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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 17 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Alaska Native Heritage Center IncAnchorageAK$11M3
CAROLINA BALLET INCRaleighNC$10.9M3
DEMOCRACY NOW PRODUCTIONS INCNew YorkNY$10.9M7
THE LAKE PLACID ASSOCIATION FOR MUSIC DRAMA AND ART INCLake PlacidNY$10.9M1
MIDLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCMidlandMI$10.9M5
TEXAS BALLET THEATER INCFort WorthTX$10.9M3
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMSArlingtonVA$10.9M10
THE PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM INCNew YorkNY$10.9M2
GEORGIA O'KEEFFE MUSEUMSanta FeNM$10.9M8
THEATREWORKS SILICON VALLEYRedwood CityCA$10.9M5
Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center of CaliforniaGlendaleCA$10.9M1
INDEPENDENCE PUBLIC MEDIA OF PHILADELPHIA INCPhiladelphiaPA$10.9M2
OAKLEAF ENDOWMENT TRUST FOR THE MINNESOTA ORCHESTRAMinneapolisMN$10.9M0
THE MAGIC HOUSESt LouisMO$10.8M5
BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE THEATER INCNew HopePA$10.8M2
ELAINE KAUFMAN CULTURAL CENTER LUCY MOSES SCHOOL FOR MUSIC AND DANCENew YorkNY$10.8M8
BNP INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION INC C/O STERLING FOUNDATION MANAGEMENT LLCRestonVA$10.8M0
COLUMBIA RIVER MARITIME MUSEUMAstoriaOR$10.8M3
RADIO KINGSTON CORPKingstonNY$10.7M1
United States Artists IncChicagoIL$10.7M4
BRUCE MUSEUM INCGreenwichCT$10.7M6
MAUI ARTS & CULTURAL CENTERKahuluiHI$10.7M1
THE HEARD MUSEUMPhoenixAZ$10.7M5
MIAMI CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC FKA MIAMI YOUTH MUSEUMMiamiFL$10.7M4
RHODE ISLAND PBS FOUNDATION AND THE PUBLIC'S RADIOProvidenceRI$10.7M6
Fountainhead Museum FoundationFairbanksAK$10.6M0
CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSColumbusOH$10.6M2
GREEKTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIPDetroitMI$10.6M1
Community Center for the ArtsJacksonWY$10.6M1
PS 1 CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER INCLong Island CityNY$10.6M7
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra SocietySt PaulMN$10.5M12
DISCOVERY CENTER GREAT LAKESTraverse CityMI$10.5M1
OREGON BALLET THEATREPortlandOR$10.5M3
PHOENIX SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONPhoenixAZ$10.5M8
MUSIC CENTER FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$10.5M1
SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYSanta BarbaraCA$10.5M8
WORCESTER NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY INCWorcesterMA$10.5M2
Cincinnati Public Radio IncCincinnatiOH$10.4M6
BALLET AUSTIN INCORPORATEDAustinTX$10.4M2
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETYBostonMA$10.4M7
BERGEN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCEnglewoodNJ$10.4M4
WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETYWashingtonDC$10.4M6
EDWARD ALBEE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$10.4M2
NEW YORK LIVE ARTS INCNew YorkNY$10.4M6
LINCOLN CENTER DEVELOPMENT PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$10.3M4
LATINO THEATER COMPANYLos AngelesCA$10.3M2
WEITZMAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORYPhiladelphiaPA$10.3M7
SARASOTA BALLET OF FLORIDA INCSarasotaFL$10.3M6
HAWAII PUBLIC TELEVISION FOUNDATION DBA PBS HAWAIIHonoluluHI$10.2M7
SAN ANTONIO CHILDREN'S MUSEUMSan AntonioTX$10.2M7