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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 180 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GETTYSBURG COMMUNITY THEATRE INCGettysburgPA$600k0
FOX VALLEY MUSIC FOUNDATIONAuroraIL$599k1
CEDAR CENTER ARTS INCGreen BayWI$599k0
Spark CentralSpokaneWA$599k0
RUM RIVER ART INCAnokaMN$599k1
THE MUSIC ACADEMY FOUNDATION INCGarden CityNY$599k2
The Cool Cooperative IncNew OrleansLA$599k1
SAN DIEGO MADESan DiegoCA$599k3
ALLIES IN ARTSLos AngelesCA$598k2
FAITH UNITY INCBensalemPA$598k0
FRIENDS OF AMERICAN SONG ARCHIVES INCTulsaOK$598k0
BUFFALO NIAGARA HERITAGE VILLAGEAmherstNY$598k1
ARMENIAN GENERAL BENEVOLENT UNION GROUPNew YorkNY$598k0
Bus Barn Stage CompanyLos AltosCA$598k4
CENTER THEATRE INCDoverfoxcroftME$598k1
PHILADELPHIA SCENIC WORKSMediaPA$598k1
BRONX SCHOOL FOR MUSIC INCBronxNY$598k1
Pacific Festival Ballet Company IncWestlake VillageCA$598k2
WHIRLED PEAS FOUNDATION INCEvanstonIL$598k0
MAPS MEDIA INSTITUTE INCHamiltonMT$598k1
PORTUGUESE CULTURAL CENTER INCDanburyCT$597k0
Jackson Hole Public ArtJacksonWY$597k1
HONG KONG DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK INCWhitestoneNY$597k0
THE NEW LOCAL COBoulderCO$597k0
FRONTIER MEDIA GROUPTulsaOK$597k1
Norfolk Arts CenterNorfolkNE$597k1
JACK HADLEYS BLACK HISTORY MEMORBILLIA INCThomasvilleGA$597k2
Frontier Times MuseumBanderaTX$597k1
Central Chinese High School in AmericaSan FranciscoCA$597k0
MATTHEW AND IRIS STRAUSS FAMILY FOUNDATION INCSolana BeachCA$597k0
TUPPER ARTS INCTupper LakeNY$597k0
PUMP HOUSE REGIONAL ARTS CENTERLa CrosseWI$597k1
Maritime Museum LouisianaMadisonvilleLA$597k1
Nashville Jazz WorkshopNashvilleTN$596k1
HANDS HEALING HEARTS INCFrankfortKY$596k1
THE RED MILL MUSEUM VILLAGE INCClintonNJ$596k4
MORGAN PARK AND BEVERLY HANDICAPPED INC C/O EMBRACE LIVING COMMUNITIESOak BrookIL$596k7
Spiritual Twist ProductionsGarnerNC$596k2
The Kehrein Center for the Arts FoundationChicagoIL$596k0
YOUTH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRASan DiegoCA$596k1
AMERICAN SHORT FICTION INCAustinTX$596k2
CREATIVE JUSTICE INITIATIVE INCBronxNY$596k1
THE LITTLE THEATRE OF WINSTON-SALEM INCWinstonsalemNC$595k1
ID STUDIO THEATER PERFORMANCE AND REBronxNY$595k0
COTTAGE THEATRECottage GroveOR$595k2
CHOPS INCMinneapolisMN$595k0
RICHARDSON ARCHITECTURE CENTER INCBuffaloNY$595k1
HEART OF THE ARTS INCMoscowID$595k1
WESTERN ARKANSAS BALLETFort SmithAR$595k0
LIBERTY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER INCHinesvilleGA$595k2