES INCSan DiegoCA$14.8M10
CAPITAL CONCERTS INCWashingtonDC$14.8M3
STORM KING ART CENTERNew WindsorNY$14.7M7
Chicago Architecture FoundationChicagoIL$14.7M10
Cincinnati Playhouse in the ParkCincinnatiOH$14.7M3
HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEYPocantico HillsNY$14.7M9
UKRAINE HOUSE DC FOUNDATION INCWashingtonDC$14.6M1
Portland Museum of ArtPortlandME$14.6M8
APOLLO THEATER FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$14.5M10
ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$14.4M1
CENTER FOR ACTION AND CONTEMPLATIONAlbuquerqueNM$14.4M6
CAPITAL PUBLIC RADIO FDBA KXPR/KXJZ INCSacramentoCA$14.4M10
NATIONAL YIDDISH BOOK CENTER INCAmherstMA$14.4M9