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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 141 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
LITCHFIELD PERFORMING ARTS INCLitchfieldCT$851k2
FRIENDS OF THE MIDWEST THEATER MIDWEST THEATERScottsbluffNE$851k1
WO SMITH NASHVILLE COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOLNashvilleTN$851k1
CHINESE AMERICAN MUSEUM FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$851k2
GAELIC PARK CHARITIESOak ForestIL$851k0
PIGEON ART CENTER INCDubuqueIA$850k1
TOP BILLING ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE ACADEMYGlendoraCA$850k1
THE GIFFORD FLORIDA YOUTH ORCHESTRAVero BeachFL$850k1
THE JIM DINE ART TRUSTWalla WallaWA$850k0
GROWING STAGE THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES INCNetcongNJ$850k1
ARTSNOWAkronOH$850k1
STUDIO SCHOOL OF MUSICRichardsonTX$850k1
Museum of the AleutiansUnalaskaAK$850k1
THE ANTAEUS COMPANYGlendaleCA$849k1
WISCASSET WATERVILLE & FARMINGTON RAILWAY MUSEUMAlnaME$849k2
STILLWATER MUSICDurangoCO$849k1
SHAZUR INTERWOVEN INCNew YorkNY$849k1
THE NEVILLE PUBLIC MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCGreen BayWI$848k2
Somali Museum and Cultural CenterMinneapolisMN$848k1
MAHASKA FUTURE VIEWOskaloosaIA$848k1
IOWA HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC ASSOCIATIONBooneIA$848k0
DANCE MASTERS OF AMERICA INCMetairieLA$848k1
CENTER FOR COMMUNICATION INCBrooklynNY$848k1
UNITED SEATTLE BELLEVUE KOREAN SCHOOLMercer IslandWA$847k0
HITS TheatreHoustonTX$847k1
PORT AUSTIN REEFLIGHT ASSOCIATION INCPort AustinMI$847k0
ARMSTRONG AIR & SPACE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCWapakonetaOH$847k0
ASPEN JUNIOR HOCKEY INCAspenCO$847k2
COSMOS CLUB HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$847k0
NEW ORLEANS PHARMACY MUSEUMNew OrleansLA$847k1
Los Angeles Youth OrchestraEncinoCA$847k4
CULTUREHUB INCNew YorkNY$846k0
CONCORD ART ASSOCIATIONConcordMA$846k1
WIREGRASS MUSEUM OF ART INCDothanAL$846k0
APPALACHIAN EDUCATIONAL COMM CORPBlountvilleTN$846k0
COMMUNITY BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP INCSpringfieldVA$845k0
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA IN THE STATE OF CONNECTICUTWethersfieldCT$845k1
FRIENDS OF THE NEVADA MANSIONRenoNV$845k0
CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL MEDIABridgetonMO$845k0
CHEYENNE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM FKA CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF CHEYENNECheyenneWY$845k1
TRAVELING PLAYERS ENSEMBLE INCGreat FallsVA$844k1
NORTH MUSEUM CORPORATIONLancasterPA$844k1
ISTITUTO ITALIANO SCUOLASan FranciscoCA$844k1
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN KODALY EDUCATORS INCPortlandOR$844k0
Literary and Prologue Society of the SouthwestChandlerAZ$844k0
WESTERN PIEDMONT SYMPHONY INCHickoryNC$843k0
CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS - SAN GABRIEL VALLEY FOUNDATIONSanta AnaCA$843k1
Heartbeat Opera LtdBrooklynNY$843k1
Fort Bend Children's Discovery Center LLCHoustonTX$843k2
QUEEN CREEK CULTURAL FOUNDATION INCQueen CreekAZ$843k1