Skip to main content
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 122 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SLB RADIO PRODUCTIONS INCPittsburghPA$1M2
DEARMON CREATIVE ARTS SCHOOL INCLutzFL$1M2
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT BUILDING CONSERVANCYChicagoIL$1M1
JONAH BOKAER ARTS FOUNDATIONBrooklynNY$1M1
DODGE CITY ROUNDUP INCDodge CityKS$1M1
TWISPWORKS FOUNDATIONTwispWA$1M1
The Maine Center For Public Interest ReportingHallowellME$1M1
CHRISTIAN ART & THEATRE OF CORONACoronaCA$1M1
CANOPY CANOPY CANOPY INCNew YorkNY$1M1
MUSEUM OF PRAIRIEFIRE FOUNDATIONOverland ParkKS$1M1
Kirkland Arts CenterKirklandWA$1M1
MAINE INSIDE OUTLewistonME$1M3
WHITEWATER VALLEY RAILROAD ASSOCIATION INCConnersvilleIN$1M0
NEXT OCTAVE FOUNDATIONSoquelCA$1M5
BADGER HONOR FLIGHT INCMadisonWI$1M0
Pacific Jazz OrchestraBurbankCA$1M0
WILLIAMSTON THEATREWilliamstonMI$1M0
NEVER FORGOTTEN HONOR FLIGHT INCWausauWI$1M0
WorkingFilms IncWilmingtonNC$1M5
Little Theatre on the BayNorth BendOR$1M0
MISSOULA CIVIC SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONMissoulaMT$1M3
TULSA HISTORICAL SOCIETYTulsaOK$1M2
Kahlil Gibran Historical SocietyNewport BeachCA$1M0
MORRIS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYMorristownNJ$1M1
GICHIGAMIIN INDIGENOUS NATIONS MUSEUM INCEvanstonIL$1M1
HEART OF DIXIE RAILROAD MUSEUM INCCaleraAL$1M0
HISPANIC ALLIANCE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSAustinTX$1M1
POWELL COUNTY MUSEUM AND ARTS FOUNDATIONDeer LodgeMT$1M0
AMERICAN ADVERTISING FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$1M1
OXNARD PERFORMING ARTS CENTER CORPOxnardCA$1M1
NATIONAL FLUTE ASSOCIATIONChicagoIL$1M0
ANTIQUE AUTO MUSEUM OF MASSACHUSETTS AT LARZ ANDERSON PARK INCBrooklineMA$1M1
Jazz Institute of ChicagoChicagoIL$1M1
PLAY GROUP THEATER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS INCWhite PlainsNY$1M1
Historic Wilmington Foundation IncWilmingtonNC$1M3
KORESH DANCE COMPANYPhiladelphiaPA$1M2
WORLD OF WONDERS SCIENCE MUSEUMLodiCA$1M1
JOURNEY THEATER ARTS GROUPVancouverWA$1M0
Whim WHimSeattleWA$1M3
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES CENTER INCTempleTX$1M1
TEXAS MARITIME MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCRockportTX$1M6
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR HOLOCAUST EDUCATION AND REMEMBRANCE INCTeaneckNJ$1M2
SOUTHERN ALLEGHENIES MUSEUM OF ARTAltoonaPA$1M0
MANHATTAN YOUTH BALLET INCNew YorkNY$1M0
LAND GRANT UNIVERSITY TAX EDUCATION FOUNDATIONCollege StationTX$1M5
Arte Americas The Mexican Arts CenterFresnoCA$1M1
Suicide Awareness Voices of EducationBloomingtonMN$1M1
CONTRA-TIEMPOLos AngelesCA$1M1
Hmong Cultural Center of Butte CountyOrovilleCA$1M1
METROPOLITAN EDUCATIONAL THEATRE NETWORKLong BeachCA$1M0