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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 16 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE CENTER FOR EDUCATION REFORMWashingtonDC$11.7M8
THE BASILICA LANDMARKMinneapolisMN$11.7M0
FORT WORTH MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORYFort WorthTX$11.7M6
MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY AND SCIENCE INCFort LauderdaleFL$11.7M6
American Players Theatre of Wisconsin IncSpring GreenWI$11.7M4
Friends of The Music HallPortsmouthNH$11.6M3
THE JOHN HUNTINGTON ART AND POLYTECHNIC TRUSTClevelandOH$11.6M0
YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTSSan FranciscoCA$11.6M8
BALLETXPhiladelphiaPA$11.6M1
HOME PORT ALLIANCE FOR THE USS NEW JERSEY INCCamdenNJ$11.6M1
RIVERSIDE THEATRE INCVero BeachFL$11.6M3
TEXAS CENTER FOR ARTS ACADEMICSFort WorthTX$11.6M2
NATIONAL INFANTRY MUSEUM FOUNDATIONINCColumbusGA$11.5M2
Center for Asian American MediaSan FranciscoCA$11.5M4
Prairie Public Broadcasting IncFargoND$11.5M4
VILLAGE THEATREIssaquahWA$11.5M3
ASOLO THEATRE INCSarasotaFL$11.5M5
NATIONAL CENTER FOR CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INCAtlantaGA$11.5M5
SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INCSanta BarbaraCA$11.5M3
THE WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUMSan FranciscoCA$11.5M7
PUBLIC MEDIA NJ INCNew YorkNY$11.5M10
ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY CENTERS INCWashingtonDC$11.4M7
NASHVILLE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR EMPOWERMENTNashvilleTN$11.4M1
Please Touch MuseumPhiladelphiaPA$11.4M7
GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUMGrand RapidsMI$11.4M3
ALASKA CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSAnchorageAK$11.3M1
THE FILM COLLABORATIVE INCLos AngelesCA$11.3M2
SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF ARTSanta BarbaraCA$11.3M5
MUSIC CITY INCNashvilleTN$11.3M3
Opera Theatre of Saint LouisSt LouisMO$11.3M7
EBELL OF LOS ANGELESLos AngelesCA$11.3M1
STORYVILLE CENTER FOR THE SPOKEN WORD INCNew YorkNY$11.3M8
WISCONSIN PUBLIC BROADCASTING FOUNDATION INCMadisonWI$11.3M0
MID-SOUTH PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS FOUNDATIONCordovaTN$11.2M1
FOX CITIES PERFORMING ARTS CENTERAppletonWI$11.2M6
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA INCCharlestonSC$11.2M7
THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE STATE THEATRE OF CALIFORNIA INCPasadenaCA$11.2M5
SAN ANTONIO AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY ARCHIVE AND MUSEUMSan AntonioTX$11.2M0
INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUMCharlestonSC$11.2M7
THE 19TH NEWSAustinTX$11.2M14
AHA PUNANA LEOHiloHI$11.1M3
MARTY STUART CENTER FOR COUNTRY MUSIC INCPhiladelphiaMS$11.1M0
AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUELos AngelesCA$11.1M1
HISTORIC ARNOLDS PARK INCArnolds ParkIA$11.1M1
KANSAS CITY BALLET ASSOCIATIONKansas CityMO$11M6
COMMONWEALTH FUND FOR KET INCLexingtonKY$11M2
CHARLESTON GAILLARD MANAGEMENT CORPORATIONCharlestonSC$11M2
Regional Arts & Culture CouncilPortlandOR$11M2
CONRU ART FOUNDATIONMinneapolisMN$11M0
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$11M9