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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 140 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Bindlestiff Family Variety Arts IncNew YorkNY$860k2
LOUISVILLE ACADEMY OF MUSICLouisvilleKY$860k2
Umoja Debate TeamDetroitMI$859k1
MARTHA'S VINEYARD FILM SOCIETY INCVineyard HavenMA$859k1
Mastermedia International IncRedlandsCA$859k2
K12 GALLERY FOR YOUNG PEOPLEDaytonOH$859k1
HIGH POINT ARTS COUNCIL INCHigh PointNC$859k1
Palenke ArtsSeasideCA$858k1
MOUNTAIN TOP MUSIC CENTERConwayNH$858k1
New Reno Little TheaterRenoNV$858k1
A RED ORCHID THEATREChicagoIL$857k2
GLOBAL PEACE FILM FESTIVAL INCWinter ParkFL$857k1
SUNCOAST YOUNG PEOPLE'S THEATRE INCNew Port RicheyFL$857k0
ROCKLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCWest NyackNY$857k1
Marine Mammals of MaineBathME$857k1
AFTERIMAGE PUBLIC MEDIASan FranciscoCA$857k0
MONMOUTH COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL INCRed BankNJ$856k1
POE FOUNDATION INCRichmondVA$856k1
THE GREEN ROOM COMMUNITY THEATRE INCNewtonNC$856k0
Shirley and David Toomim Family FoundationHoustonTX$856k5
NORTHEAST CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM INCNorwichNY$856k1
MARIAN ANDERSON HISTORICAL SOCIETYPhiladelphiaPA$856k0
SMYRNA-CLAYTON HERITAGE ASSOCIATIONSmyrnaDE$856k1
CORVALLIS ARTS CENTER INCCorvallisOR$856k2
California Bluegrass AssociationSan FranciscoCA$856k1
AMERICAN FESTIVAL FOR THE ARTSHoustonTX$855k1
CITY OPERA HOUSE HERITAGE ASSOCIATION INCTraverse CityMI$855k1
VICE PRESIDENT'S RESIDENCE FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$855k0
SAVANNAH CHILDRENS THEATRE INCSavannahGA$855k3
THIRD AVENUE PLAYHOUSE INCSturgeon BayWI$855k2
KEY WEST FILM SOCIETY INCKey WestFL$855k0
NORTHEASTERN NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIElkoNV$855k0
OH ART FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$854k0
OLD TOWN PLAYHOUSE INCTraverse CityMI$854k1
Torn Space Theater IncBuffaloNY$854k2
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF LENAWEE COUNTYAdrianMI$854k0
TIPPECANOE COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONLafayetteIN$853k1
DE YU SPIRITUAL CULTIVATION INSTITUTEHoustonTX$853k0
BERKSHIRE OPERA FESTIVAL INCPittsfieldMA$853k2
UKRAINIAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER INCWatervlietNY$853k0
WATERBURY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCWaterburyCT$853k0
WE CARE FOR HUMANITYLas VegasNV$853k1
THE INTERMARIUM FOUNDATIONWilmingtonDE$852k0
MAYSLES INSTITUTE INCNew YorkNY$852k0
NOCHE FLAMENCA INCNew YorkNY$852k1
FRIENDS OF SOUTHFIELD PUBLIC ARTSouthfieldMI$852k0
Braata Productions IncSaint AlbansNY$852k1
San Francisco Architectural HeritageSan FranciscoCA$852k2
HISTORIC LOCUST GROVE INCLouisvilleKY$851k1
Klairmont Kollections Automotive MuseumChicagoIL$851k1