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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 142 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
EL SISTEMA COLORADODenverCO$842k1
Houston Heights AssociationHoustonTX$842k1
OWENSBORO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCOwensboroKY$842k0
FRIENDS OF YOGI INCLittle FallsNJ$842k2
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S ORCHARD HOUSE INCConcordMA$842k1
CORONADO HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION INCORPORATEDCoronadoCA$842k1
BLACK ARTS MKE INCMilwaukeeWI$842k0
VOX TEEN COMMUNICATIONS INCAtlantaGA$842k1
KOVNO COMMUNICATIONS INCBerkeleyCA$842k1
SCULPTURE MILWAUKEE INCMilwaukeeWI$841k1
JAZZ IN JANUARY INCTucsonAZ$841k3
Good Tidings Trust IncGreen Cove SpringsFL$841k2
NORTHWEST TERRITORY HISTORIC CENTERDixonIL$841k1
WOW CHILDREN'S MUSEUM WORLD OF WONDERLafayetteCO$841k1
Greatest Generation Naval MuseumColorado SpringsCO$840k0
The Red Door ProjectPortlandOR$840k4
NEW YORKERS AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE EDUCATION FUND INCNew YorkNY$840k1
KATONAH MUSEUM OF ARTKatonahNY$840k1
PLAY IT FORWARDPortlandOR$840k1
NEAR WEST THEATRE INCClevelandOH$839k2
Music WorkshopPortlandOR$839k1
WAUKESHA CIVIC THEATRE INCWaukeshaWI$839k1
THE NEWTON CHINESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL INCNewtonvilleMA$839k6
READ TO ME INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATIONHonoluluHI$839k1
TAIWANESE-AMERICAN FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGOSan DiegoCA$839k0
Kauai Writers IncKapaaHI$838k0
OREGON CONTEMPORARY THEATREEugeneOR$838k1
Beechcraft Heritage Museum IncTullahomaTN$838k3
ILLINOIS AMISH INFORMATION EXHIBITSArcolaIL$838k0
LAKELAND CULTURAL ARTS CENTERLittletonNC$838k0
GRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM FOUNDATIONGrand RapidsMI$837k1
United Railroad Historical Society of NJ IncBoontonNJ$837k0
INGLEWOOD COMMUNITY PROGRAMSLos AngelesCA$837k4
North Star Dance FoundationFairbanksAK$837k2
IRISH CULTURAL CENTER INC OF WESTERN NEW ENGLANDWest SpringfieldMA$837k0
AMERICAN COMPOSERS FORUMSt PaulMN$836k1
VIDEO PROJECT INCSan FranciscoCA$836k2
SEATTLE UNIVERSAL MATH MUSEUMSeattleWA$836k0
Expansion International IncBoiseID$836k0
FOR-SITE FoundationSan FranciscoCA$836k1
THE JUSTICE REFORMFort WorthTX$836k0
VOCAL ARTS SOCIETYWashingtonDC$836k1
TRINITY ONE THEATRE TROUPE INCSan DiegoCA$836k1
Free Arts dba Free Arts for Abused ChildrenLos AngelesCA$836k1
NORTHWEST INDIANA SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCMunsterIN$836k1
Arlington Center for the Arts Inc Tom Formicola Exec DirectorArlingtonMA$836k1
FRIENDS OF WASHINGTON CROSSING PARK INCWashington CrossingPA$836k1
SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY C/O STEFAN DOMBROWSKILawrencevilleNJ$835k0
DENVER YOUNG ARTISTS ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONDenverCO$835k1
San Francisco Bay Area Theatre CompanySan FranciscoCA$835k2