Skip to main content
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 138 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE ESTRIA FOUNDATIONOaklandCA$876k2
SOCIETY OF THORACIC RADIOLOGYEast DundeeIL$876k0
CHRONICLE OF A PEOPLE FOUNDATION INCBlauveltNY$875k1
Arts Council of Moore CountySouthern PinesNC$875k1
THE JAY HERITAGE CENTERRyeNY$875k0
MILLICENT ROGERS MUSEUM INCTaosNM$875k2
SPRINGFIELD HISTORIC LANDMARK PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INCSpringfieldOH$874k0
VENICE ART CENTERVeniceFL$874k0
BOWLUS FINE ARTS & CULTURAL CENTER TRUSTIolaKS$874k0
CENTRE STAGE-SOUTH CAROLINA INCGreenvilleSC$874k1
ROSIE THE RIVETER TRUSTRichmondCA$874k1
COMMUNITY TELEVISION OF KNOXVILLEKnoxvilleTN$874k0
CATHEDRAL HERITAGE FOUNDATIONEden PrairieMN$874k0
FRANKLIN PERFORMING ARTS COMPANY INCFranklinMA$873k0
Fairbanks Childrens MuseumFairbanksAK$873k1
MONMOUTH MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTERLincroftNJ$873k1
EDITORIAL COUNCIL OF THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY INCMcLeanVA$873k9
YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF GREATER FORT WORTHFort WorthTX$873k1
Womens Suffrage National Monument FoundWashingtonDC$873k0
ART MUSEUM OF EASTERN IDAHOIdaho FallsID$872k1
OGDEN DINOSAUR PARK AND MUSEUM FOUNDATIONOgdenUT$872k1
HOUSTON MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTUREHoustonTX$872k1
ARTS ALLIANCE TULSA INCTulsaOK$872k1
MUSEUM OF APPALACHIAClintonTN$872k1
SUCCESS AT WORK INCHialeahFL$872k1
NA MAKA O PU'UWAI ALOHA - FOUNDATIONWaipahuHI$871k3
FRIENDS OF PERALTA HACIENDA HISTORICAL PARKOaklandCA$871k1
GORHAM ARTS ALLIANCEGorhamME$871k1
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE PUERTO RICOSan JuanPR$871k1
MEZTLI PROJECTS INCLos AngelesCA$871k1
DISCOVERY PLACE INC DBA THE DISCOVERY SCIENCE PLACE INCTylerTX$871k1
DZANC BOOKS INCAnn ArborMI$871k1
AK FOUNDATION FOR DANCE INCCanaanNY$871k0
BALLET CONCIERTO DE PUERTO RICO INCSan JuanPR$871k3
ENHANCING TOMORROWWestonMA$871k0
IN SERIES INCWashingtonDC$871k1
FORT SMITH ART CENTER INCFort SmithAR$870k0
EDUCATIONAL GROWTH ACROSS OCEANSRaleighNC$870k0
ALLIANCE FRANCAISESan FranciscoCA$870k1
Good News Radio IncFisherIL$870k1
Grandville Avenue Arts and Humanities IncGrand RapidsMI$870k2
Alaska Aviation MuseumAnchorageAK$870k0
STAGECRAFTERSRoyal OakMI$869k0
CULTURE LAB LIC INCLong Island CityNY$869k1
GREAT RIVER SHAKESPEARE FESTIVALWinonaMN$869k1
COLUMBIA STAGE SOCIETYColumbiaSC$869k0
BLD PWR INCMissouri CityTX$869k0
PIANOSFOREDUCATIONORG INCAtlantaGA$869k0
Symphony in CCollingswoodNJ$868k1
STREET ART MANKIND CORPLarchmontNY$868k1