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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 15 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Greater Educational Opportunities FoundationIndianapolisIN$12.6M7
OHIO & ERIE CANALWAY COALITIONAkronOH$12.6M1
JAPAN SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$12.5M7
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FOUNDATION OF ILLINOIS INCSkokieIL$12.5M9
NATIONAL LINKS TRUSTWashingtonDC$12.5M5
NEWPORT FESTIVALS FOUNDATION INCManchesterbytheseaMA$12.5M5
LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE ASSOCIATIONLos AngelesCA$12.5M9
THE CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF DENVER INCDenverCO$12.5M8
PHOENIX ART MUSEUMPhoenixAZ$12.5M7
HERITAGE CONSERVANCY INCDoylestownPA$12.5M2
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETYAnn ArborMI$12.4M5
OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETYPortlandOR$12.4M7
WADSWORTH ATHENEUM MUSEUM OF ARTHartfordCT$12.4M5
NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ADVANCEMENT IN THE ARTS INCMiamiFL$12.4M10
Stafford Air & Space Museum FoundationWeatherfordOK$12.4M0
LUBBOCK ENTERTAINMENT AND PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATIONLubbockTX$12.4M1
MUSEO DE ARTE DE PUERTO RICO INCSan JuanPR$12.4M0
FLINT CULTURAL CENTER CORPORATIONFlintMI$12.4M3
EQUIS INSTITUTEWashingtonDC$12.4M3
THE PHOENIX THEATRE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARYPhoenixAZ$12.3M4
DISCOVERY PARK OF AMERICA INCUnion CityTN$12.3M1
DORIS DUKE FOUNDATION FOR ISLAMIC ARTNew YorkNY$12.3M0
HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ARTHonoluluHI$12.3M8
WOMEN MAKE MOVIES INCNew YorkNY$12.2M2
FELLOWSHIP FOR PERFORMING ARTS INCNew YorkNY$12.2M1
HIGH DESERT MUSEUMBendOR$12.2M2
FLINT CULTURAL CENTER FOUNDATIONFlintMI$12.2M0
CROCKER ART MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONSacramentoCA$12.2M8
MUSEUM OF NEBRASKA ARTKearneyNE$12.2M2
THE HODDER FAMILY FOUNDATION C/O ABBOT DOWNING MAC N9305-530MinneapolisMN$12.2M0
FORT WAYNE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA INCFort WayneIN$12.1M3
ATLANTA BALLET INCAtlantaGA$12.1M6
SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF NEW ENGLAND ANTIQUITIESBostonMA$12.1M5
Jacksonville Symphony Association IncJacksonvilleFL$12.1M6
KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INCKutztownPA$12.1M3
THE PHILBROOK MUSEUM OF ART INCTulsaOK$12.1M6
Institute of Contemporary Art Miami IncMiamiFL$12.1M4
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF PITTSBURGHPittsburghPA$12.1M5
THE SHED IN WARROADWarroadMN$12M0
THE LAHAINA RESTORATION FOUNDATIONPuuneneHI$12M1
MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM INCMilwaukeeWI$12M9
AUTRY MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN WESTLos AngelesCA$12M10
THE ISAMU NOGUCHI FOUNDATION AND GARDEN MUSEUMLong Island CityNY$11.9M5
THE CHILDRENS MUSEUMBostonMA$11.9M7
GROSSE POINTE WAR MEMORIAL ASSOCIATIONGrosse Pointe FarmsMI$11.9M3
THE EPOCH TIMES MEDIA GROUP LOS ANGELESEl MonteCA$11.9M6
THE TURNER COLLECTION FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$11.9M0
VERITE INCNorthamptonMA$11.8M5
Local Independent Online News Publishers IncWilmingtonDE$11.8M8
GROUNDS FOR SCULPTURE INCHamiltonNJ$11.8M5