Skip to main content
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 145 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
BECK FOUNDATION OF DSAETDuluthMN$819k1
DOUBLE D LIVING HISTORY FARM INCRoxburyCT$819k1
THE FINSTAD FOUNDATIONInternational FallsMN$819k0
The Ballroom Cultural Arts FoundationMarfaTX$818k1
OATLANDS INCLeesburgVA$818k1
STUDIO CHANNEL ISLANDS ART CENTERCamarilloCA$818k0
U Channel FoundationSanta ClaraCA$818k0
Charlotte Is CreativeCharlotteNC$817k2
MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATRE LTDMilwaukeeWI$817k1
THE HAYMARKET OPERA COMPANY NFPChicagoIL$817k2
FOCI MN CENTER FOR GLASS ARTSMinneapolisMN$817k2
TRICA INCBoiseID$817k1
KANSAS BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION INCBogueKS$817k4
CENTRE FOR ARTS AND ARTISTSNewtonIA$816k1
MOAB MUSIC FESTIVAL INCMoabUT$816k0
TWO EAST SIXTY-SECOND STREET FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$816k0
BOOKS TO LIFECentennialCO$816k0
RENAISSANCE THEATERWORKS INCMilwaukeeWI$816k0
BAYOU COUNTRY CHILDREN'S MUSEUMThibodauxLA$816k1
REALIZE BRADENTON INCBradentonFL$816k0
EAST CENTRAL REGIONAL ARTS COUNCILHinckleyMN$815k1
GREEN HILL CENTER FOR NORTH CAROLINA ARTGreensboroNC$815k1
CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF ACADIANALafayetteLA$815k0
MARIETTA COBB MUSEUM OF ART INCMariettaGA$815k0
Georgia Nihongo GakkoMabletonGA$815k0
ADAMS COUNTY FAIR AND RACING ASSNCorningIA$815k0
Independent Musical Productions IncHuntsvilleAL$815k0
Island City Stage IncWilton ManorsFL$815k0
COMMUNITY ACCESS PARTNERS OF SAN BUENAVENTURAVenturaCA$815k1
CHROMADIVERSE INCSan FranciscoCA$815k0
CHICAGO MULTI-CULTURAL DANCE CENTERChicagoIL$814k0
Brotherhood of Elders NetworkOaklandCA$814k1
BLANK FORMS INCBrooklynNY$813k1
MESNER PUPPET THEATERKansas CityMO$813k3
INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF JOURNALISTIC CLARITYPetroliaCA$813k0
SAURASHTRA PATEL CULTURAL SAMAJ C/O BIPIN KACHHADIYASanfordFL$813k0
Arts Engagement Foundation of Kansas CityKansas CityMO$813k0
MID ATLANTIC AIR MUSEUMReadingPA$813k1
STUDENTS MOTIVATED BY THE ARTS INCYoungstownOH$813k1
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ENDOWMENTPittsburghPA$813k2
The Adderley School FoundationAustinTX$813k2
CASCADE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYGreat FallsMT$812k1
WE THE BEST FOUNDATION INCLake SuccessNY$812k0
DURANGO ARTS CENTER INCDurangoCO$812k1
NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT CORPORATIONBerkeleyCA$812k10
Arlington Community Media IncArlingtonMA$812k1
GO INCSpring BranchTX$812k2
SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA PIONEERSSan FranciscoCA$812k1
NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF HISTORY ASSOCIATES INCRaleighNC$812k1
BOULDER ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANYBoulderCO$811k0