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 20 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
USDAN CENTER FOR THE CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTSWheatley HeightsNY$9M6
TENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM INCChattanoogaTN$8.9M0
DHHRM ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION INCDallasTX$8.9M2
Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights MuseumDallasTX$8.9M6
CULTURAL COUNCIL OF GREATER JACKSONVILLE INCJacksonvilleFL$8.9M1
First Look Institute IncLos GatosCA$8.9M0
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Foundation IncIndianapolisIN$8.9M0
THE FORT TICONDEROGA ASSOCIATIONTiconderogaNY$8.9M4
PABST THEATER FOUNDATION INCMilwaukeeWI$8.9M1
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD-AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TELEVISION AND RADIO ARTISTS FOUNDLos AngelesCA$8.9M6
THE FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY INCNew YorkNY$8.9M1
Point Reyes Good Luck FundPoint Reyes StationCA$8.9M0
MANHATTAN CLASS COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$8.9M5
THE LARRY J BELL LIBRARY FOUNDATIONKalamazooMI$8.9M0
PACIFIC BATTLESHIP CENTERSan PedroCA$8.8M5
ALUTIIQ HERITAGE FOUNDATIONKodiakAK$8.8M1
WALLIS ANNENBERG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSBeverly HillsCA$8.8M6
RIALTO THEATRE FOUNDATIONTucsonAZ$8.8M0
DISCOVERY CHILDREN'S MUSEUMLas VegasNV$8.8M3
CATWALK INSTITUTECatskillNY$8.8M2
ANDREW JACKSON FOUNDATION FKA LADIES' HERMITAGE ASSOCIATIONHermitageTN$8.8M1
Film Society of Austin IncAustinTX$8.8M5
POWERHOUSE ARTS INCBrooklynNY$8.8M8
T OF L INCPittsburghPA$8.8M2
THE WANG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCBostonMA$8.8M10
MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGNNew YorkNY$8.8M9
ST LUKES CHAMBER ENSEMBLE INCNew YorkNY$8.7M7
STELLA ADLER STUDIO OF ACTINGNew YorkNY$8.7M3
Penland School Of CraftPenlandNC$8.7M3
Highlands Historical SocietyFort WashingtonPA$8.7M1
Tulsa Ballet Theatre IncTulsaOK$8.7M3
ROCHESTER MUSEUM & SCIENCE CENTERRochesterNY$8.7M3
VINEYARD ARTS AND CULTURE FOUNDATION INCChicagoIL$8.7M1
THE DENVER ART MUSEUM FOUNDATIONDenverCO$8.7M0
DISCALCED INCBrooklynNY$8.7M7
APERTURE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$8.7M4
ABT PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATION INCPeoriaAZ$8.6M3
MIAMI VALLEY PUBLIC MEDIA INCYellow SpringsOH$8.6M3
THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN MUSEUM INCAustinTX$8.6M5
MADAM WALKER LEGACY CENTER INC FKA MADAME WALKER URBAN LIFE CENTERIndianapolisIN$8.6M1
GATEWAY CREATIVE BROADCASTING INCSt LouisMO$8.6M5
DULUTH PLAYHOUSE INCDuluthMN$8.6M1
EDWARD M KENNEDY INSTITUTE FOR THE UNITED STATES SENATE INCBostonMA$8.6M6
Mingei International IncSan DiegoCA$8.6M4
GRANDVIEW PREPARATORY SCHOOL INCBoca RatonFL$8.5M2
THE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH AND SOCIAL CHANGE INCChicagoIL$8.5M2
BROWNE BOLTON FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$8.5M0
NATIONAL VETERANS MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM OPERATING CORPORATIONColumbusOH$8.5M9
EXPLORA SCIENCE CENTER & CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ALBUQUERQUE INCAlbuquerqueNM$8.5M2
BAY AREA DISCOVERY MUSEUMSausalitoCA$8.5M8