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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 179 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
LITHUANIAN SCOUTS ASSOCIATION INCChicagoIL$604k0
SEW VALLEYCincinnatiOH$604k1
ALABASTER ARTS COUNCIL INCAlabasterAL$604k0
FOUR FREEDOMS PARK CONSERVANCY INCNew YorkNY$603k1
UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INCCape CanaveralFL$603k0
AURORA FOSSIL MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCAuroraNC$603k0
Arabia Mountain Heritage Area AllianceLithoniaGA$603k2
Historic Fort Worth IncFort WorthTX$603k1
BOSTON MAIN STREETS FOUNDATIONBostonMA$603k1
BREAKBOX THOUGHT COLLECTIVEFresnoCA$603k3
DREAM DARE TO REVITALIZE EDUCATION THRU ARTS & MEDIATION INCBronxNY$603k1
HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES INCNew YorkNY$603k0
CHANCE 2 DANCE INCMaitlandFL$602k0
URZONE INCBrooklynNY$602k1
MARINES' MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$602k2
SUNRISE PRESERVATION GROUP INCSouthern PinesNC$602k0
THE LINDSAY SCHOOL OF THE ARTSFort PierceFL$602k0
POINSETTIA CENTER FOR THE ARTSOceansideCA$602k0
POST PLAYHOUSEChadronNE$602k3
FRIENDS OF SCIENCE EAST INCShorehamNY$602k2
LANDMARKS OF DEKALB COUNTY INCFort PayneAL$602k0
The National Christian Choir IncGermantownMD$601k1
MOURNING HOPELincolnNE$601k1
WILLIAMSPORT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAWilliamsportPA$601k0
NEWPORT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRANewportOR$601k0
Gujarati Samaj IncPortlandOR$601k0
WASHAKIE MUSEUMWorlandWY$601k0
CMDANCEDenverCO$601k1
OIL CREEK RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCTitusvillePA$601k1
ABADA-CAPOEIRA SAN FRANCISCOSan FranciscoCA$601k0
BALLET FOLKLORICO DE CHICAGO INCORPORATEDChicagoIL$601k0
SERVANTS OASISLebanonPA$601k0
HERSTORY WRITERS NETWORK INCCentereachNY$601k1
PENCE ART GALLERYDavisCA$601k2
EL SISTEMA OKLAHOMA INCOklahoma CityOK$601k1
GERMAN-AMERICAN CLUB GESANGVEREIN INCLouisvilleKY$600k0
SOULS GROWN DEEP COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP INCAtlantaGA$600k3
ALLISON ORR DANCE INCAustinTX$600k0
MERCED CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSMercedCA$600k0
Multimedia Resources and Training Institute (MMRTI)SeattleWA$600k0
AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCECincinnatiOH$600k1
FLAGSTAFF SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONFlagstaffAZ$600k1
Gamut Theatre GroupHarrisburgPA$600k2
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION CALIFORNIA STATE SOCGlendoraCA$600k0
GREATER CLEVELAND SPORTS HALL OF FAMEWestlakeOH$600k1
NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN CULTURAL CENTER INCTallmadgeOH$600k1
MASON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYLudingtonMI$600k0
Popular Culture AssociationAtlantaGA$600k0
MASONIC THEATRE PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONClifton ForgeVA$600k1
BVM Blue Mantle Productions CompanyGeorgetownKY$600k0