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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 188 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ROCK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCJanesvilleWI$563k2
FRIENDS OF THE HALSTEAD INCFairhopeAL$563k0
LINTON INCORPORATEDCincinnatiOH$563k4
CITADEL DANCE AND MUSIC CENTER INCBenton HarborMI$563k0
BELLEVUE LITERARY PRESS INCNew YorkNY$563k1
TEXAS PUBLIC BROADCASTING ASSOCIATIONSan AntonioTX$563k0
ROSWELL ARTS FUND INCRoswellGA$563k0
ROSE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE AND FORT HAMILTON TRUST INCNewportRI$563k1
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF LASER DENTISTRYCoral SpringsFL$563k0
California Mobility FundSacramentoCA$563k0
NANTUCKET PRESERVATION TRUST INCNantucketMA$563k1
CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF POOLER INCPoolerGA$562k0
ALOHA WEEK HAWAII INC DBA ALOHA FESTIVALSHonoluluHI$562k1
NORWEGIAN AMERICAN GENEALOGICAL CENTERMadisonWI$562k1
STUDIO ROUTE 29FrenchtownNJ$562k0
CADENCE THEATRE COMPANY INCRichmondVA$562k2
GOODWOOD MUSEUM AND GARDENS INCTallahasseeFL$562k1
HENNEPIN HISTORY MUSEUMMinneapolisMN$562k1
GREATER BROADWAY PARTNERSHIPSacramentoCA$562k1
RIVERSIDE THEATRE COIowa CityIA$562k1
THE MEDICI ARCHIVE PROJECT INCBabylonNY$562k0
TALEA ENSEMBLE INCBrooklynNY$562k1
TULSA GIRLS ART SCHOOL PROJECT INCTulsaOK$562k1
All Children Art Center of NJBound BrookNJ$562k0
BLACK ROCK GLOBAL ARTS FOUNDATION INCBrooklynNY$562k1
EAU CLAIRE CHILDRENS THEATRE INCEau ClaireWI$561k0
FAMILY PICTURES INSTITUTE FOR INCLUSIVE STORYTELLING INCGreenwood LakeNY$561k0
PORIETIS FOUNDATIONTacomaWA$561k0
MMAS INCMansfieldMA$561k1
TRADITIONAL ARTS IN UPSTATE NEW YORK INCantonNY$561k1
GILBOA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCGilboaNY$561k0
CAROLINA PUBLIC PRESS INCRaleighNC$561k2
HERITAGE GUILD OF COLLIN COUNTY TEXASMcKinneyTX$560k1
ART MUSEUM OF GREATER LAFAYETTE INCLafayetteIN$560k1
MAVERICK CONCERTS INCWoodstockNY$560k1
LARK TRADITIONAL ARTSBerkeleyCA$560k3
UNITED SHERPA ASSOCIATION USA INCElmhurstNY$560k0
EVANSVILLE P-47 FOUNDATION INCEvansvilleIN$560k0
Precita Eyes Muralists Association IncSan FranciscoCA$560k1
BEVERLYS TERRACE PLAZA PLAYHOUSELaytonUT$560k0
MERCED COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYMercedCA$560k0
Wethersfield Historical SocietyWethersfieldCT$560k0
HANDY FOUNDATION CORPORATIONLos AngelesCA$560k5
SIGAL MUSIC MUSEUMGreenvilleSC$559k0
TEXAS CZECH HERITAGE & CULTURAL CENTER ILa GrangeTX$559k0
ANABAPTIST RENAISSANCE CONSORTIUMNew HollandPA$559k0
FEEL THE BEAT CORPEnglewoodCO$559k2
GEOPARADISE INCNew YorkNY$559k0
VICTORIA BALLET THEATREVictoriaTX$559k3
MCRD MUSEUM HISTORICAL SOCIETYSan DiegoCA$559k1