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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 121 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
IAYV IncArroyo SecoNM$1.1M0
The Ghiberti Foundation dba Ghiberti Center for CultureSan FranciscoCA$1.1M0
HISTORIC YELLOW SPRINGS INCChester SpringsPA$1.1M0
MARIN DANCE THEATRESan RafaelCA$1.1M1
BRIDGEHAMPTON CHAMBER MUSIC ASSOCIATES INCNew YorkNY$1.1M2
FRIENDS OF THE BRATTLEBORO MUSIC CENTER INCBrattleboroVT$1.1M2
MUSIC CENTER OF SOUTH CENTRAL MIBattle CreekMI$1.1M1
SAN ANGELO PERFORMING ARTS COALITION INC SAN ANGELO PERFORMING ARTS CENTERSan AngeloTX$1.1M1
HOOKUAAINAKailuaHI$1.1M2
ATLANTIC CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCNew Smyrna BeachFL$1.1M1
Timpanogos Arts FoundationAmerican ForkUT$1.1M0
MCAULIFFE-SHEPARD DISCOVERY CENTER CORPConcordNH$1.1M1
ENGinStamfordCT$1.1M1
County of Los Angeles Fire Museum AssociationBellflowerCA$1.1M0
FRIENDS OF FORT LEE FILM INCFort LeeNJ$1.1M2
THE AUSTIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY ENDOWMENT FUND TRUSTAustinTX$1.1M1
Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts CenterSan PabloCA$1M4
THE LIGHTHOUSE WORKS INCFishers IslandNY$1M0
PENNSYLVANIA MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATIONHamburgPA$1M0
CITY LIGHTS THEATER CO OF SAN JOSE INCSan JoseCA$1M2
URBAN ART GALLERY INCPhiladelphiaPA$1M0
WHITE HERON THEATER COMPANYNantucketMA$1M0
HATCHBozemanMT$1M2
FRIENDS OF LIED LIED CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS-NEBRASKALincolnNE$1M0
Ballet Theatre of Maryland IncAnnapolisMD$1M1
CATHEDRAL CHORAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON DCWashingtonDC$1M2
HAUSER & WIRTH INSTITUTE INCBrooklynNY$1M1
SILENCE THE SHAME INCAtlantaGA$1M2
PORT THEATRE AND CULTURE CENTER INCPort St JoeFL$1M0
RIVER CITY BRASS BAND INCPittsburghPA$1M1
PELHAM ART CENTER INCPelhamNY$1M4
HARBOR SPRINGS LYRIC THEATREHarbor SpringsMI$1M1
FILM PITTSBURGHPittsburghPA$1M1
TIKKUN OLAM PRODUCTIONS INCSomervilleMA$1M2
REDLANDS CONSERVANCYRedlandsCA$1M1
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA ARTS COUNCILMarshallMN$1M0
JARBIDGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INCJarbidgeNV$1M0
NUSS COLLECTIONRochesterMN$1M0
WOODLAND PATTERN INCMilwaukeeWI$1M2
VIRGINIA DISCOVERY MUSEUM INCCharlottesvilleVA$1M1
LAS VEGAS NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMN Las VegasNV$1M2
SWIFT CREEK MILL THEATRE INCColonial HeightsVA$1M2
THE ARTS LEAGUE OF MICHIGANDetroitMI$1M0
EQUITY ARCCininnatiOH$1M1
ART CREATES US INCBrooklynNY$1M1
The Penrod Society LTDIndianapolisIN$1M0
ARTISTS IN MOTION INCIndianapolisIN$1M3
JUST BUFFALO LITERARY CENTER INCBuffaloNY$1M0
SPIRIT SERIES INCLos AngelesCA$1M2
OMNICULTURAL CORPGilbertAZ$1M1