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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 152 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AMAZWI GLOBALGrand RapidsMI$767k2
ART WORKS DOWNTOWN INCSan RafaelCA$767k1
NAPA VALLEY MUSEUMYountvilleCA$767k1
BRENHAM HERITAGE MUSEUMBrenhamTX$766k0
ASSEMBLY HOUSE 150 INCBuffaloNY$766k1
PHOENIX YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCPhoenixAZ$766k1
THEATRE JACKSONVILLE INCJacksonvilleFL$766k1
AMHERST EARLY MUSIC INCNewtonMA$766k3
WORLD TRANSFORMATION MOVEMENT INCDoverDE$766k0
CITYARTS INCNew YorkNY$766k0
THE RUSSELL BENTON LEE JR CHARITABLE TRUSTWinstonsalemNC$765k1
Foundation for Historic Christ Church IncIrvingtonVA$765k1
JAMAICA PLAIN MULTICULTURAL AFTER SCHOOLJamaica PlainMA$765k1
SKEPTIC SOCIETYSanta BarbaraCA$765k0
MILLERTON COMMUNITY CINEMA ARTS INCMillertonNY$765k0
IAAM SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONCharlestonSC$764k6
VETERANS MEMORIAL MUSEUMChehalisWA$764k0
DOBAMA THEATRE INCCleveland HeightsOH$763k1
Music in the VineyardsNapaCA$763k1
CAMBODIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF WASHINGTONSeattleWA$763k0
FASNY Museum of FirefightingHudsonNY$763k1
BASAibu CORPBethesdaMD$763k1
COMMUNITY ACCESS TELEVISION FOR MALDEN INCMaldenMA$763k1
Mansfield Fine Arts Guild IncMansfieldOH$763k1
THE CURRENT INCStoweVT$763k1
BARNS OF ROSE HILLBerryvilleVA$763k0
NATIONAL YOUTH THEATERShenandoahTX$762k1
THE GERTRUDE HERBERT INSTITUTE OF ART INCAugustaGA$762k1
ART LEAGUE OF LONG ISLANDDix HillsNY$762k1
ISPACE INCEvendaleOH$761k2
MCPHERSON OPERA HOUSE COMPANYMcPhersonKS$761k0
GurbaniSewa IncFolsomCA$761k0
HUI HOOLEIMALUOHiloHI$761k1
CYT Sacramento IncRosevilleCA$761k2
VEDANTA CULTURAL FOUNDATION USA INC DBA VEDANTA USASomersetNJ$761k2
BOULDER DANCE COALITIONBoulderCO$761k1
CULTURARTE DE PUERTO RICO INCSan JuanPR$761k0
FRANKLIN CIVIC OPERETTA ASSOCIATIONFranklinPA$761k0
FRIENDS OF LEVITT PAVILION - CITY OF ANGELSLos AngelesCA$761k1
HOCKADAY MUSEUM OF ARTKalispellMT$760k1
ARTSPLOSURE THE RALEIGH ARTS FESTIVALRaleighNC$760k1
PROSPECT THEATER COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$760k2
Houston Center for Photography IncHoustonTX$760k1
OPERA MONTANABozemanMT$760k1
SAFE SPACE PICTURES FOUNDATIONBeverly HillsCA$760k1
FRIENDS OF BAYOU ST JOHNNew OrleansLA$760k1
THE NORTHPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUMNorthportNY$760k0
MURPHY THEATRE COMMUNITY CENTER INCWilmingtonOH$760k0
CYT DALLAS-FORT WORTH INCLewisvilleTX$759k2
UNITED COUNTRY WESTERN DANCE COUNCILLittletonNC$759k0