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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 183 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Albany Barn IncAlbanyNY$587k1
A V A BALLET THEATRERenoNV$587k1
SEVEN STORIES INSTITUTENew YorkNY$587k1
CRACKED POTS INCPortlandOR$587k0
THE CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTBedminsterNJ$587k1
MASONIC TEMPLE LIBRARY & MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH INCFort WorthTX$587k0
ATLANTA GRADE SCHOOL FRIENDSAtlantaTX$587k0
WILMINGTON COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCWilmingtonMA$587k5
PHOENIX ALLSTARS INCWyomissingPA$587k1
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA IN THE STATE OF SCCharlestonSC$586k0
WOMEN & FAMILY LIFE CENTER INCGuilfordCT$586k1
HARRISBURG COMMUNITY THEATRE THEATRE HARRISBURGHarrisburgPA$586k1
JACK VAN SICKLE FOUNDATIONRenoNV$586k3
HOLLAND MUSEUMHollandMI$586k1
Barrio Alegria CoReadingPA$586k2
TILT INSTITUTE FOR THE CONTEMPORARY IMAGEPhiladelphiaPA$586k1
BACKHAUSDANCEOrangeCA$586k1
MOXIE THEATRE INCSan DiegoCA$586k2
GELMAN STAINED GLASS MUSEUMSan JuanTX$586k0
LEXINGTON COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER INCLexingtonMA$585k1
COLUMBUS AREA CHILDRENS MUSEUM INCColumbusNE$585k0
10-1 FOUNDATION INCThomasvilleGA$585k0
TRICHELL FAMILY FOUNDATIONBakersfieldCA$585k0
UTAH AIR SHOW FOUNDATIONOgdenUT$585k1
FLORIDA STATE SOCIETY OF DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONPonte Vedra BeachFL$585k0
WATERFALL ARTSBelfastME$585k0
BUNNELL STREET ARTS CENTERHomerAK$585k1
THE JAMES AND DOROTHY DOSS HERITAGE AND CULTURE CENTER OF PARKER COUNTYWeatherfordTX$585k0
PLAYGROUNDBerkeleyCA$585k1
THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE FOUNDATION INCWashingtonDC$585k2
Ling Ying FoundationSan JoseCA$585k0
CHOCOLATE CHURCH ARTS CENTERBathME$585k0
Columbia Center For Theatrical Arts IncColumbiaMD$584k0
TUMBLEWEED CREATIVE ARTSJacksonWY$584k1
THE ELIZABETH LANE OLIVER CENTER FOR THE ARTSFrankfortMI$584k1
BOULDER COUNTY ARTS ALLIANCE INCBoulderCO$584k1
Academy of Childrens TheatreRichlandWA$584k1
HISTORIC CAROUSEL AND MUSEUMAlbanyOR$584k0
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center IncorporatedSebastopolCA$584k0
CARRIAGE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA INCLexingtonKY$583k0
SACATAR FOUNDATIONPasadenaCA$583k0
CAPE COD MARITIME MUSEUMINCHyannisMA$583k0
Adirondack Theatre Festival IncGlens FallsNY$583k0
VALLEY PERFORMING ARTSWasillaAK$583k5
MONTGOMERY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCRockvilleMD$583k1
GREAT LAKES CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVALSouthfieldMI$583k0
Anaheim BalletAnaheimCA$583k2
THE NIAGARA ARTS AND CULTURAL CENTER INCNiagara FallsNY$583k2
TREEHOUSE THEATER INCManitowocWI$583k1
VENEZUELAN AMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS INCNew RochelleNY$583k0