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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 137 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
JUPITER SYMPHONY OF NEW YORK INCNew YorkNY$884k1
CANE RIVER NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA INCNatchitochesLA$884k0
GEORGIA SPORTS HALL OF FAME FOUNDATION INCMaconGA$884k1
San Jose Taiko Group IncSan JoseCA$884k2
HOLLYWOOD FRINGELos AngelesCA$884k2
CELTIC ARTS FOUNDATIONMount VernonWA$883k1
IOLAIRBellevueWA$883k0
PAULI MURRAY CENTER FOR HISTORY AND SOCIAL JUSTICEDurhamNC$883k1
BULLITT HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION INCLouisvilleKY$883k1
PLAYHOUSE ARTISTSNew HopePA$883k0
1812 PRODUCTIONS INCPhiladelphiaPA$883k2
GREAT WATERS MUSIC FESTIVAL INCWolfeboroNH$883k1
THE SOPRIS SUN INCCarbondaleCO$883k6
URBANITY DANCE INCBostonMA$882k1
KANSAS AVIATION MUSEUM INCWichitaKS$882k1
THE SCIENCE ZONECasperWY$882k1
RADIO ARTS FOUNDATIONSt LouisMO$882k1
TUBMAN AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM INCMaconGA$882k1
NEW ORLEANS MUSICIANS ASSISTANCE FOUNDATIONNew OrleansLA$882k0
The Musical Arts InstituteChicagoIL$882k2
EMERALD MEDIA GROUPEugeneOR$882k3
Theatre Bay AreaSan FranciscoCA$881k1
Austin PlayhouseAustinTX$881k4
FORT SMITH SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONFort SmithAR$881k1
RED RIVER THEATRES INCConcordNH$881k1
Arms Wide Open CorporationEl CajonCA$881k3
COMMONWEALTH THEATRE CENTER INCLouisvilleKY$881k1
GRAND CENTER FOR ARTS & CULTURE INCNew UlmMN$880k1
WATERTOWER THEATRE INCAddisonTX$880k1
TARGET MARGIN THEATER INCBrooklynNY$880k1
HEISEY COLLECTORS OF AMERICA INCNewarkOH$880k0
LEAVENWORTH SUMMER THEATERLeavenworthWA$880k1
COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOLAllentownPA$879k1
German American Klub Indianapolis IncIndianapolisIN$879k1
WORLD MUSIC INSTITUTE INCBrooklynNY$879k2
Theatre Advancement Production Society IncFleming IslandFL$878k0
CELTIC FEST INC DBA CELTIC CULTURAL ALLIANCEBethlehemPA$878k1
MASK & WIG CLUB (OF THE UNIV OF PA)PhiladelphiaPA$878k0
MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY OF MAYFLOWER DESCENDENTSHinghamMA$878k2
BIBLICAL HISTORY CENTER INCLaGrangeGA$878k0
SOUTH DAKOTA HALL OF FAMEChamberlainSD$877k1
ORGANIZATION FOR TRANSFORMATIVE WORKSNew YorkNY$877k0
THE ID ART CENTER INCBrooklynNY$877k1
HOUSTON CHAMBER CHOIRHoustonTX$877k3
IOWA STATE DAILY PUBLICATION BOARD INCAmesIA$877k0
MARTHA'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCOak BluffsMA$877k1
Wichita Falls Symphony OrchestraWichita FallsTX$876k1
DRAMA CLUB INCBrooklynNY$876k1
IFETAYO CULTURAL ARTS ACADEMY INCBrooklynNY$876k0
SARASOTA CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM INCSarasotaFL$876k0