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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 185 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
JAPANESE ART SOCIETY OF AMERICA INCLexingtonMA$577k0
HISTORIC FORT WAYNE INCFort WayneIN$577k0
INDIGENOUS LIFEWAYSGallupNM$577k4
Fairfield Foundation of Virginia IncWhite MarshVA$577k2
SALEM ART WORKS INCSalemNY$577k2
WALDO THEATRE INCWaldoboroME$577k1
SIGNET ASSOCIATESCambridgeMA$577k0
Dallas SPARKDallasTX$577k1
WICHITA GRAND OPERA INCWichitaKS$577k1
HARK UP MINISTRIESGrand RapidsMI$577k5
CEDARBURG CULTURAL CENTER INCCedarburgWI$577k1
PALM SPRINGS HISTORICAL SOCIETYPalm SpringsCA$577k0
Eudora Welty Foundation IncJacksonMS$577k0
PUNTO URBAN ART MUSEUM INCSalemMA$576k4
AUCILLA RESEARCH INSTITUTE INCMonticelloFL$576k0
IMAGINATION STAGE OF WASHINGTON DC INCWashingtonDC$576k2
ARTSUP LALos AngelesCA$576k3
KOREAN AMERICAN GRASSROOTS CONFERENCE INCWashingtonDC$576k2
UTPL-NY IncJamaicaNY$576k1
THE BOTTLEWORKS INC ETHNIC ARTS CENTERJohnstownPA$576k0
Bainbridge Arts & CraftsBainbridge IslandWA$576k1
Riverbend Equine TherapySwantonOH$576k1
PERFORMING ARTS BUILDING FOUNDATION INCOrleansMA$575k0
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE SACRAMENTOSacramentoCA$575k0
DALLAS TRUTH RACIAL HEALING AND TRANSFORMATIONDallasTX$575k0
The Brick Theater IncBrooklynNY$575k1
Atlantic City Arts FoundationAtlantic CityNJ$575k1
KAIROS COMMUNICATION SERVICEMonterey ParkCA$575k0
North Carolina Health News IncChapel HillNC$575k2
SEATTLE RECREATIVESeattleWA$575k1
Bellingham Festival of MusicBellinghamWA$575k0
Gulf Coast Heritage Association IncSarasotaFL$575k2
GRANDWORKS FOUNDATIONUrbanaOH$575k1
LACIS Museum of Lace and Textiles IncBerkeleyCA$575k0
ARIEL THEATRICAL INCSalinasCA$575k0
BROADWAY EDUCATION ALLIANCE INCRhinebeckNY$574k0
HAND 2 MOUTHPortlandOR$574k2
ELYS HISTORIC STATE THEATERElyMN$574k0
TRISKELION ARTS-KICK-STANDANCE INCBrooklynNY$574k2
Douglas County Veterans Monument FoCastle RockCO$574k0
FAYETTEVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCFayettevilleNC$574k0
WESTERN HISTORY ASSOCIATIONLawrenceKS$574k1
ART OF RECYCLEEphrataPA$574k1
NEXT STAGE ARTS PROJECT INCPutneyVT$573k0
BREWERY ARTS CENTERCarson CityNV$573k2
LIBERTIES JOURNAL FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$573k1
TANNERY WORLD DANCE & CULTURAL CENTERSanta CruzCA$573k1
TECHSGIVING INCUpper MarlboroMD$573k0
EMPOWER YOUTH IN THE PERFORMING ARTS INCMobileAL$573k0
ABINGDON THEATRE COMPANYLong Island CityNY$573k1