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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 12 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL INCJacksonWY$15.4M5
JOSHUA M FREEMAN FOUNDATIONSelbyvilleDE$15.3M5
SARATOGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCSaratoga SpringsNY$15.3M5
MILWAUKEE BALLET COMPANY INCMilwaukeeWI$15.3M3
WESTERN NEW YORK PUBLIC BROADCASTING ASSOCIATIONBuffaloNY$15.2M10
COUNTERPUBLICSt LouisMO$15.2M1
FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER INCNew YorkNY$15.2M8
Metropolitan Indianapolis Public Media IncIndianapolisIN$15.2M7
MEDIA RESEARCH CENTERHerndonVA$15.2M9
NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS INCNew YorkNY$15.1M4
EQUIS INSTITUTEWashingtonDC$15M3
REGIONAL CULTURAL AND PERFORMING ARTS DEVELOPMENT COMMISSIONSt LouisMO$15M3
SAN DIEGO THEATRES INCSan DiegoCA$15M10
NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONNantucketMA$14.9M7
NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCRaleighNC$14.9M7
THE FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGYSan FranciscoCA$14.9M4
Cincinnati Institute of Fine ArtsCincinnatiOH$14.9M6
Prevention InstituteOaklandCA$14.9M8
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE INCSalt Lake CityUT$14.9M5
INTERNATIONAL COALITION OF SITES OF CONSCIENCENew YorkNY$14.8M6
CAPITAL CONCERTS INCWashingtonDC$14.8M3
Chicago Architecture FoundationChicagoIL$14.7M10
Cincinnati Playhouse in the ParkCincinnatiOH$14.7M3
SCOTTSDALE ARTSScottsdaleAZ$14.7M3
THE HAVEN GALLERY (THE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND ENTERPRISE)PomonaCA$14.6M8
UKRAINE HOUSE DC FOUNDATION INCWashingtonDC$14.6M1
WASHINGTON PAVILION MANAGEMENT INCSioux FallsSD$14.6M4
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF EDUCATIONWashingtonDC$14.5M1
ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$14.4M1
CENTER FOR ACTION AND CONTEMPLATIONAlbuquerqueNM$14.4M6
THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INCNewingtonCT$14.3M7
LINCOLN PARK PERFORMING ARTS CENTERMidlandPA$14.3M4
BRIC Arts Media Bklyn IncBrooklynNY$14.3M10
ABILENE HERITAGE SQUARE INCAbileneTX$14.3M0
STORYCORPS INCBrooklynNY$14.3M9
LYRIC FOUNDATION INCBaltimoreMD$14.2M1
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INCLos AngelesCA$14.2M1
THE WASHINGTON BALLETWashingtonDC$14.2M6
Greater Educational Opportunities FoundationIndianapolisIN$14.1M5
WITTE MUSEUMSan AntonioTX$14.1M8
FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONFort WorthTX$14.1M7
DISCOVERY PLACE INCCharlotteNC$14.1M11
NATIONAL THEATRE IN AMERICA INCNew YorkNY$14.1M4
Trustees of the American School of Classical Studies at AthensPrincetonNJ$14M7
MUSICARES FOUNDATION INCSanta MonicaCA$14M6
THE ART STUDENTS LEAGUE OF NEW YORK INCNew YorkNY$14M5
AMERICAN COUNCIL ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGESAlexandriaVA$14M8
ETV Endowment of South Carolina IncSpartanburgSC$14M2
PHILADELPHIA MURAL ARTS ADVOCATES INCPhiladelphiaPA$14M4
OLD TOWN SCHOOL OF FOLK MUSICChicagoIL$14M6