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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 13 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FRENCH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF OREGONPortlandOR$13.9M5
The Cincinnati Ballet Company IncCincinnatiOH$13.9M7
OLNEY THEATRE CORPORATION INCOlneyMD$13.9M2
THE NASHER SCULPTURE CENTERDallasTX$13.9M5
BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INCBuffaloNY$13.8M5
The Minnesota OperaMinneapolisMN$13.7M4
NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM INCCooperstownNY$13.7M10
THE PHILLIPS COLLECTIONWashingtonDC$13.7M9
GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE INCLos AngelesCA$13.6M8
CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONCrazy HorseSD$13.6M8
NATIONAL ENERGY EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECT INCManassasVA$13.6M5
Reka Darida FoundationNew YorkNY$13.6M1
THE STRATHMORE HALL FOUNDATION INCNorth BethesdaMD$13.6M8
STEINBECK HOUSE INCORPORATEDSag HarborNY$13.6M0
CROCKER ART MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONSacramentoCA$13.6M5
MUSEUM OF NEBRASKA ARTKearneyNE$13.5M1
SETTLEMENT MUSIC SCHOOL OF PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$13.5M4
Arvada Center for the Arts and HumanitiesArvadaCO$13.5M5
Fernbank IncAtlantaGA$13.4M8
MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORYDetroitMI$13.4M4
Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana IncIndianapolisIN$13.4M3
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF MANHATTANNew YorkNY$13.4M8
MACPHAIL CENTER FOR MUSICMinneapolisMN$13.4M7
PIONEER WORKS ART FOUNDATIONBrooklynNY$13.4M6
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETYPhiladelphiaPA$13.3M6
KUALI'I FOUNDATIONHonoluluHI$13.3M0
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR YAD VASHEM INCNew YorkNY$13.3M8
OGUNQUIT PLAYHOUSE FOUNDATIONOgunquitME$13.3M3
WXXI PUBLIC BROADCASTING COUNCILRochesterNY$13.3M6
DRUM CORPS INTERNATIONAL INCIndianapolisIN$13.3M4
NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAMESpringfieldMA$13.3M8
COMMUNITY MUSICWORKSProvidenceRI$13.3M2
NEBRASKA PUBLIC MEDIA FOUNDATION INCLincolnNE$13.3M5
NAPA VALLEY FESTIVAL ASSOCIATIONWalnut CreekCA$13.3M5
Regional Arts & Culture CouncilPortlandOR$13.2M3
WQED MULTIMEDIAPittsburghPA$13.2M6
MILITARY AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATIONVirginia BeachVA$13.2M0
DENVER FILM SOCIETYDenverCO$13.2M2
THE EPOCH TIMES MEDIA GROUP LOS ANGELESEl MonteCA$13.2M3
THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRASt PetersburgFL$13.1M5
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATERChicagoIL$13.1M12
GRANT PARK ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATIONChicagoIL$13.1M5
WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO ASSOCIATION INCMadisonWI$13M0
SCIENCE MUSEUM OKLAHOMA INCOklahoma CityOK$13M6
MARYLAND ACADEMY OF SCIENCESBaltimoreMD$12.9M6
MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUSTNew YorkNY$12.9M9
FRENCH INSTITUTE - ALLIANCE FRANCAISENew YorkNY$12.9M5
T OF L INCPittsburghPA$12.8M2
MESORAH HERITAGE FOUNDATIONRahwayNJ$12.8M7
MUSIC FOR ALL INCIndianapolisIN$12.8M3