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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 143 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE GRIFFIN MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY INCWinchesterMA$835k1
SOUTH CAROLINA NATIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDORBeltonSC$835k1
KID SCOOP NEWSSonomaCA$835k0
Roswell Artist-in-Residence FoundationRoswellNM$835k0
DANCING GROUNDSNew OrleansLA$835k0
JAZZ DRAMA PROGRAMNew YorkNY$834k1
YOUTH AMBASSADORS INCKansas CityMO$834k1
INVESTIGATEWESTSeattleWA$834k1
THOMPSON PARK CONSERVANCY INCWatertownNY$833k1
FRIENDS OF DENVER SCHOOL OF THE ARTSDenverCO$833k1
FRIGID NEW YORK INCNew YorkNY$833k1
NSB IncReadingMA$833k0
UNDERMAIN THEATREDallasTX$833k2
BALTIMORE BEAT INCBaltimoreMD$833k1
FRIENDS OF ELIZABETH II INCManteoNC$833k0
FARGO-MOORHEAD ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATIONFargoND$833k2
UPPER WEST SIDE CINEMA CENTER INCNew YorkNY$832k0
LA Public Theatre IncLewistonME$832k1
Centre Stage IncMonroviaCA$832k2
ALUMNI THEATER COMPANYPittsburghPA$832k0
DANCEUSAWashingtonDC$832k5
THE TIMOTHY M DRAPER CENTER FOR DANCE EDUCATION INCBrightonNY$831k3
Navy Legacy Flight Foundation Inc C/O James TobulJacksonWY$831k1
MIDDLEBURY COMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER INCMiddleburyVT$831k1
North Cuyahoga Valley Corridor IncClevelandOH$831k1
HISTORIC NISSEN HOUSE INCLewisvilleNC$831k0
ASHLAND PRODUCTIONS INCMaplewoodMN$831k1
ATLANTA DOGWOOD FESTIVAL INCAtlantaGA$831k2
NEW JERSEY DANCE THEATRE ENSEMBLE INCSummitNJ$831k2
BOSTON CELEBRATIONS INC C/O CONVENTURES INCBostonMA$830k0
BREAD & ROSES PRESENTSCorte MaderaCA$830k1
The Bob Moog Memorial Foundation for Electronic MusicAshevilleNC$830k1
VOICES OF OUR CITY CHOIR INCSan DiegoCA$830k1
CANYON THEATRE GUILDNewhallCA$830k1
AMERICAN IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$829k0
PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY OF NEPAWilkesbarrePA$829k2
INSTITUTE OF CHINESE CULTUREHoustonTX$829k0
ACTORS THEATRE OF INDIANA INCCarmelIN$829k1
Hola CarolinaAshevilleNC$829k2
FOUNDATION MUSIC SCHOOLFort CollinsCO$829k1
THE PLAY PRODUCTION COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$829k2
IMAGINATION FACTORY COMMUNITY CENTERIron MountainMI$828k2
RED RIVER FILM SOCIETY INCShreveportLA$828k2
ST GEORGE CHILDRENS MUSEUMSt GeorgeUT$828k1
AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM MOUNTAIN VALLEY CHAPTERSacramentoCA$828k1
BUFFALO ARTS STUDIOBuffaloNY$828k1
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF RAMALLAH EDUWestlandMI$828k0
Yavapai Fair FoundationChino ValleyAZ$828k0
Connect2CultureJoplinMO$828k1
BUTTE CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS INCButteMT$828k0