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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 153 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
NXT ART FOUNDATION INCLos AngelesCA$759k0
CARROLL COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL INCWestminsterMD$759k2
TALKING BOOK PUBLISHERS INCDenverCO$759k2
ALLIANCE OF HBCU MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES INCMariettaGA$759k2
Children First FoundationBellevilleIL$759k1
LOOKING FOR LINCOLN HERITAGE COALITIONSpringfieldIL$759k1
The Cowles CenterMinneapolisMN$759k5
Museum & Gallery IncGreenvilleSC$759k1
SHANNON AIR MUSEUM LLCFredericksburgVA$759k0
Crosshatch Center for Art & EcologyBellaireMI$758k2
YOUNG AUDIENCES OF WESTERN NEW YORK INC D/B/A ARTS FOR LEARNING WNYBuffaloNY$758k1
Northwest Girl ChoirSeattleWA$758k2
JOHNSTOWN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAJohnstownPA$758k1
PEARLARTS MOVEMENT & SOUNDPittsburghPA$758k0
CAMP KISSSan FranciscoCA$758k0
Austin Womans ClubAustinTX$758k0
CHANDLER CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCRandolphVT$758k1
NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S FILM FESTIVAL INCNew YorkNY$758k1
The Stranahan House IncFort LauderdaleFL$758k1
History InkSeattleWA$758k1
SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS FOUNDATION INCIndianapolisIN$757k2
MUSEUM ALLIANCE OF RAPID CITY INCRapid CitySD$757k1
BSA FOUNDATIONBostonMA$757k2
THE YARD INCChilmarkMA$757k2
NATCHITOCHES HISTORIC FOUNDATION INCNatchitochesLA$757k0
FRIENDS OF THE PARK INCJacksonvilleFL$757k0
DELAWARE ACADEMY OF VOCAL ARTS INCWilmingtonDE$756k0
THE PORCH WRITERS COLLECTIVE INCNashvilleTN$756k2
Friends of Beauregard-Keyes House IncNew OrleansLA$756k0
COLORADO ASIAN CULTURE AND EDUCATION NETWORKEnglewoodCO$756k1
THE GREAT STAR THEATERSan FranciscoCA$756k3
Henry Miller Memorial LibraryBig SurCA$756k1
FRIENDS OF PUERTO RICOWashingtonDC$755k0
ENSEMBLE MUSIC NEW MEXICOAlbuquerqueNM$755k1
SOCIETA GARIBALDINA DI MUTUA BENEFICENZALos AngelesCA$755k0
STORY BOLDLYWest HillsCA$755k0
NASHVILLE PUBLIC MEDIA INCNashvilleTN$754k1
Regional Military Museum FoundationHoumaLA$754k0
COLUMBUS PHILHARMONIC GUILD INCColumbusGA$754k1
THE MIAMI CENTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE INCPalmetto BayFL$754k0
KAUAI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION LTDLihueHI$754k0
JAPANESE FOOD CULTURE ASSOCIATIONTorranceCA$754k0
NEVADA FALUN DAFA ASSOCIATIONLas VegasNV$754k0
AMERICAN NEEDLEPOINT GUILD INCSpringfieldIL$754k0
KIDS EXCEL EL PASO INCEl PasoTX$754k2
THE PERFORMERS ACADEMY INCJacksonvilleFL$754k1
CONNECTICUT RADIO INFORMATION SYSTEM INCWindsorCT$753k1
EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS MARKETSaint PaulMN$753k0
The Wang FoundationNew YorkNY$753k0
THE HANFORD MILLS MUSEUM AT EAST MEREDITHEast MeredithNY$753k1