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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 167 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
OCEAN CITY MUSEUM SOCIETY INCOcean CityMD$670k0
FRIENDS OF THE DOUGLASS THEATRE COMPLEXMaconGA$670k0
Inliquidcom IncPhiladelphiaPA$670k1
ASSOCIATION OF BOARDS IN THEOLOGICAL EDUCATIONWilmingtonDE$670k4
Chief Joseph Days Rodeo IncJosephOR$670k0
NEW YORKERS FOR CULTURE AND ARTS INCNew YorkNY$670k1
HAYWOOD ARTS REGIONAL THEATREWaynesvilleNC$670k0
NCD - NORTH COAST DANCE DBA NORTH COAST DANCEEurekaCA$670k0
DOWNTOWN GREENSBORO FOUNDATIONGreensboroNC$669k0
ENGLEWOOD ARTSIndependenceMO$669k2
YELLOW BIRD LIFE WAYS CENTERColstripMT$669k5
DANCE PALACEPoint Reyes StationCA$669k2
WATERWORKS PRESERVATION TRUST INCChestnut HillMA$669k0
Know Theatre of CincinnatiCincinnatiOH$669k0
SKIDMARK CLEClevelandOH$669k1
THEATRE SOUTH PLAYHOUSE INCOrlandoFL$669k0
QUINCY CHILDREN'S MUSEUMQuincyIL$669k1
SUSTAINABLE JOURNALISM FOUNDATIONOklahoma CityOK$669k1
Golden Spike FoundationSalt Lake CityUT$669k0
Carbondale Community Arts IncorporatedCarbondaleIL$669k1
AMARILLO ART INSTITUTE INCAmarilloTX$669k1
HIGH ROAD GALLERY INCORPORATEDWorthingtonOH$669k0
PIONEER VALLEY SYMPHONY INCGreenfieldMA$668k1
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF STOCKTONStocktonCA$668k2
CLOUDBREAK INCNew PrestonCT$668k0
SAN DIEGO SPORTS ASSOCIATIONSan DiegoCA$668k1
Belle Ame Center for Artful Living IncAppomattoxVA$667k0
ALLENS LANE ART CENTERPhiladelphiaPA$667k1
OKLAHOMA PHILHARMONIC AFFILIATED FUND OF OCCF INCOklahoma CityOK$667k2
MISSISSIPPI HERITAGE TRUSTClevelandMS$667k1
THE VICTORY SHIP INCTampaFL$667k0
OPUS ITHACA SCHOOL OF MUSICIthacaNY$667k1
JOBSITE THEATRE INCTampaFL$667k2
Colorado Electric Educational InstituteDenverCO$667k0
6TH FLOOR PROJECTMcCookNE$666k0
ALAMO CITY PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATIONSan AntonioTX$666k3
PANIOLO PRESERVATION SOCIETYKamuelaHI$666k0
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA ARTS COUNCILWarrenMN$666k1
BALTIMORE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY INCBaltimoreMD$666k2
KOREA CREATIVE CONTENT AGENCYLos AngelesCA$666k0
Art & Creativity for HealingLaguna HillsCA$666k1
CONCORD SCHOOL OF 1848New AlexandriaPA$666k0
THE TWS FOUNDATIONWestern SpringsIL$666k1
Marin Museum of Contemporary ArtNovatoCA$665k0
FRIENDS OF THE RECORD COMPANY INCBostonMA$665k2
MEDICINE PARK MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE INCMedicine ParkOK$665k1
BOULANGER INITIATIVETakoma ParkMD$665k2
TRUSTUS INCColumbiaSC$665k0
TEPHRA INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTRestonVA$665k0
SRI LALITHA TEMPLEPhoenixAZ$665k1