Skip to main content
Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 20 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GINA GIBNEY DANCE INCNew YorkNY$8.6M6
Mingei International IncSan DiegoCA$8.6M4
THE CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCESChicagoIL$8.6M7
THE OPPORTUNITY AGENDA INCNew YorkNY$8.5M7
THE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH AND SOCIAL CHANGE INCChicagoIL$8.5M2
NATIONAL VETERANS MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM OPERATING CORPORATIONColumbusOH$8.5M9
EXPLORA SCIENCE CENTER & CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ALBUQUERQUE INCAlbuquerqueNM$8.5M2
SU THEATRE CORPORATION D/B/A SYRACUSE STAGESyracuseNY$8.5M2
BAY AREA DISCOVERY MUSEUMSausalitoCA$8.5M8
AUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUMAustinTX$8.5M2
70 FACES MEDIA INCNew YorkNY$8.4M11
GLOBAL DISCIPLESLancasterPA$8.4M2
STORM KING ART CENTERNew WindsorNY$8.4M8
National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity AgreementsBoulderCO$8.4M9
GUARDIANORG FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$8.4M3
NATIONAL DANCE INSTITUTENew YorkNY$8.4M6
GLIMMERGLASS OPERA THEATRE INCCooperstownNY$8.4M4
ATLANTIC GATEWAY COMMUNICATIONS INCRockvilleMD$8.4M8
THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY INCWestervilleOH$8.4M7
CIVIC CENTER FOUNDATIONOklahoma CityOK$8.4M1
Anchorage Museum FoundationAnchorageAK$8.3M3
THOMAS H AND DIANE DEMELL JACOBSEN PHDPonte Vedra BeachFL$8.3M0
PRETEND CITY THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ORANGE COUNTYIrvineCA$8.3M4
PHOENIX SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONPhoenixAZ$8.3M5
B H MUSIC CENTERSeattleWA$8.3M3
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS FOUNDATIONINCPhoenixAZ$8.3M0
New Civil Liberties AllianceArlingtonVA$8.3M6
SPRINGFIELD LITTLE THEATRE INCSpringfieldMO$8.3M2
THE MUSEUM OF LANGUAGE ARTS INCWashingtonDC$8.3M5
FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL INCWashingtonDC$8.3M2
WEITZMAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORYPhiladelphiaPA$8.2M8
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ENDOWMENT FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$8.2M2
ARKANSAS MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS FOUNDATIONLittle RockAR$8.2M0
CABOT PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCBeverlyMA$8.2M5
The Greater Cincinnati Television Educational FoundationCincinnatiOH$8.2M4
'OLELO COMMUNITY TELEVISIONHonoluluHI$8.2M1
LILY AUCHINCLOSS FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$8.2M2
DE PERE CULTURAL FOUNDATION INC MULVA CULTURAL FOUNDATIONDe PereWI$8.2M0
MONTALVO ASSOCIATIONSaratogaCA$8.2M4
ROUND HOUSE THEATRE INCBethesdaMD$8.2M2
CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS ESCONDIDO FOUNDATIONEscondidoCA$8.2M1
Intersection for the ArtsSan FranciscoCA$8.1M6
AFRICAN SERVICES COMMITTEE INCNew YorkNY$8.1M8
Norton Simon Museum of Art at PasadenaPasadenaCA$8.1M9
Indiana Repertory Theatre IncIndianapolisIN$8.1M2
ASIA PACIFIC CULTURAL CENTERTacomaWA$8.1M1
Stone Barns Restoration Corp DBA Stone Barns Center for Food & AgriPocantico HillsNY$8.1M10
HARTFORD STAGE COMPANY INCHartfordCT$8.1M5
GRANDVIEW PREPARATORY SCHOOL INCBoca RatonFL$8.1M2
FOOTLIGHT PLAYERS INCCharlestonSC$8.1M1