Skip to main content
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 182 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Bronxville Historical Conservancy IncBronxvilleNY$591k0
INDUSTRIAL ARTS WORKSHOP INCPittsburghPA$591k1
LANDMARK COMMUNITY THEATRE INCThomastonCT$591k1
Manilatown Heritage FoundationSan FranciscoCA$591k1
Insights-El Paso Science Center IncEl PasoTX$591k0
JUSTICE DANCE PERFORMANCE PROJECT INCHartfordCT$591k0
Community Music SchoolBuffaloNY$591k1
Trusting News IncSarasotaFL$591k2
BREED STREET SHUL PROJECT INCLos AngelesCA$590k0
ACTIVE AGING PUBLISHING INCWichitaKS$590k1
Chicago FilmmakersChicagoIL$590k1
AMERICA ABROAD MEDIA INCWashingtonDC$590k0
INDIANA MILITARY MUSEUM INCVincennesIN$590k0
PRINCE GEORGE'S CULTURAL ARTS FOUNDATIONBowieMD$590k0
COUNCIL OF STATE ARCHIVISTS INCBostonMA$590k1
LEAVENWORTH NUTCRACKER MUSEUMLeavenworthWA$590k1
Irving Symphony Orchestra Association IncIrvingTX$590k1
BOLINAS MUSEUMBolinasCA$589k1
Avant Chamber Ballet IncDallasTX$589k1
MARIANNA HISTORIC TRUSTMariannaAR$589k0
SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY FOUNDATIONSpringfieldOH$589k0
TOUCHSTONE THEATREBethlehemPA$589k2
THE ARBOGAST PERFORMING ARTS CENTERTroyOH$589k1
MUSEUM OF AMERICAN PORCELAIN ARTSouth EuclidOH$589k0
CASHIERS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCCashiersNC$589k0
George R Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art - USToronto$589k0
THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE INCRockledgeFL$589k0
MUSICA ANGELICALong BeachCA$589k1
ARTPORTUNITY KNOCKS INCAtlantaGA$589k2
BRAZORIA COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUMAngletonTX$589k0
Fern Street Community Arts IncSan DiegoCA$589k1
WORLD OF WESTCHASE INCTampaFL$588k0
THE AFN EDUCATION FUNDAnchorageAK$588k0
AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE - MILWAUKEE INCMilwaukeeWI$588k1
Wireless History FoundationWestminsterCO$588k1
IRIS MUSIC PROJECTColumbiaMD$588k0
HOLISTIC UNDERGROUND INCOaklandCA$588k1
CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE OF INLAND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIARiversideCA$588k1
Albina Music TrustPortlandOR$588k3
FLAGSTAFF FRIENDS OF TRADITIONAL MUSIC INCFlagstaffAZ$588k0
Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County IncIthacaNY$588k1
Columbia City Jazz CompanyColumbiaSC$588k4
HARRISON HIGH BAND BOOSTERS INCKennesawGA$588k0
MONTGOMERY THEATER INCSoudertonPA$588k1
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY CHARITABLE ASSOCIATIONOak ParkIL$588k0
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK INCFarmingtonCT$588k0
FLORIDA ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTSBrandonFL$587k2
WOODFORD COUNTY THEATRICAL ARTS ASSOCIATION INCVersaillesKY$587k0
SCOTTSDALE PHILHARMONIC INC C/O JOY PARTRIDGEScottsdaleAZ$587k5
DELAWARE VALLEY ARTS ALLIANCE INCNarrowsburgNY$587k1