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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 176 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN GI INCCollege StationTX$619k0
DAYTON AMATEUR RADIO ASSOC INCDaytonOH$619k0
FRIENDS OF THE HUNLEY INCNorth CharlestonSC$618k0
HUNGRY FOR MUSICWashingtonDC$618k1
TRUMANSBURG CONSERVATORY OF FINE ARTS INCTrumansburgNY$618k0
FERNANDO PULLUM COMMUNITY ARTS CENTERLos AngelesCA$618k0
SAN PEDRO CITY BALLETSan PedroCA$618k2
ROBERT M MERRYMAN PERFORMING ART CEKearneyNE$618k0
MODERNIST ARCHIVE INCDurhamNC$618k1
NEW YORK CITY ARTS-IN-EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE INCNew YorkNY$618k1
Project MiracleLos AngelesCA$618k0
BORDERLIGHT INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESTIVALClevelandOH$618k0
KC Clay GuildKansas CityMO$617k3
Public Arts CommissionGrand ForksND$617k0
Safer Society Foundation IncBrandonVT$617k1
TRITON MUSEUM OF ARTSanta ClaraCA$617k1
FIFTH EPOCHAL FELLOWSHIP CORPORATIONRenoNV$616k1
THEATRE TULSA INCTulsaOK$616k0
VINTAGE THEATREAuroraCO$616k1
HONOR FLIGHT TRI-STATECincinnatiOH$616k0
HOUSTON CHILDREN'S CHORUS INCHoustonTX$616k1
ATHENS PHOTOGRAPHIC PROJECTAthensOH$616k1
North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools NC Assoc for Public Charter SchoolsAsheboroNC$616k0
NATIONAL ITALIAN AMERICAN SPORTS HALL OF FAMEChicagoIL$616k0
NORTH AMERICAN BISON DISCOVERY CENTERJamestownND$616k0
RIVERARTSFEST INCMemphisTN$616k0
R AND E NORTON PHILANTHROPIC TRDallasTX$615k1
JANSEN ART CENTERLyndenWA$615k3
BATH & TENNIS HISTORIC BUILDING PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INCPalm BeachFL$615k0
Whole World Theatre CompanyAtlantaGA$615k1
CAMBRIDGE MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER INCCambridgeMA$615k2
Seattle Genre AllianceSeattleWA$615k0
Design Museum of ChicagoChicagoIL$615k0
CASTINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCCastineME$615k0
HISPANIC OUTREACH OF GOODHUE COUNTYRed WingMN$614k1
Artspace LimaLimaOH$614k0
THE FUND FOR THE WATER WORKSPhiladelphiaPA$614k0
STUMPTOWN ART STUDIOWhitefishMT$614k1
HISTORIC BEAUFORT FOUNDATIONBeaufortSC$614k1
MOUNT DORA CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCMount DoraFL$614k0
Georgia Lawyers for the Arts IncAtlantaGA$614k2
UJIMA COMPANY INCORPORATEDBuffaloNY$614k0
Grace InstitutePortlandOR$614k2
HOLY NAMES MUSIC CENTER AT FORT WRIGHTSpokaneWA$613k0
INDO-AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONHoustonTX$613k1
Colorado Artists in RecoveryDenverCO$613k1
ARTBARN COMMUNITY THEATER INCBrookline VillageMA$613k2
BURLINGTON CABLE ACCESS TELEVISION INCBurlingtonMA$613k2
YONKERS ARTS INCYonkersNY$613k3
SANDLER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATIONVirginia BeachVA$613k1