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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 124 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
COMMUNITY OUTREACH COALITIONPortsmouthVA$1M1
DELAWARE PUBLIC MEDIA CORPORATIONDoverDE$1M1
IQRA INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONSkokieIL$1M0
HOMER SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORYHomerAK$1M3
OAKLAND THEATER PROJECTOaklandCA$1M3
CROTON ACADEMY OF COMEDIC ARTS INCCroton On HudsonNY$1M2
HAWAIIAN MISSION CHILDREN'S SOCIETYHonoluluHI$1M2
GREATER PLYMOUTH PERFORMING ARTS CENTERPlymouthMA$1M2
PENUMBRA FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$1M1
ARTSBOSTON INCBostonMA$1M1
HUNTINGTON ARTS COUNCIL INCHuntingtonNY$1M1
CAPE COD REPERTORY THEATRE COMPANY INCBrewsterMA$1M0
WABANAKI BENEFIT FOUNDATIONPembrokeME$1M0
Carmel Bach Festival Foundation IncCarmelCA$1M0
GAY MEN'S CHORUS OF SOUTH FLORIDA INCWilton ManorsFL$1M1
DALLAS WIND SYMPHONYDallasTX$1M1
KREWE OF CARNIVALE EN RIO INCLafayetteLA$1M0
PENSACOLA LIGHTHOUSE ASSOCIATIONPensacolaFL$1M1
CASA CIRCULO CULTURALRedwood CityCA$1M0
YUCCA VALLEY MATERIAL LABYucca ValleyCA$1M0
Piney Woods Fine Arts AssociationCrockettTX$1M0
REHEARSAL FOR LIFE INCJamaica PlainMA$1M1
CASCADE SCHOOL OF MUSICBendOR$1M1
THE VIDEO CONSORTIUM INCMount KiscoNY$1M1
NATIVE HAWAIIAN HOSPITALITY ASSOCHonoluluHI$1M0
BASQUE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER INCBoiseID$1M1
Friends of FlorenceWashingtonDC$1M0
IDAHO HERITAGE TRUST INCORPORATEDBoiseID$1M1
Goodwill Theatre IncJohnson CityNY$1M3
Friends Of the Academy of St Martin in the FieldsAlexandriaVA$1M0
NATIVE BIODATA CONSORTIUMEagle ButteSD$1M2
YOUNG ACTORS THEATRE OF TALLAHASSEE INCTallahasseeFL$1M1
Northwest Community Music AcademyCrystal LakeIL$1M3
Pacific Boychoir AcademyOaklandCA$1M3
CENTRAL WEST BALLETModestoCA$1M0
PHOENIX CHILDRENS CHORUS INCPhoenixAZ$1M2
OASIS COMPANIES INTERNATIONALSanta AnaCA$1M1
ISRAFEST FOUNDATION INCBeverly HillsCA$1M0
QUAKERS ICE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION FORMERLY SPRINGFIELD QUAKERS ICE HOCKEY ASSOCWest ChesterPA$1M1
THEATRE LAWRENCE INCLawrenceKS$1M1
ARTS COUNCIL OF WILSON INCWilsonNC$1M1
IDEA MUSEUM FOUNDATIONMesaAZ$1M0
GENERAL LEVI CASEY CHAPTER DARDallasTX$1M0
THE OHIO ACADEMY OF SCIENCEDublinOH$1M1
Earshot Jazz Society of SeattleSeattleWA$1M1
Cinnabar Arts CorporationPetalumaCA$1M1
American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology IncBrentwoodTN$1M5
New Mexico Ballet CompanyAlbuquerqueNM$1M3
The Human Race IncDaytonOH$1M1
STITCH BUFFALO INCBuffaloNY$1M0