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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 159 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Arts Education Connection San DiegoSan DiegoCA$718k1
SHOONG FAMILY CHINESE CULTURAL CENTEROaklandCA$718k1
HOLTER MUSEUM OF ARTHelenaMT$717k1
LAKE CHAMPLAIN ACCESS TVColchesterVT$717k1
SOUNDS GOOD CHOIR NFPDowners GroveIL$717k3
LAKELAND COMMUNITY THEATRE INCLakelandFL$717k2
CHAMBERFEST CLEVELANDClevelandOH$717k2
MEDICINAL MEDIA INCDenverCO$717k1
HARRIS COUNTY CULTURAL ARTS COUNCILHoustonTX$717k1
IS183 INCStockbridgeMA$717k1
UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL TITAN REGIMENT BAND BOOSTER ASSOC INCOrange CityFL$716k0
ATTLEBORO MUSEUM INCAttleboroMA$716k0
JOY IN MOTION INCMoragaCA$716k2
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE HERITAGE FOUNDATIONPickeringtonOH$716k3
Art DivisionSouth PasadenaCA$716k0
Brass Band of Battle CreekBattle CreekMI$716k1
NORTH FORK VALLEY PUBLIC RADIO INCPaoniaCO$716k1
ACOUSTIC SOUND INCMiltonWA$716k1
MIDWEST CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING INCChampaignIL$715k2
EMILYANN THEATRE INCWimberleyTX$715k1
Essex Art Center IncLawrenceMA$715k1
WENDELL GILLEY MUSEUM OF BIRD CARVINGSouthwest HarborME$715k1
JAPANESE CULTURAL AND COMMUNITY CENTERSan FranciscoCA$715k3
WARNER FOUNDATION INCTuscaloosaAL$715k0
BLACK LIVES MATTER PHOENIX METROPhoenixAZ$714k7
Moulton Family Foundation IncLaguna HillsCA$714k0
IFPDA FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$714k0
ITALIAN AMERICAN MUSEUMNew YorkNY$714k0
THE FORGE NASHVILLENashvilleTN$714k1
PITTSBURGH IRISH FESTIVAL INC CO MAIRIN PETRONEPittsburghPA$714k3
MONUMENTS MEN AND WOMEN FOUNDATIONDallasTX$714k1
FUNDACION ARTURO SOMOHANO INCSan JuanPR$714k1
BROOKE OF LIFEArlingtonTX$713k0
Culture Shock Dance Troupe IncSan DiegoCA$713k5
Ballet Theatre of Ohio IncMunroe FallsOH$713k2
Pure TheatreCharlestonSC$713k1
ARADHANA COMMITTEESalineMI$713k0
Apex Art Curatorial Program IncNew YorkNY$713k1
ILLINOIS ROCK & ROLL MUSEUM ON ROUTE 66 NFTJolietIL$713k1
NAUTILUSTHINK INCNew YorkNY$713k1
LINCOLN COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSELincolnNE$713k1
Abilene Womans Club FoundationAbileneTX$712k0
IRISH CLASSICAL THEATRE COBuffaloNY$712k0
SAINT PATRICK'S PARADE COMMITTEE OF HOLYOKE INCHolyokeMA$712k0
SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ARTSan Luis ObispoCA$712k1
MALASHOCK DANCE & COMPANYSan DiegoCA$712k2
RIVER CITY RHYTHM INCMonticelloMN$712k0
SEGUINLAND INSTITUTEGeorgetownME$712k1
OREGON MUSIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONDallasOR$712k1
JACKSON WILDJacksonWY$711k1