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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 2 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ASSOCIATIONSan FranciscoCA$103.9M14
MILITARY AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATIONVirginia BeachVA$101M0
THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTSDetroitMI$100.8M11
THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM INCNew OrleansLA$100.2M18
MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETYSaint PaulMN$96.8M9
THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONSan DiegoCA$96.5M8
KIMMEL CENTER INCPhiladelphiaPA$95.7M13
NATIONAL SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTERNew YorkNY$93.3M13
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCESSan FranciscoCA$90.5M14
THE CARNEGIE HALL CORPORATIONNew YorkNY$90.5M15
THE STRONG-CUEVAS SCULPTURE FOUNDATIONLynbrookNY$89.9M4
NEW YORK CITY BALLET INCNew YorkNY$89.3M11
SOLOMON R GUGGENHEIM FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$88.2M12
ACADEMY FOUNDATIONBeverly HillsCA$88M14
Alamo Trust IncSan AntonioTX$87.5M8
SEATTLE THEATRE GROUPSeattleWA$86.5M15
PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONPhiladelphiaPA$84.4M10
PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUSTPittsburghPA$83.8M9
ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$83.2M11
Playhouse Square FoundationClevelandOH$83.1M8
Superior Credit Union IncLimaOH$83.1M13
THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIONMount VernonVA$82.2M13
Houston Museum of Natural ScienceHoustonTX$82.1M13
THE EDISON INSTITUTE INCDearbornMI$81.9M8
MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSICNew YorkNY$81.8M16
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ARTPhiladelphiaPA$81.1M11
FAYETTEVILLE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AT TRILITHFayettevilleGA$80.2M0
The Musical Arts AssociationClevelandOH$79.4M8
COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION INCNashvilleTN$78.2M10
ACADEMY MUSEUM FOUNDATIONBeverly HillsCA$77.7M11
MUSIC AND EVENT MANAGEMENT INCCincinnatiOH$76.7M10
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER CORPORATIONNewarkNJ$76.5M25
MUSEUM OF FLIGHT FOUNDATIONSeattleWA$75.7M12
RADIO FREE ASIAWashingtonDC$75.4M10
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$75.1M13
CROSSWATER CANYON INCHebronKY$74.3M3
ACADEMY OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE SOUTH INCTempeAZ$74M7
NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIONew YorkNY$73.9M12
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL AND FOUNDATION INCNew OrleansLA$73.7M32
CARNEGIE INSTITUTEPittsburghPA$73.2M14
WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONWashingtonDC$72.9M13
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ASSOCIATIONSan FranciscoCA$70.4M14
GOLDEN GLOBE FOUNDATIONWest HollywoodCA$70.3M1
MILWAUKEE WORLD FESTIVAL INCMilwaukeeWI$70M12
DENVER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSDenverCO$69.7M9
The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum IncWinterthurDE$69.3M13
THE BROOKLYN INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND SCIENCESBrooklynNY$68.3M16
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONYSan FranciscoCA$67.8M7
NAVY PIER INCChicagoIL$66.9M10
THE EXPLORATORIUMSan FranciscoCA$66.6M10