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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 128 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
JABBERWOCKY THEATRE COMPANYLos AngelesCA$973k9
WOODLAWN ARTS ACADEMYSterlingIL$973k1
RADA FOUNDATION INCAshevilleNC$972k2
ARTS ORANGE COUNTYIrvineCA$972k2
SWEDISH CLUB FOUNDATIONSeattleWA$972k0
THE RITZ THEATER COMPANY INCHaddon TownshipNJ$972k1
LAGUNA BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETYLaguna BeachCA$972k0
THE HEDDA STERNE FOUNDATION INCBrooklynNY$971k1
LANE ARTS COUNCILEugeneOR$971k1
MEMPHIS EQUITY THROUGH ARTS INCMemphisTN$971k3
MINNESOTA MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATIONBrooklyn ParkMN$971k1
CLARK CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCArroyo GrandeCA$971k1
PAUL R ERMINIE F HAFER PERPETUALOrlandoFL$971k1
FIRST COAST CULTURAL CENTER INCPonte Vedra BeachFL$969k1
CHESAPEAKE TRI-ASSOCIATION INCWestminsterMD$969k0
Fresh Air IncMinneapolisMN$969k1
THE DANVERS HISTORICAL SOCIETYDanversMA$969k0
Red Wing Arts AssociationRed WingMN$969k1
Craft Lake City CorporationSalt Lake CityUT$969k0
LANCASTER NEW YORK OPERA HOUSE INCLancasterNY$968k0
MAK CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHITECTURE LAWest HollywoodCA$968k3
SpacetakerHoustonTX$967k0
WASHINGTON CONSERVATORY OF MUSICGlen EchoMD$967k3
FOUNDATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTERSan Luis ObispoCA$967k1
LIVE ARTS INCCharlottesvilleVA$967k0
HOUSTON YOUTH SYMPHONYHoustonTX$967k1
ROCHESTER CIVIC THEATRERochesterMN$967k2
THE FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSICKansas CityMO$966k0
THE ST PAUL CONSERVATORY OF MUSICSt PaulMN$966k1
American Mental Health Counselors AssociationAlexandriaVA$966k2
AUDIO INFORMATION NETWORK OF COLORALouisvilleCO$966k1
THE NATIONAL JAZZ MUSEUM IN HARLEMNew YorkNY$966k1
THE AMERICAN GENERAL MEDIA FOUNDATIONBakersfieldCA$965k0
Versa-Style Dance CompanySun ValleyCA$964k2
THE FREDERICK ARTS COUNCIL INCFrederickMD$964k0
THE METROPOLITAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA SOCIETY OF NEW YORK INCManhassetNY$964k1
CHEYENNE SYMPHONY FOUNDATIONCheyenneWY$963k0
EL SISTEMA USASALINAS INCSalinasCA$963k1
ECONOMIC HARDSHIP REPORTING PROJECTBrooklynNY$963k3
IMPACT GUILD INCBeverly HillsCA$963k3
PODERWoodburnOR$962k0
NORTH POLE STUDIOPortlandOR$962k2
ARTS COUNCIL OF JOHNSON COUNTYOverland ParkKS$962k1
AMPHIBIAN PRODUCTIONS INCFort WorthTX$962k2
THE ALL-AMERICAN BOYS CHORUSAnaheimCA$962k0
PRINCETON GARDEN THEATER INCPrincetonNJ$962k0
ZANESVILLE MUSEUM OF ARTZanesvilleOH$962k0
Athens Clarke Heritage Foundation IncAthensGA$962k7
FOX FAMILY FOUNDATIONDenverCO$961k1
AWESOME CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP INCLexingtonKY$961k2