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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 194 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ARTS FOR THE CITY INCDes MoinesIA$538k1
POE BALTIMORE INCBaltimoreMD$538k0
The History CenterDibollTX$538k1
DARLINGTON FINE ARTS CENTER INCGarnet ValleyPA$538k1
CULTUREALL INCUrbandaleIA$538k0
COLLABORACTION THEATRE COMPANYChicagoIL$538k0
HAMMONDS HOUSE MUSEUM INCAtlantaGA$538k1
MT KEARSARGE INDIAN MUSEUMWarnerNH$538k1
VIBE THEATER EXPERIENCE INCBrooklynNY$538k0
NATIONAL BOWLING HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM INCArlingtonTX$538k0
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM AT HOLYOKE INCHolyokeMA$538k0
DRAMA STUDIO INCORPORATEDSpringfieldMA$537k0
Foundation for the Future of Literature and Literacy dba Bay Area Book FestivalBerkeleyCA$537k1
THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE OF THE SOUTH INCCrowleyLA$537k0
NEW YORK CLASSICAL THEATRE INCNew YorkNY$537k2
MOUNTAIN VIEW COMMUNITY TELEVISIONMountain ViewCA$537k2
RUSSELL J EFROS FOUNDATION INCRoslynNY$537k0
FRIENDS OF TWO RIVERS MANSIONNashvilleTN$537k0
The American Vicarious IncBrooklynNY$537k1
CALIFORNIA LAW ENFORCEMENT COLUMBIA ASSOCIATIONSan FranciscoCA$537k0
GRACE UNIVERSITYPomonaCA$537k0
FERGUS FALLS CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCFergus FallsMN$537k1
CAPITOL CIVIC CENTER INCRomeNY$537k0
Little Art Theatre AssociationYellow SpringsOH$536k1
JAZZ CLUB OF SARASOTA INCSarasotaFL$536k0
The Early Music Guild of SeattleSeattleWA$536k1
LIGHT WORK VISUAL STUDIES INCSyracuseNY$536k0
YOUNG PHILOSOPHERS SOCIETY INCShalimarFL$536k1
TWIN CITIES GAY MEN'S CHORUSMinneapolisMN$536k1
THE ENRICHMENT CENTERA CREATIVE FOCUS & BRIGHT BEGINNINGInglewoodCA$536k1
WILLOWS PARK PRESERVEVillanovaPA$536k1
THE SHIRLEY-EUSTIS HOUSE ASSOCIATIONRoxburyMA$536k1
THE MIDTOWN UTICA COMMUNITY CENTER INCUticaNY$536k1
Ballet Conservatory of South Texas IncSan AntonioTX$536k0
Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville Douglas County IncDouglasvilleGA$536k0
CALIFORNIA NATURE ART MUSEUMSolvangCA$536k1
BELVEDERE-TIBURON LANDMARKS SOCIETYTiburonCA$536k1
COLUMBIA GORGE INTERPRETIVE CENTERStevensonWA$536k1
NEW YORK CITY CHILDREN'S CHORUS INCNew YorkNY$536k2
Young Latino NetworkClevelandOH$535k1
OUT OF EDEN WALKSanta FeNM$535k2
PLAYERS GUILD OF CANTON INCCantonOH$535k2
EXPLORE BUFFALO INCBuffaloNY$535k1
HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION OF THE FORTNIGHTLYChicagoIL$535k0
Oregon Potters AssociationPortlandOR$535k4
GREENVILLE SYMPHONY ENDOWMENT FUND INCGreenvilleSC$535k0
CORONADO ISLAND FILM FESTIVALCoronadoCA$535k0
Vermont Independent Media IncBrattleboroVT$535k0
ROCKAWAY FILM FESTIVALFar RockawayNY$535k1
KIDSCOMMONS COLUMBUS COMMUNITY CHILDREN'S MUSEUMColumbusIN$535k1