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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 163 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
INDIGENOUS CULTURES INSTITUTEAustinTX$693k0
Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre CompanyPittsburghPA$693k4
METROPOLITAN OPERA CLUBNew YorkNY$693k1
Enlighten Culture and Education FoundationLos GatosCA$693k0
VIDEO ACTION INCWashingtonDC$692k1
THE IRISH GEORGIAN SOCIETY INCChicagoIL$692k1
THE LEATHER ARCHIVES & MUSEUM INCChicagoIL$692k0
HUI MAULI OLAHonoluluHI$692k3
VERMILION HERITAGE FOUNDATIONDanvilleIL$692k1
SILAMBAM HOUSTONHoustonTX$692k0
BAY AREA HOUSTON BALLET & THEATREHoustonTX$692k0
SCHOOL OF THE GARDEN STATE BALLETRutherfordNJ$692k0
Fresnoland MediaFresnoCA$691k0
ACADEMY OF MODEL AERONAUTICS FOUNDATION INCMuncieIN$691k0
MEN'S HEALTH NETWORKViennaVA$691k1
American Institute of Musical Studies FundKansas CityMO$691k0
KINGSTON MIDTOWN ARTS DISTRICTKingstonNY$691k0
GULF & OHIO RAILWAYS MUSEUM INCKnoxvilleTN$691k0
ETM-COLORADO INCDenverCO$691k1
Asheville Area Arts CouncilAshevilleNC$691k1
Oregon Society of ArtistsPortlandOR$691k0
CULTUREVERSEAnn ArborMI$691k2
NIA CULTURAL CENTERGalvestonTX$690k0
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION MISSISSIPPI ST SOCPetalMS$690k0
LOWELL TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATIONLowellMA$690k1
BILLINGS DEPOT INCBillingsMT$690k1
Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and HistoryKingstonNY$690k0
ORCHESTRA NOVA NORTHWESTPortlandOR$690k1
Bastrop Opera HouseBastropTX$690k5
BAMS FEST INCDorchesterMA$690k0
INDIAN FAMILY NETWORK INCAuburndaleMA$690k0
WEATHERVANE PLAYHOUSE INCNewarkOH$690k1
JOEL LANE MUSEUM HOUSE INCRaleighNC$690k0
HARWICH JUNIOR THEATRE INCWest HarwichMA$689k0
CROSSROADS CREATIVE & PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCBaker CityOR$689k6
KJK PRODUCTIONS INCJefferson ValleyNY$689k3
Cultural Development Corporation of the District of ColumbiaWashingtonDC$689k1
BROWN CO ART GALLERY FOUNDATIONNashvilleIN$689k0
ANANYA DANCE THEATRESt PaulMN$689k0
American Legacy TheatreCincinnatiOH$689k1
CARBONDALE COMMUNITY ACCESS RADIOCarbondaleCO$689k1
FOLLOW YOUR ART COMMUNITY STUDIOS INCMelroseMA$689k0
Ori Art GalleryPortlandOR$689k3
CHINESE CULTURE CONNECTION INCMaldenMA$688k0
ISLAMIC NETWORKS INCSan JoseCA$688k1
ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS INCOrleansMA$688k0
LAND PEACE FOUNDATIONBangorME$688k4
MUSIC CONSERVATORY OF SANDPOINTSandpointID$688k1
PARENTS AND COMMUNITY FOR KIDSWillernieMN$688k0
Bluffton Gullah Cultural Heritage CenterBlufftonSC$688k0