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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 195 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
YORK COUNTY ARENA ASSOCIATIONBiddefordME$535k0
The Harlem Chamber Players IncNew YorkNY$535k3
The Wright Museum of World War IIWolfeboroNH$534k1
CURTAIN UP ENTERPRISESSkowheganME$534k1
DELAWARE COUNTY CULTURAL ARTS CENTERDelawareOH$534k1
EMBODIMENT PROJECTSan FranciscoCA$534k1
LAURA PELS INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR THEATERNew YorkNY$534k3
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP ARTS AND ENRICHMENT COUNCILCincinnatiOH$534k5
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL AVIATION FOUNDATIONTorranceCA$534k1
WILMETTE THEATRE EDUCATION PROJECT NFPWilmetteIL$534k0
OREGON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART INCPortlandOR$534k1
GA State Society-Natl Society Daughters of the AM RevolutionQuitmanGA$534k0
THE HOLLAND PROJECTRenoNV$533k1
Visceral Dance Chicago NFPChicagoIL$533k2
KA AHA LAHUI O OLEKONABeavertonOR$533k1
NORFOLK FORUM INCORPORATEDNorfolkVA$533k1
ARTIST SERIES CONCERTS OF SARASOTASarasotaFL$533k1
Mount Hope Learning CenterProvidenceRI$533k1
For the People by the PeopleMemphisTN$533k0
Theater Labrador Inc dba New GeorgesNew YorkNY$533k2
DAKHOTA IAPI OKHODAKICHIYEOsseoMN$533k7
ACCESS HUMBOLDTEurekaCA$533k2
HOLMES CENTER FOR THE ARTS LTDMillersburgOH$532k1
TOPAZ MUSEUMDeltaUT$532k0
OKLAHOMA CITY ART MUSEUM AFFILIATED FUND OF OCCF INCOklahoma CityOK$532k2
YELLOW FARMHOUSE EDUCATION CENTER INCStoningtonCT$532k0
CITY THEATER ASSOCIATES INCBiddefordME$532k0
Pittsburgh International Folk Arts InstitutePittsburghPA$532k2
DELTA EDUCATIONAL CULTURAL SOCIETYIsletonCA$532k0
LAPORTE COUNTY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCLaPorteIN$532k1
WALPOLE MEDIA CORPORATIONWalpoleMA$532k0
Virginia African American Cultural CenterVirginia BeachVA$531k1
THE RESIDENCYSeattleWA$531k0
TWIN CITIES FILM FESTSt Louis ParkMN$531k1
STEEL RIVER PLAYHOUSE INCPottstownPA$531k1
Asian Improv Arts MidwestChicagoIL$531k1
Pacific Islamic Community and Cultural ServicesBothellWA$531k0
STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET INCNew YorkNY$531k0
SOUTHEASTERN MUSEUMS CONFERENCEAtlantaGA$531k1
ART FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$531k1
Jewish Philosophy Fund IncBethesdaMD$531k0
EXPLORE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF SUN PRAIRIE INCSun PrairieWI$531k1
WEBSTER MUSEUMS INCOROPRATEDWebsterMA$531k1
PUPPETRY IN PRACTICE INCBrooklynNY$531k0
MANITOWOC COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCManitowocWI$531k1
NORTHAMPTON COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCNorthamptonMA$531k1
GALESBURG MUSEUMS INC DBA DISCOVERY DEPOTGalesburgIL$531k1
SOUTHWEST CELTIC MUSIC ASSOCIATIONDallasTX$531k0
The Olympia Film SocietyOlympiaWA$531k0
METEOR FILMS INCNew YorkNY$531k0