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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 149 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
BILLERICA ACCESS TELEVISION INCBillericaMA$790k1
THE REDMOND ACADEMY OF THEATRE ARTSRedmondWA$790k1
SALISBURY HOUSE FOUNDATIONDes MoinesIA$790k1
OCEAN ISLE MUSEUM FOUNDATIONOcean Isle BeachNC$789k0
WHITED FOUNDATIONRatonNM$789k5
FLORIDA KEYS HISTORY OF DIVING MUSEUM INCIslamoradaFL$789k1
MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP CULTURAL AND ARTS COUNCIL INCMiddletownNJ$788k1
SUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE INCBurlingtonVT$788k2
THE THURBER HOUSEColumbusOH$788k1
MAESTRA MUSIC INCNew YorkNY$788k2
ESCAPESanta ClaritaCA$788k1
Cambridge Historical Tours IncRoxburyMA$788k3
DECIMANIA INCHatilloPR$788k0
MARK & SUSAN GRIMME FAMILY FOUNDATIONSouthgateKY$787k0
OH WOW THE ROGER & GLORIA JONES CHILDREN'S CENTER FOR SCIENCE & TECHYoungstownOH$787k2
DREAMS FOR SCHOOLSSanta AnaCA$787k1
LOOP IT UP SAVANNAH INCSavannahGA$787k1
QUINCY MINE HOIST ASSOCIATIONHancockMI$787k1
VOICES IN CONTEMPORARY ARTNew YorkNY$787k1
Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida IncNorth MiamiFL$787k0
LOWER MERION CONSERVANCYGladwynePA$787k1
FOUR RIVERS CULTURAL CENTER AND MUSEUMOntarioOR$787k1
INTERACTIVE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR KIDS INCGainesvilleGA$787k1
HOUSTON FIRE MUSEUM INCHoustonTX$787k1
CAPE ANN REGIONAL CABLE TELEVISION ACCESS CORPORATIONGloucesterMA$787k1
CHICO HISTORY MUSEUM INCChicoCA$787k0
CREATIVE AGING MEMPHISMemphisTN$787k4
GROSSE POINTE THEATRE INCGrosse PointeMI$787k0
JOY OF MUSIC YOUTH MUSIC SCHOOL CORPORATIONKnoxvilleTN$787k1
CENTRO CULTURAL DE MEXICO EN EL CONDADO DE ORANGESanta AnaCA$787k1
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE D'ATLANTA INCAtlantaGA$787k1
MASSARO COMMUNITY FARM INCWoodbridgeCT$786k1
OAKLAND INTERFAITH GOSPEL CHOIR INCOaklandCA$786k2
PORTLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSICPortlandME$786k1
The Children's Museum of the Treasure Coast IncJensen BeachFL$786k1
MODELING ACTING DANCE STUDIOJacksonvilleFL$786k0
OCEANSIDE THEATRE COMPANYOceansideCA$786k0
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUMRockfordIL$785k1
HANGAR 10 FLYING MUSEUM INCKingfisherOK$785k0
Seattle Young Artist Music Festival AssnSeattleWA$785k0
MUSEUM OF JURASSIC TECHNOLOGYCulver CityCA$785k1
Southern Colorado Theatre CompanyPuebloCO$785k2
VALDEZ MUSEUM & HISTORICAL ARCHIVE ASSOCIATION INCValdezAK$785k1
WEEHAWKEN CREATIVE ARTSRidgwayCO$785k1
THE GLOUCESTER ADVENTUREINCGloucesterMA$785k0
Desert Stages IncScottsdaleAZ$785k0
Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon ValleyLos AltosCA$785k1
THE GRAND OPERA HOUSEDubuqueIA$784k0
INSIGHT THROUGH EDUCATION INCPalm Beach GardensFL$784k0
The Little Theatre of Charlotte Inc dba Theatre CharlotteCharlotteNC$784k2