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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 190 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GRAND PIANO SERIES INCBonita SpringsFL$554k2
GARRETT COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL INCOaklandMD$554k1
ACADEMY THEATRE FOUNDATIONMeadvillePA$554k0
FRIENDS OF LINCOLNVILLE INCSaint AugustineFL$554k0
ERNEST C OBERHOLTZER FOUNDATIONDuluthMN$554k0
TEXAS HERITAGE SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATIONAustinTX$554k1
SYMPHONIC JAZZ ORCHESTRACulver CityCA$554k0
Seward Park Clay StudioSeattleWA$554k1
RENO AREA ANTHROPOMORPHIC ARTS AND RECREATIONRenoNV$553k0
MID-MICHIGAN CHILDREN'S MUSEUMSaginawMI$553k1
CHICAGO SUMMER OPERA INCORPORATEDWilmetteIL$553k0
QIZHJEH VENA ALASKAEagle RiverAK$553k2
BLUEGRASS YOUTH BALLET INCLexingtonKY$553k1
THE MUSEUM OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLEPrescottAZ$553k1
GREATER PORTLAND LANDMARKS INCPortlandME$553k1
THE PEACE STUDIONew YorkNY$553k1
ART WITH IMPACTSan FranciscoCA$553k1
TOMBALL SISTER CITY ORGANIZATIONTomballTX$553k1
IAMA THEATRE COMPANYLos AngelesCA$552k3
MORRISON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYLittle FallsMN$552k1
WESTERN MICHIGAN SOCIETY FOR INDUSTRIAL HERITAGECoopersvilleMI$552k0
TELLURIDE REPERTORY THEATRE COMPANYTellurideCO$552k0
MINNILUSA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONRapid CitySD$552k1
ANACORTES ARTS FESTIVALAnacortesWA$552k1
TENNESSEE ASSOCIATION OF CRAFT ARTISTSNashvilleTN$552k1
ARCHER M HUNTINGTON CHARITABLE TRUST BPittsburghPA$552k1
JAMES WELDON JOHNSON LITERARY FOUNDATION INCGreat BarringtonMA$552k0
WILMINGTON CHILDREN'S CHORUSWilmingtonDE$552k2
SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION INCBenton HarborMI$552k1
EAST WAKE TELEVISIONKnightdaleNC$552k0
CONGO HELPING HANDS INCIndianapolisIN$552k0
GREENVILLE MUSEUM OF ART INCGreenvilleNC$552k1
Friends of Arts Council of Greater Denham Springs IncDenham SpringsLA$552k0
PA MUSEUM OF MILITARY VEHICLESGettysburgPA$552k0
I Mean Live FoundationNew YorkNY$552k0
SOUTHERN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INCChicagoIL$551k1
ROSEMOUNT MUSEUM INCPuebloCO$551k1
COASTSIDE STATE PARKS ASSOCIATIONPescaderoCA$551k0
CLASS ACT PRODUCTIONSThe WoodlandsTX$551k2
TABLE GRACE MINISTRIESOmahaNE$551k3
ARTS COUNCIL OF GREATER LANSINGEast LansingMI$551k1
SUPPORTING THE LANGUAGE OF KAUA'I INCLihueHI$551k1
Design Museum Foundation IncBostonMA$551k1
STAGE LEFT CHILDREN'S THEATER INCTappanNY$551k1
COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL INCRaleighNC$551k1
CREATIVE AGENTS OF CHANGE FOUNDATION INCLouisvilleKY$551k1
MAIN STREET THEATRE & DANCE ALLIANCE INCNew YorkNY$550k3
3 DOTS DOWNTOWNState CollegePA$550k0
AL-BUSTAN SEEDS OF CULTUREPhiladelphiaPA$550k2
MORE THAN MUSIC INCLittletonCO$550k1