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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 139 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
DEADCENTER FILM FESTIVAL INCOklahoma CityOK$868k1
MAN 2 MAN FATHERHOOD INITIATIVE OFBennettsvilleSC$868k0
BLOOMSBURG THEATRE ENSEMBLE INCBloomsburgPA$868k0
THE WEB DU BOIS CENTER FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY INCGreat BarringtonMA$867k1
THE T SCHREIBER STUDIO INCNew YorkNY$867k2
Cincinnati Chamber OrchestraCincinnatiOH$867k4
HARVARD LAMPOON INCCambridgeMA$867k0
GRAND BLVD TOWN CTR ARTS & ENTMiramar BeachFL$867k0
ArtwerksSeattleWA$867k1
Richmond Triangle Players IncRichmondVA$867k1
ZOETIC STAGE INCMiamiFL$867k3
THE ART CENTER INCDuluthGA$866k1
BCT BROOKLYN CHILDREN'S THEATRE INCBrooklynNY$866k1
MINNESOTA MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION DEVELOPMENT BOARDMinneapolisMN$866k0
FIRST ACT THEATRE ARTS INCOverland ParkKS$866k1
OPERA HOUSE THEATRE COMPANY INCWilmingtonNC$866k8
The Greater Cincinnati Arts & Education CenterCincinnatiOH$866k0
Bag and Baggage ProductionsHillsboroOR$865k1
SOUTHERN OHIO MUSEUM CORPORATIONPortsmouthOH$865k3
CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCMurfreesboroTN$865k1
ARTS IMPACT INCClevelandOH$865k1
Jacob Jonas The Company IncSanta MonicaCA$865k3
STORIES MATTER FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$864k0
LINN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYCedar RapidsIA$864k1
THE CONTEMPORARY THEATRE OF OHIOColumbusOH$864k2
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD HISTORY PROJECT OF THE CAPITAL REGIONINCAlbanyNY$864k1
Chapter 510 InkOaklandCA$863k1
EDU21C FOUNDATIONBostonMA$863k0
Motor City Theatre Organ Society IncDetroitMI$863k0
PINNACLE HIGH BOOSTER CLUB INCPhoenixAZ$863k0
COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL OF COLLEGEVILLE LTDCollegevillePA$863k0
WOMEN'S INITIATIVE FOR SELF-EMPOWERMENTSt PaulMN$863k1
FRIENDS OF THE STRAND THEATRE INCRocklandME$862k0
Creative Adventure Lab IncDubuqueIA$862k1
MICHIGAN SCHOOL VOCAL MUSIC ASSOCIATIONBig RapidsMI$862k0
BILLINGS PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCBillingsMT$862k1
Young Audiences of Northern CaliforniaSan FranciscoCA$862k1
THE SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIAHenricoVA$862k0
DAKOTA MEDIA ACCESS INCBismarckND$861k1
THE GUITAR CENTER MUSIC FOUNDATIONWestlake VillageCA$861k0
INTERMUSEUM CONSERVATION ASSOCIATIONClevelandOH$861k2
HAVERHILL COMMUNITY TELEVISION CORPHaverhillMA$861k1
FRIENDS OF WOODLAWN CEMETERY OFELMIRA INCElmiraNY$861k0
SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF LONG ISLAND ANTIQUITIESCold Spring HarborNY$860k1
CELEBRATION TV AMERICA INCHoustonTX$860k0
SURFING HERITAGE AND CULTURE CENTERSan ClementeCA$860k2
GLESSNER HOUSE MUSEUMChicagoIL$860k1
Playwrights ProjectSan DiegoCA$860k1
SIOUX EMPIRE COMMUNITY THEATRE INCSioux FallsSD$860k0
RGV Genesis Drum and Bugle Corps IncAustinTX$860k1