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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 129 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
EDISON ARTS FOUNDATION INCMissouri CityTX$961k0
HEDGEROW THEATRE INCRose ValleyPA$960k2
BLOCK 100 FOUNDATION INCMiddletonWI$960k0
VOCES8 FOUNDATION USAGrand RapidsMI$960k1
MIDLAND FESTIVAL BALLETMidlandTX$960k1
WHERE ANGELS PLAY FOUNDATIONOakhurstNJ$960k2
INDO AMERICAN CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONPhoenixAZ$960k0
MERCED THEATRE FOUNDATIONMercedCA$960k0
WEATHERVANE THEATRE PLAYERS INCWhitefieldNH$959k0
GRANVILLE MUSEUM INCGranvilleTN$959k1
ALARM WILL SOUND INCNew YorkNY$959k2
KNICKERBOCKER MUSIC CENTER INCWesterlyRI$959k1
UPTOWN PLAYERS INCDallasTX$959k2
American Friends of Venatenu IncMiamiFL$958k0
Chabad Jewish Community of Central London IncLong BeachCA$958k0
TU DANCESt PaulMN$958k2
WILMINGTON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INCWilmingtonNC$958k1
FUNDACION ESPOSOS LUIS MENDEZ VAZ Y MARIA BAGUR INC$958k0
RESIDENCY UNLIMITED INCBrooklynNY$958k1
CLIMB Theatre IncInver Grove HeightsMN$957k1
CHARLES ALLIS AND VILLA TERRACE MUSEUMS INCMilwaukeeWI$957k1
THE ARTISTS COLLECTIVE INCHartfordCT$957k1
InterMusic SFSan FranciscoCA$957k1
DIVAN CULTURAL CENTERCaryNC$957k1
SCIENCE MUSEUM OF LONG ISLAND INCPlandomeNY$956k1
EXPRESS YOURSELF INCBeverlyMA$956k2
GREATER BALTIMORE CULTURAL ALLIANCE INCBaltimoreMD$955k1
WINKLER-LOVING COUNTY LIVESTOCK ASSOCIATIONKermitTX$955k0
WHITE HORSE STEPSTONEBlack MountainNC$955k0
CTT COMEDYLaguna BeachCA$955k1
LIBRARY STUDY HALL INCNyackNY$954k1
Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program IncColumbusOH$954k2
PRAIRIE LAKES REGIONAL ARTS COUNCILWasecaMN$954k0
KIDCITY INCMiddletownCT$954k2
BORDERLANDS THEATER TEATRO FRONTERIZO INCTucsonAZ$954k1
CALIFORNIA VEHICLE FOUNDATIONSacramentoCA$954k0
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN DIASPORAN ARTSBrooklynNY$954k1
NEW NATIVE THEATRESt PaulMN$953k1
MONO NO AWARE INCBrooklynNY$953k1
MAINE MINERAL AND GEM MUSEUMBethelME$953k0
AFRICATOWN REDEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONMobileAL$953k0
Project ArtaudSan FranciscoCA$953k5
ASSOCIATION OF THE LOS ALTOS HISTORICAL MUSEUM AKA LOS ALTOS HISTORY MUSEUMLos AltosCA$953k1
DREAMS OF WILMINGTON INCWilmingtonNC$953k1
CHRIST CHURCH PRESERVATION TRUSTPhiladelphiaPA$953k1
OPERA MEMPHIS INCMemphisTN$953k1
VOICES UNDERGROUNDKennett SquarePA$952k1
HINGHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCHinghamMA$952k1
THE SALZBURG FESTIVAL SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$952k1
MAGNOLIA TRIBUNE INSTITUTEFloraMS$952k1