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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 164 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ANGEL CITY CHORALELos AngelesCA$688k1
LITHUANIAN EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE USAChicagoIL$688k0
CENTER OF MUSICAL STUDIES INCSilver SpringMD$687k2
REDWOOD COMMUNITY RADIO INCRedwayCA$687k0
ROBERT AND JUNE SEBO CHARITABLE TRUOak HarborWA$687k0
UNITED PALACE OF CULTURAL ARTS INCNew YorkNY$687k1
UNITY THEATRE COBrenhamTX$687k0
GREATER UNIONTOWN HERITAGE CONSORTIUniontownPA$687k0
National Museum of Polo & Hall of FameLake WorthFL$687k1
EASTERN SHORE ART ASSOCIATION INCFairhopeAL$687k0
KATAHDIN FOUNDATIONNapaCA$687k1
FORE AUGUSTA FOUNDATION INCAugustaGA$687k1
HUI ALOHA KIHOLOKamuelaHI$686k2
YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD MUSEUMLos AngelesCA$686k2
ASIAN AMERICAN WRITERS WORKSHOP INCNew YorkNY$686k1
REVERE AND SON HERITAGE TRUST CORPORATIONCantonMA$686k0
GAGA USA INCBrooklynNY$686k2
FRIENDS OF THE DREXEL INCColumbusOH$686k0
STAGES CHICAGOChicagoIL$685k2
NATIONAL SOCIETY COLONIAL DAMES XVII CENTURYWashingtonDC$685k0
THE HONEYWELL ARTS ACADEMY INCWabashIN$685k1
Granger Homestead Society IncCanandaiguaNY$685k1
AMERICA-ITALY SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$685k2
MINNESOTA BEETHOVEN FESTIVALWinonaMN$685k1
FRIENDS OF SOUTH LOUISIANA WETLANDSHoumaLA$685k0
Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover CountyWilmingtonNC$685k1
ART WORKS STUDIO SCHOOL INCHyattsvilleMD$684k1
BOSTON CRITIC INC DBA BOSTON REVIEWCambridgeMA$684k1
ONEIDA COMMUNITY MANSION HOUSEOneidaNY$684k0
CROW LANGUAGE CONSORTIUM INCBloomingtonIN$684k2
WINONA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYWinonaMN$684k1
Stonewall Pride I IncWilton ManorsFL$684k0
KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION INCFrankfortKY$684k0
SPADY CULTURAL HERITAGE MUSEUM INCDelray BeachFL$684k0
LEXINGTON FRIENDS OF THE ARTS INCLexingtonMA$684k1
CITY OF MAPLES REPERTORY THEATERMaconMO$683k0
CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY FOUNDATIONEastsoundWA$683k1
GUITARS IN THE CLASSROOMSan DiegoCA$683k1
TEXAS COLOR GUARD CIRCUITThe WoodlandsTX$683k0
Little Theatre of Walla WallaWalla WallaWA$683k0
World Arts WestSan FranciscoCA$682k1
RICHARD TUCKER MUSIC FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$682k1
DESTROYER-ESCORT HISTORICAL MUSEUMAlbanyNY$682k2
THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM IN EASTON INCNorth EastonMA$682k1
HOWARD COUNTY CHINESE SCHOOL INCColumbiaMD$682k11
COMPETITIVE DREAMS OF YOUTH IN THE CAROLINASRock HillSC$682k5
CHEYENNE FRONTIER DAYS FOUNDATION INCCheyenneWY$682k1
KEELER TAVERN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCRidgefieldCT$682k0
OKLAHOMA REPERTORY THEATRE GROUP INCOklahoma CityOK$682k2
PASSION WORKSAthensOH$682k2