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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 120 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
REAGLE MUSIC THEATRE OF GREATER BOSTON INCWalthamMA$1.1M1
Floating Museum NFPChicagoIL$1.1M0
SIOUX FALLS STATE THEATRE COMPANYSioux FallsSD$1.1M1
THE WOODLANDS CHILDRENS MUSEUMThe WoodlandsTX$1.1M0
HIGHLANDS COMMUNITY THEATRE INCHgihlandsNC$1.1M0
CEDAR RAPIDS MUSEUM OF ARTCedar RapidsIA$1.1M1
Verge Center for the ArtsSacramentoCA$1.1M1
GULLAHGEECHEE CULTURAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR COMMISSION INCBeaufortSC$1.1M1
HISTORIC MACON FOUNDATION INCMaconGA$1.1M1
DUXBURY RURAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCDuxburyMA$1.1M1
ATAWASUL CENTERBrooklyn ParkMN$1.1M0
GLENWOOD CEMETERY HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONHoustonTX$1.1M2
Sonoma Valley Authors FestivalSan FranciscoCA$1.1M0
CANTARE CON VIVOOaklandCA$1.1M1
Polish Museum of AmericaChicagoIL$1.1M2
GRAND JUNCTION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAGrand JunctionCO$1.1M1
UMU IGBO UNITE CORPORATIONAtlantaGA$1.1M0
REFUGE PRODUCTIONS INCMunsterIN$1.1M0
Cine BillingsBillingsMT$1.1M1
ELEMENTAL MUSICSanta MonicaCA$1.1M1
NANTUCKET COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCNantucketMA$1.1M2
GERMANFESTINCMuensterTX$1.1M0
CALIFORNIA STATE SUMMER SCHOOL ARTS FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$1.1M2
PENINSULA YOUTH ORCHESTRAPalo AltoCA$1.1M1
SAUTEE-NACOOCHEE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATSautee NacoocheeGA$1.1M0
MIDWEST MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART FOUNDATION INCElkhartIN$1.1M0
SHADOWLAND ARTISTS INCEllenvilleNY$1.1M1
COPLAND HOUSE INCCortlandt ManorNY$1.1M0
OPEN HEARTS ART CENTER INCAshevilleNC$1.1M3
HISTORIC RICHMOND FOUNDATIONRichmondVA$1.1M1
HORACE KELLEY ART FOUNDATIONColumbusOH$1.1M0
MINDLEAPSNew YorkNY$1.1M1
ARTS FOR LEARNING MASSACHUSETTS INCBostonMA$1.1M0
Ethos IncPortlandOR$1.1M1
NATIONAL BLUES MUSEUMSt LouisMO$1.1M2
MILE SQUARE THEATRE INCHobokenNJ$1.1M0
Washington Renaissance Arts & Education SocietyBurleyWA$1.1M0
COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF THE ARTSFort SmithAR$1.1M0
Bonita Wonder Gardens IncBonita SpringsFL$1.1M1
ASHLEY GIBSON BARNETT MUSEUM OF ART AT FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE INCLakelandFL$1.1M3
THE JUNGLE THEATERMinneapolisMN$1.1M2
Opera Grand RapidsGrand RapidsMI$1.1M1
BIENVENIDO USALubbockTX$1.1M1
AMERICAN CELLO INSTITUTE INCBloomingtonIN$1.1M1
THE GUILFORD ART CENTER INCGuilfordCT$1.1M0
Skyride Unlimited IncorporatedBakersfieldCA$1.1M3
Dezart PerformsPalm SpringsCA$1.1M0
Commonwealth Youthchoirs IncPhiladelphiaPA$1.1M0
THE 52ND STREET PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$1.1M3
CAPE COD COMMUNITY TELEVISION CORPDennis PortMA$1.1M1