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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 127 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SPOKE ART INC (FKA MEDICINE WHEEL PRODUCTIONS INC)BostonMA$985k1
BUFFALO STRING WORKS INCBuffaloNY$985k0
HYDE HALL INCCooperstownNY$985k1
LEXINGTON CHILDREN'S MUSEUMLexingtonKY$985k1
THE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARMOR INCOld BethpageNY$984k0
FUTURE ROOTS INCLos AngelesCA$984k1
BALLET FIVE EIGHT NFPOrland ParkIL$984k2
SHENANDOAH VALLEY DISCOVERY MUSEUM INCWinchesterVA$984k1
VERONICA ROBLES CULTURAL CENTEREast BostonMA$984k1
FRIENDS OF L & N DEPOT INCBowling GreenKY$983k0
PORT HURON MUSEUM OF ARTS & HISTORYPort HuronMI$983k0
OPEN MIND A PROJECT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION OF CHILDRENSan FranciscoCA$983k0
WORCESTER HISTORICAL MUSEUMWorcesterMA$983k1
Advocates of A Latino Museum of Cultural and Visual Arts & ArchiveHoustonTX$983k0
GOSHEN HISTORIC TRACK INCGoshenNY$983k0
INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING CENTERJonesboroughTN$982k1
MARYLAND DEAF COMMUNITY CENTERFrederickMD$982k0
The National Society of the Colonial Dames in the State of North CarolinaWilmingtonNC$982k1
ARTS TOGETHER INCRaleighNC$982k1
WALTHAM COMMUNITY ACCESS CORPORATIONWalthamMA$981k1
MANOA HERITAGE CENTER FKA MANOA VALLEY CULTURAL HERITAGE FOUNDHonoluluHI$981k3
COLUMBIA THEATRE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSLongviewWA$981k1
TERMINUS BALLET INCDecaturGA$980k0
Christian Broadcasting IncAnchorageAK$980k2
The Mountain Spring FoundationWilmingtonDE$980k0
SAN BENITO COUNTY ARTS COUNCILHollisterCA$980k1
THE EASTERN CONNECTICUT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCORPORATEDNew LondonCT$979k0
THE FORT LAUDERDALE CHILDREN'S THEATRE INCDavieFL$978k1
THE FOUNDATION FOR ART & HEALING INCBrightonMA$978k1
GLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY INCGloucesterMA$978k1
FIRST CITY ARTS ALLIANCE INCPensacolaFL$978k1
GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY FOUNDATIONGrand RapidsMI$978k1
WORTHLESS FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$978k1
THEATER WIT NFPChicagoIL$978k2
The Dunhuang Foundation IncHendersonNV$978k1
Oakland Ballet CompanyOaklandCA$977k1
Players Circle Art Center IncFort MyersFL$977k2
ARTS & LITERATURE LABORATORY INCMadisonWI$977k3
EWM INCEvansvilleIN$977k0
LITTLE OPERA HOUSE INCAlamedaCA$976k0
THOMAS STRUTHERS TRUSTWarrenPA$976k1
HANCOCK COUNTY TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC RESERVATIONEllsworthME$975k0
JOHN BURROUGHS HIGH SCHOOL VOCAL MUSIC ASSOCIATIONBurbankCA$975k0
THE WOMENS MEDIA CENTER INCWashingtonDC$975k3
TURNIP GREEN CREATIVE REUSENashvilleTN$975k1
ASSYRIAN CLUB OF URHAI INCCeresCA$974k0
FOWNES FOUNDATIONOakmontPA$974k0
NORTH AMERICAN BEAR CENTERElyMN$974k1
THE WAREHOUSE THEATREGreenvilleSC$974k2
EVERHART MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SCIENCE AND ARTScrantonPA$973k1