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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 15 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE ISAMU NOGUCHI FOUNDATION AND GARDEN MUSEUMLong Island CityNY$11.9M5
THE CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSEClevelandOH$11.9M3
ST ANN'S WAREHOUSE INCBrooklynNY$11.9M6
PS 1 CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER INCLong Island CityNY$11.9M5
THE TURNER COLLECTION FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$11.9M0
VILLAGE THEATREIssaquahWA$11.8M6
VERITE INCNorthamptonMA$11.8M5
SIGNATURE THEATRE INCArlingtonVA$11.8M5
Local Independent Online News Publishers IncWilmingtonDE$11.8M8
WOMEN MAKE MOVIES INCNew YorkNY$11.8M1
GROUNDS FOR SCULPTURE INCHamiltonNJ$11.8M5
EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION INCOshkoshWI$11.8M6
THE CENTER FOR EDUCATION REFORMWashingtonDC$11.7M8
VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETYRichmondVA$11.7M6
THE BASILICA LANDMARKMinneapolisMN$11.7M0
LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE ASSOCIATIONLos AngelesCA$11.7M8
LOW ROAD SHARON INCSharonCT$11.7M5
FORT WORTH MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORYFort WorthTX$11.7M6
MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY AND SCIENCE INCFort LauderdaleFL$11.7M6
American Players Theatre of Wisconsin IncSpring GreenWI$11.7M4
Friends of The Music HallPortsmouthNH$11.6M3
CHARLOTTE BALLETCharlotteNC$11.6M5
YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTSSan FranciscoCA$11.6M8
BALLETXPhiladelphiaPA$11.6M1
B&O RAILROAD MUSEUM INCBaltimoreMD$11.6M4
HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ARTHonoluluHI$11.6M5
TEXAS CENTER FOR ARTS ACADEMICSFort WorthTX$11.6M2
THE MAGIC HOUSESt LouisMO$11.6M4
NATIONAL INFANTRY MUSEUM FOUNDATIONINCColumbusGA$11.5M2
MCNAY ART MUSEUMSan AntonioTX$11.5M4
Center for Asian American MediaSan FranciscoCA$11.5M4
KANSAS CITY BALLET ASSOCIATIONKansas CityMO$11.5M5
ALASKA CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSAnchorageAK$11.5M1
Prairie Public Broadcasting IncFargoND$11.5M4
ASOLO THEATRE INCSarasotaFL$11.5M5
NASHVILLE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR EMPOWERMENTNashvilleTN$11.4M1
Turrell Art FoundationFlagstaffAZ$11.4M1
Please Touch MuseumPhiladelphiaPA$11.4M7
MOVING PICTURE INSTITUTENew YorkNY$11.4M6
TALLER PUERTORRIQUENO INCPhiladelphiaPA$11.4M1
THE FILM COLLABORATIVE INCLos AngelesCA$11.3M2
SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF ARTSanta BarbaraCA$11.3M5
MUSIC CITY INCNashvilleTN$11.3M3
Opera Theatre of Saint LouisSt LouisMO$11.3M7
FELLOWSHIP FOR PERFORMING ARTS INCNew YorkNY$11.3M1
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MEXICAN ART FKA MEXICAN FINE ARTS CENTER MUSEUMChicagoIL$11.3M1
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA INCCharlestonSC$11.2M7
GREAT LAKES CENTER FOR THE ARTSBay HarborMI$11.2M0
THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE STATE THEATRE OF CALIFORNIA INCPasadenaCA$11.2M5
THE FOUNDATION FOR THE NEW JERSEY HALL OF FAME INCNewarkNJ$11.2M1