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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 130 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF WESTERN ART - THE ANSCHUTZ COLLECTIONDenverCO$952k0
CHINA LAKE MUSEUM FOUNDATIONRidgecrestCA$952k0
Suzuki Institute of DallasDallasTX$952k2
Nickerson-Rossi DanceLong BeachCA$951k0
COOK FOUNDATIONGloucesterVA$951k1
MERCED COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL INCMercedCA$951k0
GRAYS HARBOR HISTORICAL SEAPORT AUTHORITYAberdeenWA$951k1
KIDS ORCHESTRA INCBaton RougeLA$950k2
CHRISTIAN HALL OF FAME OF TEXASPlanoTX$950k0
FUND FOR SANTA MADDALENA INCNew YorkNY$950k0
ST PETERSBURG WAREHOUSE ARTS DISTRICT INCSt PetersburgFL$950k2
LAKE REGION ARTS COUNCILFergus FallsMN$950k0
FAITH CENTER FOR THE ARTS A NEW JERSEY NONPROFIT CORPORATIONWhartonNJ$950k1
THE ANTIQUITIES COALITION C/O DEBORAH LEHRWashingtonDC$950k1
ACADIANA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONLafayetteLA$950k0
THE SLOSS FURNACES FOUNDATION INCBirminghamAL$949k0
NORTHEAST LA CHILDRENS MUSEUMMonroeLA$949k1
CRANDELL THEATRE INCChathamNY$949k2
FARGO AIR MUSEUMFargoND$949k0
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF POLIN MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH JEWS INCNew YorkNY$949k1
UPSTREAM ARTS INCMinneapolisMN$949k1
COMMUNITY DOULA ALLIANCEPortlandOR$949k2
CARUTHERSVILLE AREA ARTS COUNCILCaruthersvilleMO$949k0
THE HELEN G BONFILS FOUNDATIONDenverCO$949k0
A HOME 4 WAYNE INCSan JacintoCA$949k1
HIGHLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTSGreensboroVT$949k1
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY THEATRELexingtonKY$948k1
CREATIVE ARTS WORKSHOP INCNew HavenCT$948k1
THE MUSEUM OF ART DELAND FLORIDA INCDeLandFL$948k0
UNICORN THEATREKansas CityMO$947k0
NATIONAL CENTER ON PHILANTHROPY AND THE LAW INCNew YorkNY$947k4
LAKE VIEW CAMP & CONFERENCE CENTERPellaIA$947k0
Generation Diamond CorporationOmahaNE$947k2
ARTS EDUCATION IN MARYLAND SCHOOLS ALLIANCE INCBaltimoreMD$947k1
PHAMALY THEATRE COMPANYDenverCO$947k1
Raizes CollectiveSanta RosaCA$947k1
West Coast Christian Television IncLargoFL$946k3
CENTER FOR AMERICAN VALUESPuebloCO$946k0
LEAP OF FAITH DANCE COMPANYWestervilleOH$946k2
Associated Christian BroadcastersLimaOH$945k0
Baton Rouge Gallery IncBaton RougeLA$945k1
SOLUTIONS TO END POVERTY SOON INCLakewoodNJ$945k9
JEWISH WOMEN'S THEATRESanta MonicaCA$945k2
Louisville Visual Art IncLouisvilleKY$945k1
WOLF KAHN FOUNDATION INCBrattleboroVT$945k1
4TH WALL THEATRE COMPANYHoustonTX$945k2
TEMPESTA DI MARE INCPhiladelphiaPA$944k3
INDIANAPOLIS JAZZ FOUNDATION INCIndianapolisIN$944k0
The Bannermans Castle Trust IncGlenhamNY$944k1
INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN COMPETITION OF INDIANAPOLIS INCIndianapolisIN$944k2