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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 17 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
UBONGO INTERNATIONALAustinTX$10.3M1
JAPAN SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$10.3M7
SARASOTA BALLET OF FLORIDA INCSarasotaFL$10.3M6
SAN ANTONIO CHILDREN'S MUSEUMSan AntonioTX$10.2M7
TRUST FOR THE NATIONAL MALLWashingtonDC$10.2M10
AMERICAN PRESS INSTITUTE INCArlingtonVA$10.2M8
PACIFIC FLEET SUBMARINE MEMORIAL ASSOCHonoluluHI$10.2M1
FESTIVAL OF ARTS OF LAGUNA BEACHLaguna BeachCA$10.2M6
NATIONAL ARCHIVES FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$10.1M8
ZEITERION THEATRE INCNew BedfordMA$10.1M3
THE SOURCE FOR LEARNING INCRestonVA$10.1M6
CENTER FOR BLACK EDUCATOR DEVELOPMENTElkins ParkPA$10.1M2
GALLO CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCModestoCA$10.1M7
PACIFIC PUBLIC MEDIASeattleWA$10.1M4
HAWAII PUBLIC TELEVISION FOUNDATION DBA PBS HAWAIIHonoluluHI$10.1M7
WALNUT STREET THEATRE CORPORATIONPhiladelphiaPA$10.1M7
UNITING VOICESChicagoIL$10.1M6
THE AIR FORCE MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCWright Patterson AfbOH$10M3
ASIAN PACIFIC INSTITUTE ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCESan FranciscoCA$10M5
Chicago Children's MuseumChicagoIL$10M5
CHARLESTON GAILLARD MANAGEMENT CORPORATIONCharlestonSC$10M3
Houston Symphony EndowmentHoustonTX$10M2
SOUTH COAST REPERTORY INCCosta MesaCA$10M7
ORLANDO BALLET INCOrlandoFL$10M2
SUN 'N FUN FLY-IN INCLakelandFL$10M4
IOWA PUBLIC RADIO INCDes MoinesIA$10M3
CHARLES W BOWERS MUSEUM CORPORATIONSanta AnaCA$10M2
TOLEDO ALLIANCE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSToledoOH$9.9M3
TAMPA MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION INCTampaFL$9.9M1
WHIMSADOODLE INCKansas CityMO$9.9M3
PEARL ARTS INCFort WayneIN$9.9M1
GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETYGrand RapidsMI$9.9M3
BALLET METROPOLITAN INCColumbusOH$9.9M2
Baltimore Public Media CorporationBaltimoreMD$9.9M7
FRIENDS OF OETA INCOklahoma CityOK$9.8M1
TEXAS BALLET THEATER INCFort WorthTX$9.8M3
NORTHLIGHT THEATRE INCSkokieIL$9.8M2
LOCKWOOD-MATHEWS MANSION MUSEUM OF NORWALK INCNorwalkCT$9.8M1
The Cullen Trust for the Performing ArtsHoustonTX$9.8M0
MAUI ARTS & CULTURAL CENTERKahuluiHI$9.8M1
CIVIC LIGHT OPERA ASSOCIATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGHPittsburghPA$9.8M3
Minnesota Children's MuseumSt PaulMN$9.7M6
ARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL CHARLOTTE/MECKLENBURG INCCharlotteNC$9.7M1
AN CLAIDHEAMH SOLUIS INCNew YorkNY$9.7M7
CAROLINA BALLET INCRaleighNC$9.7M2
SANTA BARBARA CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCSanta BarbaraCA$9.6M4
Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation IncWilmingtonDE$9.6M5
WESTERN STATES ARTS FEDERATIONDenverCO$9.6M5
LUCILLE LORTEL THEATRE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$9.6M1
MAXWELL C KING CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCCocoaFL$9.6M1