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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 154 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
TR ART MUSEUM INCChathamNJ$753k0
Morgan County Foundation IncMadisonGA$753k1
Heartbeat Denver IncDenverCO$753k0
Puget Sound Guitar WorkshopBellinghamWA$753k0
INDIGENOUS VALUES INITIATIVE INCDeWittNY$752k0
THE BESSIE SMITH CULTURAL CENTERChattanoogaTN$752k0
HISTORIC ORGAN RESTORATION COMMITTEE INCAtlantic CityNJ$752k1
DENVER CHILDREN'S CHOIRDenverCO$752k2
Long Beach Journalism Initiative IncLong BeachCA$752k1
DELAWARE ARTS ALLIANCE INCWilmingtonDE$752k2
CHESTER THEATRE COMPANY INCChesterMA$751k0
ORBIT THEATRICAL INCSandy SpringsGA$751k0
ARTZ 4 LIFE ACADEMY INCClearwaterFL$751k1
FRIENDS OF JOHN JAY HOMESTEADKatonahNY$751k1
BARNEGAT BAY DECOY & BAYMEN'S MUSEUM INTuckertonNJ$751k1
AYIN PRESS LIMITEDBrooklynNY$751k3
THE GARRY MARSHALL THEATREBurbankCA$751k0
PLYMOUTH GUILD INCPlymouthMA$750k1
MONTGOMERY SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONMontgomeryAL$750k1
Marian Cheek Jackson CenterChapel HillNC$750k1
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETYSanta YnezCA$750k0
Film for PosterityDelrayFL$750k0
CAMP FIVE MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCLaonaWI$750k1
Afronomicslaw NFPEvanstonIL$750k0
NYE FAMILY OF AMERICA ASSOC INCEast SandwichMA$750k0
MOTUS THEATERBoulderCO$750k2
THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF COLONIAL DAMES IN THE STATE OF NEW YORKNew YorkNY$749k0
CAMP 45 CONTEMPORARY CONVERGE 45PortlandOR$749k0
ARTSWORCESTER INCWorcesterMA$749k2
IMPRINTS OF HONORPhoenixAZ$749k0
YOUTH MUSIC MONTEREYMontereyCA$749k1
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART TUCSONTucsonAZ$749k2
IRIS ORCHESTRA INCGermantownTN$749k1
Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society IncFort WayneIN$749k1
YOUR AGENCY INCORPORATEDPhiladelphiaPA$749k2
YOUR STORY HOUR INCBerrien SpringsMI$748k3
Experimental Sound StudioChicagoIL$748k1
WHITE PINE COMMUNITYRhinelanderWI$748k1
CHAMBER MUSIC SAN FRANCISCOSan FranciscoCA$748k1
Glen Echo Pottery IncGlen EchoMD$748k2
Remy Bumppo Theatre CompanyChicagoIL$748k2
BUILDING COMMUNITY IN NEW HAMPSHIREManchesterNH$748k1
TAARA INCPalisades ParkNJ$747k0
Syracuse Children's Theatre IncEast SyracuseNY$747k2
The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Foundation for the ArtsThe WoodlandsTX$747k2
HISTORIC PULLMAN FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$747k1
OROMIA 11MinneapolisMN$747k0
MOVING FORWARD CONTEMPORARY ASIAN AMERICAN DANCE COMPANYWashingtonDC$746k1
SEPETJIAN FAMILY FOUNDATIONArcadiaCA$746k0
SAIL MARTHA'S VINEYARD INCVineyard HavenMA$746k1