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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 201 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SILENCE IS VIOLENCE FKA NEW ORLEANS BAYOU STEPPERS SOCIAL AID & PLEASURENew OrleansLA$512k1
COMMUNITY THEATRE LEAGUE INCWilliamsportPA$512k0
DOWNTOWN OMAHA INC FOUNDATIONOmahaNE$511k0
BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY THEATER INCBlue RidgeGA$511k0
YOLO COUNTY ARTS COUNCILWoodlandCA$511k0
HAWAII KEIKI MUSEUMWaikoloaHI$511k1
SPEAK UP TAMPA BAY PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION INCTampaFL$511k1
KIDS DISCOVERY STATIONMercedCA$511k0
The Wilbury Theatre GroupProvidenceRI$511k1
Theatre Puget SoundSeattleWA$511k1
Fund for Innovative TVChicagoIL$511k1
GUMBO LIMBO COASTAL STEWARDS INCOcean RidgeFL$511k1
Arts For LifeAshevilleNC$511k1
CELEBRATE FREEDOM FOUNDATIONWest ColumbiaSC$511k0
DAYLIGHT COMMUNITY ARTS FOUNDATION INCBronxNY$510k1
FASHIONEER ORGSan FranciscoCA$510k2
ROAD LESS TRAVELED PRODUCTIONS LTDBuffaloNY$510k1
Schuhplattler und Trachtenverein BavariaClevelandOH$510k0
Winston-Salem Mixxer IncWinston SalemNC$510k1
THEATRE L'HOMME DIEUAlexandriaMN$510k1
SKYLARK VOCAL ENSEMBLE INCAtlantaGA$510k0
STORY LEAFWalnut CreekCA$510k0
BACK TO THE BRICKS INCBurtonMI$510k0
GREEN CARD VOICESMinneapolisMN$510k2
STEEP THEATREChicagoIL$510k0
MOORE AUTO CLASSIC MUSEUMBirminghamAL$510k0
PLAYERS BY THE SEA INCJacksonville BeachFL$510k0
THE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCGreenvilleSC$510k0
POST CLASSICAL ENSEMBLE INCWashingtonDC$510k2
PASADENA ART ALLIANCEPasadenaCA$510k0
OPEN SPACE FOR ARTS & COMMUNITYVashonWA$509k1
REDUX CONTEMPORARY ART CENTERCharlestonSC$509k0
SILVER BEACH CAROUSEL SOCIETY INCSt JosephMI$509k0
FINGER LAKES OPERA INCRochesterNY$509k1
ARTSCONNECT INCTopekaKS$509k1
VEDIC WELFARE SOCIETY OF COLUMBUSColumbusOH$509k0
Vision Earth Society IncMiamiFL$509k1
CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL CHANGE FILM FESTIVALChicagoIL$509k1
WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCWest BendWI$509k1
THE FRIENDS OF THE WANAMAKER ORGANKing Of PrussiaPA$509k1
ROCK ON WHEELSBoiseID$509k0
TWIN CITY MODEL RAILROAD CLUB INCSt PaulMN$509k0
SLEEPY HOLLOW CEMETERY HISTORIC FUND INCSleepy HollowNY$509k0
Elastic Arts FoundationChicagoIL$508k1
EEPS FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$508k0
Community Artists CollectiveHoustonTX$508k1
FPC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INCSalt Lake CtyUT$508k0
Indiana Falun Dafa Association IncIndianapolisIN$508k0
HOVNATAN ARTS NYC INCForest HillsNY$508k0
THE CENTRAL MUSIC ACADEMY INCLexingtonKY$508k2