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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 155 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MUSIC THAT MATTERS INCAppletonWI$746k1
SOARING BY THE SEA FOUNDATIONEugeneOR$746k1
TECH FRONTIEREl PasoTX$746k1
The JXN ProjectRichmondVA$746k1
Justice Committee IncJackson HeightsNY$745k2
Houston Family Arts Center DBA Stageworks TheatreHoustonTX$745k0
THE PHOENIX BOYS CHOIR ASSOCIATIONPhoenixAZ$745k2
South Georgia Ballet IncThomasvilleGA$745k1
DCENTER INCWashingtonDC$744k1
FRIENDS OF THE 1883 CLARKSBURG SCHOOLHOUSEClarksburgCA$744k0
MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA INCNew YorkNY$744k1
Charlotte Museum of HistoryCharlotteNC$744k1
LONG BEACH COMMUNITY PLAYERS INCLong BeachCA$744k1
ARTS FOR THE AGING INCGaithersburgMD$743k1
SUNDOG THEATER INCStaten IslandNY$743k2
DAYTON MOVIESDaytonOH$743k0
MOUNT SAINT MICHAEL HISTORICAL PRESERVATION SOCIETYSpokaneWA$743k2
SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE INCAlbanyNY$743k0
THE OPERA HOUSE AT BOOTHBAY HARBORBoothbay HarborME$743k1
APOLLO CHORUS OF CHICAGOChicagoIL$743k0
Fuerte Art CollectivePhoenixAZ$743k0
TAIKOARTS MIDWESTMinneapolisMN$743k1
PAINT CREEK CENTER FOR THE ARTSRochesterMI$743k0
ITALIAN CULTURAL SOC OF WASH DC INCBethesdaMD$743k2
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF DETROITDetroitMI$742k1
THEATRE EXILE COMPANYPhiladelphiaPA$742k1
Living Earth ProductionsLas VegasNV$742k0
MARYLAND TURKISH AMERICAN INHABITANTS INCColumbiaMD$742k2
CULTURE FOR ONE INCNew YorkNY$742k1
MISSOURI FALUN DAFA ASSOCIATIONMaryland HeightsMO$742k0
Haven Academy of the ArtsEl SegundoCA$742k1
RADIO CATSKILL WJFFLibertyNY$742k0
THE PENNELL FAMILY FOUNDATIONGreenvilleSC$742k0
MINNESOTA BALLET INCDuluthMN$741k1
TULLAHOMA SOUTH JACKSON CIVICTullahomaTN$741k0
SHRIVER HALL CONCERT SERIES INCBaltimoreMD$741k1
THE DANCE EXCHANGE INCTakoma ParkMD$741k2
MY VOICE MUSIC INCPortlandOR$741k1
CENTRAL COAST STATE PARKS ASSOCIATIONSan Luis ObispoCA$741k0
AHA Abenaki Helping Abenaki IncShelburneVT$741k3
Profile Theatre ProjectPortlandOR$741k1
HH DORJE CHANG BUDDHA III CULTURAL AND ART MUSEUMCovinaCA$741k1
THE WAUSAU CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC INCWausauWI$741k2
ROXY PRODUCTIONS INCClarksvilleTN$741k1
HERITAGE CAMPS FOR ADOPTIVE FAMILIES INCDenverCO$741k1
BAFB COLD WAR MUSEUMBlythevilleAR$741k0
AGARITA CHAMBER PLAYERSSan AntonioTX$741k5
BARGEMUSIC LTDNew YorkNY$740k1
FAMILY RECORDS INCSalt Lake CityUT$740k0
CHOM INC OF TUSCALOOSA COUNTYTuscaloosaAL$740k0