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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 168 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ATLANTIC PUBLIC MEDIA INCWoods HoleMA$665k0
CORITA ART CENTER INCLos AngelesCA$664k1
CAPE MAY POINT SCIENCE CENTERCape MayNJ$664k0
PASADENA HERITAGEPasadenaCA$664k1
NEBRASKA WRITERS COLLECTIVEOmahaNE$664k2
CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS INCYorklynDE$664k1
WICHITA CHILDREN'S THEATRE INCWichitaKS$663k1
MINNESOTA BOYCHOIRSt PaulMN$663k1
KORSA MUSICAL THEATERBerkeleyCA$663k1
NORTHERN FOREST CANOE TRAIL INCWaitsfieldVT$663k1
Miami-Dade North Arts & HumanitiesMiamiFL$663k0
African American Historical and Genealogical SocieMount AiryNC$663k0
ENVISION ATLANTA INCClarkstonGA$662k0
BOSTON CITY SINGERS INCDorchesterMA$662k2
B'MORE ARTISTS GUILD INCBaltimoreMD$662k1
LE SAULT DE SAINTE MARIE HISTORICAL SITES INCSault Ste MarieMI$661k0
BFF OMAHA INCOmahaNE$661k3
MAINSTAGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCBlackwoodNJ$661k2
COLORADO BUSINESS COMMITTEE FOR THE ARTSDenverCO$661k1
ANNAPOLIS FILM FESTIVALAnnapolisMD$661k0
USS YORKTOWN FOUNDATIONMt PleasantSC$661k0
CITY THEATRE INCMiamiFL$661k0
Odyssey TheatreLos AngelesCA$660k1
Roots & Branches ConservancyMill ValleyCA$660k0
CAROLINA PHILHARMONIC INCPinehurstNC$660k1
LOVE NOW MEDIA INCPhiladelphiaPA$660k1
POWER HOUSE THEATRE WALLA WALLAWalla WallaWA$660k2
ReelAbilities International IncNew YorkNY$660k3
TRI-CITIES OPERA COMPANY INCBinghamtonNY$660k1
FARMINGTON VALLEY ARTS CENTER INCAvonCT$660k0
COLUMBIA DANCE ENSEMBLEVancouverWA$660k1
LUTZ CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INCManchesterCT$660k1
OPERA NORTHLebanonNH$660k1
RIVERRUN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALWinstonsalemNC$660k1
KIDZNOTES INCDurhamNC$659k0
FALUN DAFA ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIHonoluluHI$659k0
ALABAMA CENTER FOR THE ARTS FOUNDATIONDecaturAL$659k0
WEYMOUTH EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP INCWeymouthMA$659k0
BELMONT NEWS FOUNDATION INCBelmontMA$659k0
Latin Americans Working for AchievementCharlotteNC$659k1
ARTS COUNCIL OF THE VALLEYHarrisonburgVA$659k1
AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY & CULTURAL CENTEROrovilleCA$658k1
NORTH CAROLINA STAGE COMPANYAshevilleNC$658k2
MAUMEE VALLEY BROADCASTING ASSOCIATION INCHollandOH$658k0
EMPIRE ARTS CENTERGrand ForksND$658k1
ORCHESTRA INDIANA INCMuncieIN$658k0
STEFFI NOSSEN DANCE FOUNDATION INCWhite PlainsNY$658k1
STRAY DOG THEATRESt LouisMO$658k2
THE COTILLION CLUBShreveportLA$658k0
The Clifton HouseBaltimoreMD$657k0