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 192 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FAST GROWTH SCHOOL COALITIONAustinTX$545k0
Wabanaki Cultural Preservation CoalitionPassadumkeagME$545k0
CULTUREFIXWilliamsburgVA$545k0
LOOKOUT PublicationsPhoenixAZ$545k2
Celtic Junction Arts Center IncSaint PaulMN$545k0
POOR MAGAZINE INCOaklandCA$545k0
FOUNDATION FOR SOUTH ORANGE PUBLIC LIBRARYSouth OrangeNJ$545k0
TEACHERS & WRITERS COLLABORATIVE INCNew YorkNY$545k1
PUTTIN ON PRODUCTIONS CORPORATIONManhattan BeachCA$545k2
LANDMARKS ASSOCIATION OF ST LOUIS INCSaint LouisMO$545k1
LOS ANGELES PERFORMANCE PRACTICELos AngelesCA$545k2
Jackson County Public Library AssociationRipleyWV$545k0
Richmond Shakespeare FKA Quill TheatreRichmondVA$545k2
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN RAILROADFriscoTX$545k3
KALAMAZOO CULTURAL CENTERKalamazooMI$544k0
Bechtler Collection Preservation FoundationCharlotteNC$544k0
EASTERN NURSING RESEARCH SOCIETYLeesburgVA$544k0
BLUE LAPIS LIGHT INCAustinTX$544k2
YAMPA VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS COUNCILSteamboat SpringsCO$544k0
UNION AVENUE OPERA THEATRESaint LouisMO$544k1
THEATRE GUILD OF BUCHANAN COUNTYOakwoodVA$544k0
FOOTHILL CREATIVE ARTS GROUPSierra MadreCA$544k1
FRIENDS OF CALHOUNS GEM THEATRE INCCalhounGA$544k0
Las Colinas Symphony OrchestraIrvingTX$544k2
Sarasota Contemporary Dance IncSarasotaFL$544k0
ASSOCIATION OF KENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS INCLouisvilleKY$544k0
NEW SCHOOL OF MUSIC INCCambridgeMA$544k0
BALZEKAS MUSEUM OF LITHUANIAN CULTUREChicagoIL$544k0
Winthrop Music Association IncTwispWA$544k9
STEARNS COUNTY PIONEER CLUB INCAlbanyMN$544k0
SOUND THEATRE COMPANYSeattleWA$544k2
Art SparksCuyahoga FallsOH$544k3
Joint Civic Committee of Italian AmericansStone ParkIL$544k0
SAN DIEGO CRAFT COLLECTIVESan DiegoCA$543k0
Artists in MotionHerndonVA$543k0
Cashion Cultural LegacySan JoseCA$543k1
ARKANSAS CINEMA SOCIETY INCLittle RockAR$543k1
THINGAMAJIG THEATRE COMPANYPagosa SpringsCO$543k1
THE CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF OSWEGOOswegoNY$543k0
THE RAFFAELLA BALLET INC STROIKSouth BendIN$543k0
Kulintang Arts IncSan FranciscoCA$543k1
Piast Institute A National Institute for Polish & Polish American AffaiHamtramckMI$542k0
LIVERMORE VALLEY OPERALivermoreCA$542k4
TRUCKEE ROUNDHOUSETruckeeCA$542k1
ACTS ON STAGE INCSeattleWA$542k1
SAN DIEGO GAY MEN'S CHORUS INCSan DiegoCA$542k2
UPSTATE NEW YORK FALUN DAFA ASSOC INCFairportNY$542k0
CALLIOPE PROJECT INCMiltonDE$542k0
CUCALORUS FILM FOUNDATIONWilmingtonNC$542k0
American Folklore SocietyBloomingtonIN$542k1