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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 184 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FLYNN FAMILY FOUNDATION INCFort LauderdaleFL$582k0
OCEAN GROVE HISTORIC PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCOcean GroveNJ$582k0
LITTLE THEATRE OF OWATONNA INCOwatonnaMN$582k1
BETWEEN BEATS INCDixonIL$582k1
THE CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF SIOUXLAND INCSioux CityIA$582k1
MARBLEHEAD COMMUNITY ACCESS & MEDIAMarbleheadMA$582k3
OPERA ON TAPBrooklynNY$582k1
THE ARTS CENTER OF CANNON COUNTY INCWoodburyTN$582k1
World Stage TheatreTroutdaleOR$581k2
JAMESTOWN ARTS CENTERJamestownRI$581k1
CABLE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM INCCableWI$581k0
Greater Northshire Access Television IncManchester CenterVT$581k1
THE DRAWING STUDIO INCTucsonAZ$581k2
ASBURY PARK MUSIC FOUNDATION INCAsbury ParkNJ$581k0
SANTA BARBARA COMMUNITY YOUTH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCSanta BarbaraCA$581k0
SIMBELLE PRODUCTIONSNewport BeachCA$581k0
ANCRAM OPERA HOUSE THEATER INCAncramNY$581k1
OKLAHOMA MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATIOMuskogeeOK$580k0
WISCONSIN HEAD START ASSOCIATIONMadisonWI$580k1
HOLOCAUST AND HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION CENTERWhite PlainsNY$580k0
MUSIC FROM BEAR VALLEY INCBear ValleyCA$580k0
APOLLO CIVIC THEATRE INCMartinsburgWV$580k0
Booklyn IncBrookylnNY$580k1
CHAMBER MUSIC CONFERENCE &New YorkNY$580k2
Human AgendaSan JoseCA$580k2
NICOLAYSEN ART MUSEUMCasperWY$580k1
HUGE IMPROV THEATERMinneapolisMN$580k2
RESOLUTION INC (DBA CALIFORNIA NEWSREEL)San FranciscoCA$580k2
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA ENDOWMENT FUND IOklahoma CityOK$579k0
Clackamas County Historical SocietyOregon CityOR$579k0
Fusion Films IncPleasant GardenNC$579k2
CALIFORNIA SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONSacramentoCA$579k0
VAPA CENTERCharlotteNC$579k1
Ohio & Erie Canal AssociationAkronOH$579k0
HOLLAND SOCIETY OF NEW YORKNew YorkNY$579k0
ACTON COMMUNITY ACCESS TELEVISION INCActonMA$579k1
EAST SIDE FREEDOM LIBRARYSaint PaulMN$578k1
ALBANY REGIONAL MUSEUM CORPORATIONAlbanyOR$578k1
Atlanta Press Club IncAtlantaGA$578k0
TACOMA CITY BALLETTacomaWA$578k0
VINCENT PRICE ART FOUNDATIONMonterey ParkCA$578k1
FOODCULTUREBirminghamAL$578k0
Folsom Symphony IncFolsomCA$578k1
Wasatch Logan Arts Foundation IncLoganUT$578k0
AMERICAN ISLAMIC COMMUNITY CENTERMadison HeightsMI$578k0
KWMRPoint Reyes StationCA$578k1
SOUTHERN HERITAGE AIR FOUNDATIONTallulahLA$578k0
MIAMI GAY AND LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL INCMiamiFL$578k1
PORT TOWNSEND SCHOOL OF THE ARTS DBA NORTHWIND ARTPort TownsendWA$578k2
KALONA HISTORICAL SOCIETYKalonaIA$577k0