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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 161 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AUGUSTA MUSEUM OF HISTORY INCAugustaGA$705k1
FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTUREWashingtonDC$705k3
Lower Bottom Playaz IncOaklandCA$704k1
DOMINICAN DAY PARADE INCNew YorkNY$704k0
CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTCarmelCA$704k0
UNITED ARTS COUNCIL OF CATAWBA COUNTY INCHickoryNC$704k1
IRANIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY CENTER INCViennaVA$704k0
MUSEO ITALOAMERICANOSan FranciscoCA$704k0
THALIA SPANISH THEATRE INCSunnysideNY$704k2
GARDEN STATE ARTS FOUNDATION INCWoodbridgeNJ$704k2
Opera San Luis Obispo IncAtascaderoCA$704k0
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PRINCETONPrincetonNJ$704k1
Natya Dance TheatreOakbrookIL$704k2
ROCHESTER CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER INCRochesterNY$704k1
CAVE ORGANIZATION INCBrooklynNY$703k4
THE MUSIC ACADEMY NFPRockfordIL$703k1
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE PHILADELPHIEPhiladelphiaPA$703k1
FORT WORTH COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER INCFort WorthTX$703k3
BEAUMONT HERITAGE CENTERBeaumontTX$703k0
THE PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETYWillow GrovePA$703k1
INLAND NORTHWEST HONOR FLIGHTSpokaneWA$703k0
INT'L IND SHOWMEN'S MUSEUM CORPRiverviewFL$703k0
American Institute of Dental Public HealthRiver ForestIL$702k1
ROCKFORD AREA ARTS COUNCILRockfordIL$702k1
NEAR & ARNOLDS SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS AND CULTURAL EDUCATIONUkiahCA$702k1
FRIENDS OF THE CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARKChattanoogaTN$702k2
SOUTHERN OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCMedfordOR$702k1
PARK CITY FILM COUNCILPark CityUT$702k1
EASTERN SHORE REPERTORY THEATRE INFairhopeAL$702k0
IDAHO FALLS SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCIdaho FallsID$702k2
STONINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCStoningtonCT$702k0
KIDS FROM WISCONSIN LTDMilwaukeeWI$702k0
BROADWAY BOUND KIDS INCNew YorkNY$702k2
CHIPPEWA VALLEY THEATRE GUILD INCEau ClaireWI$702k1
HUB CITY WRITERS PROJECTSpartanburgSC$701k1
Olympia Downtown AllianceOlympiaWA$701k0
ABILENE AND SMOKY VALLEY RAILROAD ASSOCIATIONAbileneKS$701k1
DAVNER THEATRICALS INC DBA BURNING COAL THEATRE CORaleighNC$701k1
CAPITAL REGION CLASSICAL INCAlbanyNY$701k1
HOUSTON MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTSChattanoogaTN$700k0
LISMA FOUNDATION INCAlbertsonNY$700k1
TALKING TALONS YOUTH LEADERSHIPCedar CrestNM$700k2
PARTNERSHIPS FOR LITERACY AND LEARNINGMontpelierVT$700k1
ART2ACTION INCNew YorkNY$699k2
REGION 2 ARTS COUNCILBemidjiMN$699k1
EMERALD COAST SCIENCE CENTER INCFort Walton BeachFL$699k1
ARTS COUNCIL OF MIDLANDMidlandTX$699k1
YSI YOGA STUDIES INSTITUTESedonaAZ$699k2
KNOXVILLE JEWISH COMMUNITY FAMILY OF FUNDS C/O EAST TENN FOUNDATIONKnoxvilleTN$699k0
MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL FOR THE ARTSMt SterlingKY$699k1