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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 126 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
NATIONAL EXERCISE TRAINERS ASSOCIATIONMinneapolisMN$993k3
CALIFORNIA PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCSacramentoCA$993k1
MYSTIC BALLET INCStoningtonCT$993k0
TIBBITS OPERA FOUNDATION AND ARTS COUNCILColdwaterMI$993k1
STEARNS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYSt CloudMN$993k1
BENDFILM INCBendOR$993k1
CONNECTICUT MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSN INCMiddletownCT$993k0
WOODROW WILSON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FOUNDATIONStauntonVA$992k1
ANACOSTIA ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER INCWashingtonDC$992k5
AMERICAN FRONTIER CULTURE FOUNDATIONStauntonVA$992k0
MONTANA HISTORY FOUNDATIONHelenaMT$992k1
Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra IncDallasTX$992k0
Casa Romantica Cultural Center & GardensSan ClementeCA$991k0
AMERICAN SEWING GUILD INC GROUP RETURNHoustonTX$991k0
GEORGE FLOYD GLOBAL MEMORIALMinneapolisMN$991k1
MOZART FESTIVAL ASSOCIATIONSan Luis ObiposCA$990k1
ART RESOURCES TRANSFORMATIONSAkronOH$990k0
SAN ANTONIO FESTIVAL OF BOOKS INCSan AntonioTX$990k1
DORY PELTON AND JD VAN HORN FOUNDATMarmarthND$990k0
INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC ACCURACYOaklandCA$990k1
Facets Film ForumChicagoIL$989k1
THE DELAWARE CONTEMPORY ARTS INCWilmingtonDE$989k0
FRIENDS OF THE GOVERNOR'S MANSIONAustinTX$989k1
MUSEUM OF THE GREAT PLAINS AUTHORITYLawtonOK$989k1
Albany Pro Musica IncTroyNY$989k1
EASTERN SHORE OF VIRGINIA BARRIER ISLANDS CENTER INCMachipongoVA$989k1
ILAN-LAEL INC DBA ILAN-LAEL FOUNDATIONJulianCA$988k1
NATIONAL NEW PLAY NETWORK LTDLake Worth BeachFL$988k10
BEVERLY HILLS PERFORMING ARTS CENTERBeverly HillsCA$988k2
Ohio Designer CraftsmenColumbusOH$988k1
TRISHA BROWN COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$987k1
ARMY AVIATION HERITAGE FOUNDATION AND FLYING MUSEUM INCHamptonGA$987k1
ARCHIPELAGO BOOKS INCBrooklynNY$987k1
VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL FUNDBoringOR$987k0
SKANEATELES FESTIVAL INCSkaneatelesNY$987k1
BRIGHT PATH STRONGSalt Lake CityUT$987k0
BAYSHORE CENTER AT BIVALVE INCPort NorrisNJ$987k2
CUMBE CENTER FOR AFRICAN AND DIASPORA DANCE INCBrooklynNY$987k0
HAYA WASHINGTONWashingtonDC$987k0
GARDEN OF FAITH PRESCHOOL AND SCHOOL AND SCHOOL OFBunnellFL$987k0
CORPUS CHRISTI SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCCorpus ChristiTX$986k0
CONSCIENTIOUS MUSICAL REVUENyNY$986k0
FORT PECK FINE ARTS COUNCILGlasgowMT$986k0
ACTORS' SHAKESPEARE PROJECTWatertownMA$986k2
WRITERS GUILD FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$986k1
SWAMINARAYAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION INCTelfordPA$986k0
SIOUXLAND EXPO CENTERSioux CityIA$986k0
HAND REHABILITATION FOUNDATIONRockledgePA$986k0
BETHEL COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL INCSaint PetersburgFL$986k0
THE PLAYERS INCSarasotaFL$985k1