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 186 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GOSHEN THEATER INCGoshenIN$573k0
UWPIAANew CastleNH$573k0
DRY STONE CONSERVANCY INCLexingtonKY$573k3
RED BARN ACTORS STUDIO INCKey WestFL$573k3
RAPIDES SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAAlexandriaLA$573k1
CHESAPEAKE CHAMBER MUSIC INC T/A CHESAPEAKE MUSICEastonMD$573k1
CHRISTIAN YOUTH THEATER PORTLAND VANCOUVERTualatinOR$573k3
C COLAW AND G CRANE CHARITABLE TRUSTSt PetersburgFL$572k1
PASADENA HISTORICAL MUSEUM INCPasadenaCA$572k1
MYANMAR POLICY INSTITUTESmyrnaDE$572k1
ASIAN PERFORMING ARTS OF COLORADO INCNew YorkNY$572k0
Brandon House Cultural and Performing Arts CenterLittle RockAR$572k3
INSTALLATION GALLERYLa JollaCA$572k0
Artworks Trenton IncTrentonNJ$572k3
MADISON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYWintersetIA$572k0
RIALTO SQUARE THEATRE FOUNDATIONSJolietIL$572k0
MISSISSIPPI SPORTS FOUNDATION INCJacksonMS$572k2
Friends of Sellers HallDrexel HillPA$572k0
OPERA MODESTO INCModestoCA$572k2
ONE WEST 54TH STREET FOUNDATION C/O THE UNIVERSITY CLUBNew YorkNY$571k0
RIVERTOWNS ARTS COUNCIL INCHastings On HudsonNY$571k4
Barthelmes Conservatory IncTulsaOK$571k0
EN-RICH-MENTCantonOH$571k0
BIBLE TRUTH PUBLISHERS INCAddisonIL$571k3
SOUTH COUNTY ART ASSOCIATIONKingstonRI$571k1
Sanderson Museum and VillagePhoenixAZ$571k0
Logan Community Foundation dba Cache Theatre CompanyNorth LoganUT$571k3
ADVOCACY INCMacOmbMI$571k0
CREATIVE YORKYorkPA$571k2
BROOME COUNTY ARTS COUNCILBinghamtonNY$571k1
HIWAY THEATRE INCAmblerPA$571k0
TWYLA THARP DANCE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$570k0
CLASSIC LYRIC ARTS INCNew YorkNY$570k2
AFRICAN CULTURE CONNECTIONOmahaNE$570k1
THEANALYSIS NEWS INCWilmingtonDE$570k0
SCULPTUREWALK INCSioux FallsSD$570k0
NORTH BROWARD PREPARATORY SCHOOL MUSIC BOOSTER INCCoconut CreekFL$570k0
The Wilmington Symphony Orchestra IncWilmingtonNC$570k2
PAVEK MUSEUMSt Louis ParkMN$570k0
ALLEGANY ARTS COUNCILCumberlandMD$569k0
FABRIC TEMPETempeAZ$569k2
TURLOCK COMMUNITY THEATRE INCTurlockCA$569k0
WESTCOTT HOUSE FOUNDATIONSpringfieldOH$569k1
Mudlark Theater Company NFPEvanstonIL$569k2
KOREAN COMMUNITY CENTERAlexandriaVA$569k0
PAINTED BRIDE ART CENTER INCPhiladelphiaPA$569k1
OPERA VERACE FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$569k0
PARLANCE CHAMBER CONCERTS INCRidgewoodNJ$569k0
CALUSA NATURE CENTER & PLANETARIUM INCFort MyersFL$568k0
NORTHERN MANHATTAN ARTS ALLIANCE INCNew YorkNY$568k1