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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 158 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ST PATRICK'S DAY PARADE INCBronxNY$726k0
RABBIT RUN COMMUNITY ARTS ASSOCIATIMadisonOH$725k1
LIVE WIRE RADIO INCPortlandOR$725k2
CARPE ARTISTA INCSmyrnaTN$725k0
VARIATIONS THEATRE GROUP INCNew YorkNY$725k1
INDIAN HARBOR YACHT CLUB FOUNDATION INCGreenwichCT$725k0
MUSEUM OF TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATIONLubbockTX$724k0
WOMENS JEWELRY ASSOCIATION INCNew YorkNY$724k1
Abington Art CenterJenkintownPA$724k1
MONROE COUNTY FAIR ASSOCIATION INCBloomingtonIN$724k0
Wise Fool New MexicoSanta FeNM$723k0
RED EAGLE SOARINGSeattleWA$723k1
WILLIAMS GROVE HISTORICAL STEAM ENGINE ASSOCIATIONMechanicsburgPA$723k0
GLENN SHAW FAMILY FOUNDATION INCWestlandMI$723k0
DIVERSEWORKS INCHoustonTX$723k1
BLAIR COUNTY ARTS FOUNDATIONAltoonaPA$723k0
AE BEAN BACKUS MUSEUM INCFort PierceFL$723k1
BEHRINGER CRAWFORD MUSEUMCovingtonKY$723k1
ENCORE THEATRE GROUPLos AngelesCA$723k2
BUCKS COUNTY CHILDREN'S MUSEUMNew HopePA$723k1
Buffalo Niagara Freedom Station Coalition IncBuffaloNY$723k0
CROSSTOWN RADIO PARTNERSHIP INCMemphisTN$722k1
ART WITH A HEART IN HEALTHCARE INCJacksonvilleFL$722k0
GREENS LEDGE LIGHT PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCRowaytonCT$722k0
MANDARIN LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL CENTERSan JoseCA$722k5
LIGHTS OUT ART GALLERYNorwayME$721k0
JACKSON HOLE COMMUNITY RADIO INCJacksonWY$721k1
VOICE OF THE TRUTHColorado SpringsCO$721k1
ACCION LATINASan FranciscoCA$720k1
STUDIO THEATRE OF LI INCLindenhurstNY$720k0
OREGON JOURNALISM PROJECTPortlandOR$720k1
SUPPORT CONNECTION INCYorktown HeightsNY$720k1
AVIATION MUSEUM OF KENTUCKY INCLexingtonKY$720k0
UKWAKHWA INCDe PereWI$720k1
METROPOLITAN ENSEMBLE THEATREKansas CityMO$719k1
The Art BaseBasaltCO$719k1
EQUITY IN ACTION WAY FOUNDATIONMinneapolisMN$719k1
FRONTIER DAYS INCArlington HeightsIL$719k0
FAYETTEVILLE COMMUNITY CENTER GROUPEllingerTX$718k0
TORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETYTorringtonCT$718k1
TRIAD STAGE INCGreensboroNC$718k1
ARTS4ALL FLORIDA INCTampaFL$718k0
JOSEPHINE SCULPTURE PARK INCFrankfortKY$718k0
APPALACHIAN ARTISAN CENTER INCHindmanKY$718k1
FREQUENT FLYERS PRODUCTIONS INBoulderCO$718k1
FLORIDA UNITED FURRY FANDOM INCOrlandoFL$718k0
NASHVILLE STEAM PRESERVATION SOCIETYNashvilleTN$718k0
LUXEMBOURG AMERICAN CULTURAL SOCIETY INCBelgiumWI$718k1
Mary Miss - City as Living LaboratoryNew YorkNY$718k0
LIBBEY F S ENDOWMENT FUND ENDWBrooklynOH$718k1