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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 151 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
HISTORIC 25TH STREET FOUNDATION INC OGDEN DOWNTOWN ALLIANCEOgdenUT$775k0
Impactful FundSeattleWA$775k0
OMCA TOWN SQUARE INCOaklandCA$775k2
GOVERNOR'S MANSION FOUNDATIONColumbiaSC$775k1
FINE LINE CREATIVE ARTS CENTERSt CharlesIL$775k0
KIRAN NADAR MUSEUM OF ARTSanta ClaraCA$775k0
ANDANZA INCSan JuanPR$775k2
Capital Harmony Works IncTrentonNJ$775k2
HAMMOND MUSEUM INCNorth SalemNY$775k1
1940's BALL NFPNiwotCO$775k1
QUIET VALLEY LIVING HISTORICAL FARMStroudsburgPA$774k0
RUSKIN GROUP THEATRE COMPANYWoodland HillsCA$774k1
Columbia Basin Performing ArtsWest RichlandWA$774k1
SANCTUARY OF THE ARTS INCCoral GablesFL$774k1
ENID ARTS & SCIENCES FOUNDATIONEnidOK$774k0
MUSEUM ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORKTroyNY$773k2
LIGHT HOUSE STUDIO INCCharlottesvilleVA$773k1
LIGA ESTUDIANTES DE ARTE DE SAN JUAN INCSan Juan$773k1
Momentum-Excellence IncColumbusOH$773k1
JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORKChicagoIL$772k0
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ILLINOISDecaturIL$772k1
THE WOODLANDS TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATIONPhiladelphiaPA$772k1
ROCHESTER ART CENTERRochesterMN$772k1
COLT COEUR THEATER COMPANY INCBrooklynNY$772k2
WHITEFISH THEATRE COMPANYWhitefishMT$772k0
JOHN F KENNEDY HYANNIS MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCHyannisMA$772k1
IRANIAN AMERICAN JEWISH CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONBeverly HillsCA$772k0
CULTURESEED INCWhite SalmonWA$771k2
Friends of Montana Shakespeare in the ParksBozemanMT$771k0
THE SOCIETY TO PRESERVE THE MILLVALE MURALS OF MAXO VANKAPittsburghPA$771k0
JUNIOR JAZZ FOUNDATION INCHilton Head IslandSC$771k0
TOWN SQUARE TELEVISIONInver Grove HeightsMN$771k0
BRIDGING CULTURAL GAPSTukwilaWA$771k1
SNOW CITY ARTS FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$771k1
GARRISON ART CENTER INCGarrisonNY$771k1
CLAREMONT LEWIS MUSEUM OF ARTClaremontCA$771k0
ST PETERSBURG ARTS ALLIANCE INCSt PetersburgFL$771k1
SALISBURY SYMPHONY INCSalisburyNC$771k1
ZOOTOWN ARTS COMMUNITY CENTERMissoulaMT$771k2
CHARLES RIVER MUSEUM OF INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION INCWalthamMA$770k0
Carmel Symphony OrchestraCarmelIN$770k1
ANCHORAGE OPERA COMPANYAnchorageAK$769k1
BRAZOS VALLEY PUBLIC BROADCASTING FOUNDAWacoTX$769k10
SOJOURN COUNSELINGIrondaleAL$769k1
OKLAHOMA WATCH INCOklahoma CityOK$769k1
MONT CO FOUNDATION FOR PERFORM ARTSConroeTX$769k1
PENNSYLVANIA YOUTH THEATREBethlehemPA$768k1
INSTITUTE FOR JOURNALISM & NATURAL RESOURCESMadisonWI$767k1
SALT CREEK BALLET COMPANYWestmontIL$767k2
ROOMFUL OF TEETH VOCAL ARTS PROJECTWilliamstownMA$767k0