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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 134 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAIN HERITAGE CENTERTownsendTN$913k1
ALTONIMBUS ENTERTAINMENTPortlandOR$913k0
ACADEMY OF HELLENIC PAIDEIA INCAstoriaNY$913k2
CANTON BALLETCantonOH$913k2
LOG CABIN INSTITUTEWashingtonDC$912k0
FELLOWS OF CONTEMPORARY ARTLos AngelesCA$912k0
BALLET ARTISTS OF WESTERN NEW YORK INCBuffloNY$912k4
THE MYRNA LOYHelenaMT$912k2
FRIENDS OF THE COLTRANE HOME IN DIX HILLSDeer ParkNY$912k0
YOUTH FX INCAlbanyNY$911k2
SMITHTOWN PERFORMING ARTS COUNCIL INCSmithtownNY$911k0
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF OAK PARKOak ParkIL$911k0
ROCKLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSICPearl RiverNY$911k1
METROPOLITAN CLUB PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$911k0
SAINT PAUL FESTIVAL & HERITAGE FOUNDATIONSaint PaulMN$911k2
HISTORIC RESTORATION SOCIETY INCMobileAL$910k0
SIOUX CITY LEWIS & CLARK INTERPRETIVE CENTERSioux CityIA$910k2
TUESDAY MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONAkronOH$910k1
THE NORWALK ART SPACE INCNorwalkCT$910k0
PENINSULA BALLET THEATRESan MateoCA$910k3
DALLAS ARTS DISTRICT FOUNDATIONDallasTX$909k1
Cass County North Dakota Historical SocietyWest FargoND$909k1
LAGUARDIA HIGH SCHOOL PARENTS ASSOCIATION INCNew YorkNY$909k0
GALLUP INTER-TRIBAL INDIAN CEREMONIAL ASSOCIATION INCGallupNM$909k0
GYOPOLos AngelesCA$908k1
MOSTLY MODERN PROJECTS INCNew YorkNY$908k2
WOODSTOCK SCHOOL OF ART INCWoodstockNY$908k1
SAIL MAINEPortlandME$908k1
MCLEAN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYBloomingtonIL$908k1
LYRIC STAGE INCDallasTX$908k2
ONE LONGFELLOW SQUAREPortlandME$907k1
Friends of Garfield Park IncIndianapolisIN$907k0
OCEAN CITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONOcean CityMD$907k1
BENTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYPhilomathOR$907k1
POWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATIONPowayCA$907k1
MILITARY AVIATION PRESERVATION SOCIETYCantonOH$907k1
WILLIAMSON COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUMGeorgetownTX$907k1
SUNFLOWER CREATIVE ARTS INCDelray BeachFL$906k1
SUZANNE FITZALLEN JACKSON FOUNDATION INCSavannahGA$906k0
Canobie Films Foundation IncorporatedTiburonCA$906k5
JAZZ HANDS FOR AUTISMCulver CityCA$906k1
ARS NOVA WORKSHOP INCPhiladelphiaPA$906k2
THE FIVE WINGS ARTS COUNCILStaplesMN$906k7
ATLANTIC IMPACTDetroitMI$906k0
564 PARK AVENUE PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$905k0
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF LA CROSSE INCLa CrosseWI$905k2
AMERICAN YOUTH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRASAnnandaleVA$905k2
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA IN THE COMM OF VARichmondVA$905k2
STAN HYWET HALL AND GARDENS FOUNDATIONAkronOH$905k2
RAPID CITY FINE ARTS COUNCIL INCRapid CitySD$905k0