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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 19 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CIVIC CENTER FOUNDATIONOklahoma CityOK$9.6M3
The Army Historical Foundation IncFort BelvoirVA$9.5M6
THE BETTER ANGELS SOCIETY INCWashingtonDC$9.5M3
ALABAMA SHAKESPEARE FESTIVALMontgomeryAL$9.5M3
THIS IS THE PLACE FOUNDATION INCSalt Lake CityUT$9.5M0
STEPPING STONES MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN INCNorwalkCT$9.5M6
Stone Barns Restoration Corp DBA Stone Barns Center for Food & AgriPocantico HillsNY$9.5M7
THE MARINERS' MUSEUMNewport NewsVA$9.5M3
The National Film Preserve LtdBerkeleyCA$9.5M3
THE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCCarmelIN$9.5M5
MOTOWN HISTORICAL MUSUEM INCDetroitMI$9.5M0
THE AMERICAN SWEDISH INSTITUTEMinneapolisMN$9.4M4
ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH & ENLIGHTENMENT INCVirginia BeachVA$9.4M7
Edmundson Art Foundation IncDes MoinesIA$9.4M4
BLUE LAKE FINE ARTS CAMPTwin LakeMI$9.4M3
OPERA PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$9.4M8
The Arts PartnershipSaint PaulMN$9.3M4
ZACHARY SCOTT THEATRE CENTERAustinTX$9.3M3
Baltimore Public Media CorporationBaltimoreMD$9.3M7
MUSIC HALL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSDetroitMI$9.3M1
THE RICHMOND SYMPHONYRichmondVA$9.3M4
SOUTH SHORE PLAYHOUSE ASSOCIATES INCCohassetMA$9.2M1
WENATCHEE VALLEY MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTERWenatcheeWA$9.2M1
Alabama Education Television Foundation AuthorityBirminghamAL$9.2M2
FULTON THEATRE COMPANYLancasterPA$9.2M3
FIRST PEOPLES FUNDRapid CitySD$9.2M7
BARBARA AND DAVID ZALAZNICK FOUNDATION BARBARA ZALAZNICK TRUSTEENew YorkNY$9.1M0
TOLEDO ALLIANCE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSToledoOH$9.1M4
MILWAUKEE BALLET COMPANY INCMilwaukeeWI$9.1M3
American Players Theatre Foundation IncSpring GreenWI$9.1M2
POSTER HOUSE INCNew YorkNY$9.1M1
THE AIR FORCE MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCWright Patterson AfbOH$9.1M4
NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUMWashingtonDC$9.1M5
NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO INCConcordNH$9.1M6
NATIONAL DANCE INSTITUTE NM INCSanta FeNM$9.1M5
WOODMERE ART MUSEUMPhiladelphiaPA$9.1M4
SHENANDOAH VALLEY BATTLEFIELDS FOUNDATIONNew MarketVA$9M1
CINCINNATI MUSEUMS FOUNDATIONCincinnatiOH$9M3
B&O RAILROAD MUSEUM INCBaltimoreMD$9M4
Shearim CorpMiamiFL$9M0
Old Dominion University Museum FoundationNorfolkVA$9M5
COMMUNITY MUSIC CENTERSan FranciscoCA$9M1
OLD STURBRIDGE INCSturbridgeMA$9M0
THE FOUNDATION FOR THE NEW JERSEY HALL OF FAME INCNewarkNJ$9M2
MINT MUSEUM OF ART INCCharlotteNC$9M7
LYNNEWOOD HALL PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INCElkins ParkPA$9M2
MACHON MASEH ROCKEACH INCBrooklynNY$9M0
MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO FOUNDATIONSanta FeNM$9M2
GALISTEO ART FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$9M0
ENCOUNTER FOR CULTURE AND EDUCATIONNew YorkNY$9M4