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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 170 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SOUTHOLD DANCE THEATER INCSouth BendIN$652k0
HILL COUNTRY ARTS FOUNDATIONIngramTX$652k1
Public Radio for the Front RangeFort CollinsCO$651k0
ATTACHBurnsvilleMN$651k2
LAKEVILLE CITY BALLETLakevilleMN$651k2
BOFFO INCNew YorkNY$651k1
MAXVILLE HERITAGE INTERPRETIVE CENTEREnterpriseOR$651k0
JACK MUSIC INC JACK QUARTETNew YorkNY$651k5
EAST TROY RAILROAD MUSEUM INCEast TroyWI$651k0
Fall River Historical SocietyFall RiverMA$651k1
ULRICH & RUTH FRANK FOUNDATION FOR INTERNATIONAL HEALTHBethelMN$651k1
SOUTH BAY ARTIST COLLECTIVEHermosa BeachCA$651k1
RESTORE OREGON INCPortlandOR$650k1
LANE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYEugeneOR$650k3
LONG BRANCH HISTORIC HOUSE & FARMMillwoodVA$650k2
Blue River Arts Council IncCreteNE$650k1
Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County IncAshevilleNC$650k2
OPERA MAINEPortlandME$650k2
NORTHERN PLAINS BALLETBismarckND$650k1
DANCE IT FORWARDYorkPA$650k3
SOCIETY OF VOICE ARTS AND SCIENCES INCWest New YorkNJ$650k2
EUGENE SPRINGFIELD YOUTH ORCHESTRASEugeneOR$650k2
SITKA MUSIC FESTIVAL INCSitkaAK$649k0
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF MATAN BASETER PANAMA INCBaltimoreMD$649k0
Center for Women and Their Work IncAustinTX$649k1
MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCESeattleWA$649k1
PRAIRIE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCMadisonSD$649k2
PARVIZ SHAHBAZI FOUNDATION INCWoodland HillsCA$649k0
THE SONNABEND COLLECTION FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$649k1
OYSTERPONDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCOrientNY$649k1
STEAMY LIT FOUNDATION FKA THE ROM CON INCDeerfield BeachFL$649k0
UTAH MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATIONAmerican ForkUT$648k2
ODDFELLOWS PLAYHOUSEMiddletownCT$648k2
METROPOLITAN CLUB FOUNDATION INCElmsfordNY$648k0
LEMAY FAMILY COLLECTION FOUNDATION DBA LEMAY COLLECTIONS AT MARYMOUNTTacomaWA$648k1
SOFIA QUINTERO ART AND CULTURAL CENTERToledoOH$648k1
ARTS SOUTH DAKOTA INC C/O JIM SPEIRSSioux FallsSD$648k0
Hagerty Drivers FoundationWilmingtonDE$648k0
STOCKTON CIVIC THEATRE INCStocktonCA$648k0
RECESS ACTIVITIES INCBrooklynNY$647k6
INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR WOMEN IN MUSICPortlandOR$647k0
EDUCATION FOUNDATION OF THE LRA INCMetairieLA$647k1
BLACK RIVER RAILROAD HISTORICAL TRUST INCPoint Pleasant BoroNJ$647k0
METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS MUSEUM INCChestnut HillMA$647k1
DellArte IncBlue LakeCA$647k4
Ngoma Center for DanceWashingtonDC$647k0
NINTH STREET MEDIA CONSORTIUM INCSan FranciscoCA$646k0
ORIGINATION INCORPORATEDJamaica PlainMA$646k2
CENTER STAGE THEATRE INCSheltonCT$646k1
Contemporary Dayton IncDaytonOH$646k1