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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 157 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Buffalo Suzuki Strings IncNorth TonawandaNY$734k2
JM PARKER FOUNDATIONAbileneTX$733k4
PARK THEATRE FOUNDATIONHollandMI$733k0
LITTLE THEATRE OF MANCHESTER INCManchesterCT$733k1
SOUTHWEST RENEWAL FOUNDATION OF HIGH POINT INCHigh PointNC$733k2
NICKS RIDE 4 FRIENDS INCAuburnNY$733k0
WORLD SLEEP SOCIETY INCRochesterMN$732k1
The Museums at Prophetstown IncBattle GroundIN$732k0
BLACKFOOT PATHWAYS SCULPTURE IN THE WILD INCLincolnMT$732k0
IDAHO POTATO MUSEUMBlackfootID$732k0
THE DENYCE GRAVES FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$732k0
DELAWARE SAENGERBUND AND LIBRARY ASSOCIATION INCNewarkDE$732k0
DEKALB HISTORY CENTERDecaturGA$732k1
APPLETREE HILL FOUNDATIONSterling HeightsMI$732k0
Global WRITeS IncYonkersNY$732k2
FRIENDS OF HONEY HILLRidgelandSC$732k0
STUDIO TWO THREERichmondVA$732k1
RUSSIAN CHILDREN STUDIO OF LANGUAGENew YorkNY$731k0
CENTRAL FLORIDA BALLET INCOrlandoFL$731k1
The Lincoln Collection EndowmentFort WayneIN$731k0
THE STUDIO ACTING CONSERVATORY INCWashingtonDC$730k4
Mobile Arts Council IncMobileAL$730k1
LONGVIEW MUSEUM OF FINE ARTSLongviewTX$730k0
GREENWICH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCGreenwichCT$730k1
PUBLIC RADIO SATELLITE INTERCONNECTION SYSTEM CHARITABLE TRUSTWashingtonDC$730k0
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE LOS ANGELESLos AngelesCA$730k1
PAKISTAN SWEET HOME - AFPRichardsonTX$730k0
CARY CHINESE SCHOOLRaleighNC$730k8
BUCKEYE IMAGINATION MUSEUMMansfieldOH$729k0
LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS INCLos AngelesCA$729k1
THE ELDEN STREET PLAYERSHerndonVA$729k0
ART 180 IncRichmondVA$729k1
NORTHERN PLAINS HERITAGE FOUNDATIONBismarckND$729k1
MILLWALD THEATRE INCWythevilleVA$728k0
San Jose Museum of Quilts & TextilesSan JoseCA$728k2
OPERA BIRMINGHAM INCBirminghamAL$728k1
LOYAL ORDER OF REENACTMENT ENTHUSIASTSGlendaleCA$728k0
INTERMOUNTAIN NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCJensenUT$727k1
Seattle Girls Choir GuildSeattleWA$727k2
KANSAS CITY ACTORS THEATRE INCKansas CityMO$727k13
INTERNATIONAL PRINTING MUSEUM FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$727k0
1882 PROJECT FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$727k0
GLOBAL SPECTRUM FOUNDATION INCAlpharettaGA$726k1
Xico IncPhoenixAZ$726k1
THE CELL THEATRE COMPANY LTDNew YorkNY$726k2
RICHMOND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRARichmondIN$726k1
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF FREDERICK COUNTY INCFrederickMD$726k1
ANDOVER HISTORIC PRESERVATION CORPORATIONAndoverNY$726k1
THE ICEHOUSE PLAYERS INCMount DoraFL$726k0
INTERNATIONAL ART MUSEUM OF AMERICASan FranciscoCA$726k1