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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 148 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
International Chamber of Commerce Un Observer Mission IncNew YorkNY$797k0
THE LYRIC OPERA OF KANSAS CITY FOUNDATIONKansas CityMO$797k0
LEADERSHIP NEW MEXICOAlbuquerqueNM$797k1
626 LANDMARK FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$796k0
Opera NeoSan DiegoCA$796k0
Coast Film FoundationLaguna BeachCA$796k1
GRAND RAPIDS CHILDREN'S MUSEUMGrand RapidsMI$796k3
Association of Ramaytush OhloneSan FranciscoCA$796k2
NEWARK SPORT & EVENT COMMISSIONNewarkOH$796k2
AUTOMOBILE GALLERY INCGreen BayWI$796k1
THE CALIFORNIA PATRONS OF THE ARTS IN THE VATICAN MUSEUMSLos AngelesCA$796k0
MUSLIM AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEW YORK INCBrooklynNY$796k0
About Face Theatre Collective IncChicagoIL$796k2
BROADWAY OC INCLong BeachCA$796k0
SPRECKELS ORGAN SOCIETYSan DiegoCA$796k1
SALEM ART ASSOCIATIONSalemOR$795k1
THE JEAN AND GRAHAM DEVOE WILLIFORD CHARITABLE TRUSTLakewayTX$795k3
BROWN COUNTY PLAYHOUSE MANAGEMENTNashvilleIN$795k0
BALBOA ART CONSERVATION CENTERSan DiegoCA$795k1
CISNEROS FONTANALS ART FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTSMiamiFL$795k0
PITTSBURGH JCS INCPittsburghPA$795k1
GREATER SAINT LOUIS HONOR FLIGHT INCSt LouisMO$794k0
UKRAINIANS OF COLORADOLakewoodCO$794k0
DAUGHTERS OF HAWAIIHonoluluHI$794k1
Out of the Woodwork ProductionsWoodbridgeVA$794k0
KAYENTA ARTS FOUNDATIONIvinsUT$794k0
FRIENDS OF BANNING PARKWilmingtonCA$794k0
MIXED EMOTION THEATRIXBeverly HillsCA$794k1
Jack Straw FoundationSeattleWA$794k2
THE FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HOUSE IN EBSWORTH PARKSt LouisMO$794k1
CULTURAL FESTIVALSSt LouisMO$794k1
Akron Creative IncAkronOH$793k1
WATERSHED NP INCBuena VistaCO$793k0
HINGHAM COMMUNITY ACCESS AND MEDIA INCHinghamMA$793k1
THE EDNA ST VINCENT MILLAY SOCIETYAusterlitzNY$793k0
WINCHESTER SCHOOL OF CHINESE CULTURE INCWinchesterMA$793k0
SEWICKLEY CEMETERY FOUNDATIONSewickleyPA$793k0
OIL GAS & INDUSTRIAL HISTORICAL AS INCParkersburgWV$793k0
Knoxville Childrens Theatre IncKnoxvilleTN$793k1
HISTORICAL & CULTURAL SOCIETY OF CLAY COUNTYMoorheadMN$793k1
UNBRIDLED THOROUGHBRED FOUNDATIONGreenvilleNY$793k0
PACKARD MOTOR CAR FOUNDATIONShelby TwpMI$792k0
ESTRELLA WARBIRDS MUSEUM INCPaso RoblesCA$792k0
MARIPOSA COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL INCMariposaCA$792k1
TRANSFORMER INCWashingtonDC$792k1
EDGERTON EDUCATION FOUNDATIONAuroraNE$791k0
SURF POINT FOUNDATIONYorkME$791k1
THE ARTS HUBLafayetteCO$791k1
W T MCARTHUR HISTORIC HOMEPLACE INCVidaliaGA$790k0
Downtown SLC PresentsSalt Lake CityUT$790k4