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 123 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
The Marsh A Breeding Ground For New PerfSan FranciscoCA$1M1
WEST LAKE ART CONSERVATION CENTER INCSkaneatelesNY$1M0
UMIYADHAM INCBrentwoodTN$1M0
NORTHBROOK HOCKEY LEAGUENorthbrookIL$1M0
POTTERY NORTHWESTSeattleWA$1M1
Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County IncBridgeportCT$1M1
CHARLES AND RAY EAMES HOUSE PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INCPacific PalisadesCA$1M1
SPINDRIFT SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTSPacificaCA$1M0
SWEDISH AMERICAN MUSEUM ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGOChicagoIL$1M1
SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONSpringfieldOH$1M1
COMMONWEAL THEATRE COMPANYLanesboroMN$1M1
THEATER ET AL INC DBA THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY THEATERLong Island CityNY$1M2
FRIENDS OF A STUDIO IN THE WOODSNew OrleansLA$1M0
Emerge Gallery Art Center IncGreenvilleNC$1M1
ASIAN HALL OF FAMEPasadenaCA$1M1
THE HARDY FOUNDATION INCBoiseID$1M1
AMERICAN PRIVATE RADIOOxfordMS$1M2
9th and 10th Horse Cavalry Buffalo SoldiersTacomaWA$1M0
Davidson Community PlayersDavidsonNC$1M1
GILLESPIE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCFredericksburgTX$1M2
FUSE BOX AUSTINAustinTX$1M1
KINGDOM IMAGE ARTSColumbusOH$1M1
FRIENDS OF MATERIALS FOR THE ARTS INCLong Island CityNY$1M1
ACCESSIBLE CONTEMPORARY MUSICChicagoIL$1M1
FRANCO-AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTERLewistonME$1M1
St Louis Black Repertory Company IncSt LouisMO$1M1
GALLIM DANCE COMPANY INCPort WashingtonNY$1M0
CABIN CREEK CENTER FOR WORK & ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES INCNew YorkNY$1M2
BOOTHBAY RAILWAY VILLAGEBoothbayME$1M0
HOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUMHoustonTX$1M2
WOLFBANE PRODUCTIONSAppomattoxVA$1M2
MUSICAL MAYHEM PRODUCTIONS INCElk GroveCA$1M2
BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$1M0
THE JEWEL BALLKansas CityMO$1M0
FLINT RIVERQUARIUM INCAlbanyGA$1M1
LINCOLN HILLS CARESDenverCO$1M0
ACT 2 IncAberdeenSD$1M0
RITZ COMMUNITY THEATER PROJECT INC DBA WAYNE DENSCH PERFORMING ARTS CENTERSanfordFL$1M0
(402) ARTS COLLECTIVEOmahaNE$1M1
THE CHILDRENS MUSEUM IN OAK LAWNOak LawnIL$1M1
HARRISONBURG CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INCHarrisonburgVA$1M1
NORTH TEXAS BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS DBA BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR THE ARTSDallasTX$1M1
PITTSBURGH ARTS & LECTURES INCPittsburghPA$1M2
1014 INCNew YorkNY$1M1
Jackson School of the Arts AssocJacksonMI$1M1
MARION COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF THE ARTSMarionIN$1M1
Colorado Conservatory of Dance IncBroomfieldCO$1M2
RHIZOME DCWashingtonDC$1M2
THE FRIENDS OF THE PALACE THEATERHiloHI$1M1
CTSB CORPLeeMA$1M0