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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 206 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FORBES AVENUE FOUNDATION INCPittsburghPA$494k2
ALLEGRO CHOIRS OF KANSAS CITY INCBonner SpringsKS$494k1
GOLDEN VALLEY COMMUNITY BROADCASTERSChicoCA$494k1
NEW YORK CHINESE CULTURAL CENTER INCNew YorkNY$494k1
Lifeline Productions IncChicagoIL$494k2
African American Heritage Society Museum IncFranklinTN$494k1
LAKE ORION BAND BOOSTERSLake OrionMI$494k0
Concerts 4 a Cause IncLouisvilleKY$494k0
500 CAPP STREET FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$494k0
ODUNDE IncPhiladelphiaPA$494k1
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR HOLISTICPoctelloID$494k0
BAY CITY NEWS FOUNDATIONBerkeleyCA$494k1
Utah Cultural Alliance FoundationSalt Lake CityUT$493k1
CIVIL WAR TRAILS INCWilliamsburgVA$493k1
NATIONAL SOARING MUSEUMElmiraNY$493k2
AMERICANA MUSIC FOUNDATIONNashvilleTN$493k0
THE JOE MARTIN FOUNDATIONVistaCA$493k0
JAPAN-AMERICA SOCIETY OF TENNESSEENashvilleTN$493k1
Silicon Valley Chao Chow Comm Center of San JoseSan JoseCA$493k0
Tulsa Glass Blowing Studio IncTulsaOK$493k1
AUGUSTA FERRY AUTHORITY INCAugustaKY$493k1
ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCSan AntonioTX$493k0
EMBODY DANCE ORGANIZATION INCWestportCT$492k1
GREENBRIER HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCLewisburgWV$492k1
FINGER LAKES BOATING MUSUEM INCHammondsportNY$492k1
AMARILLO OPERA INCAmarilloTX$492k1
CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING COMPANYAbileneTX$492k2
WR ARTS INCBrooklynNY$492k1
ALAMO MISSION FOUNDATIONSan AntonioTX$492k0
IRONWOOD THEATRE INCIronwoodMI$492k2
IGOGO INTERNATIONALCarmelIN$492k2
Cincinnati Ballet Holdings IncCincinnatiOH$492k2
JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH INCDeerfieldIL$492k1
SANTA CECILIA OPERA AND ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONLos AngelesCA$492k0
ARTISTS WORKING IN EDUCATION INCMilwaukeeWI$492k1
COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION INCSouth BostonVA$492k0
NEWINGTON CHILDRENS THEATRE COMPANYNewingtonCT$492k0
INDIA SOCIETY OF WORCESTERShrewsburyMA$492k0
Chicago Film Archives NFPChicagoIL$492k1
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATIONAlbanyNY$492k2
TIAN YUE ACADEMY OF THE ARTSNorth ReadingMA$492k1
The Spacekind FoundationCovinaCA$492k0
OLYMPIA FIELDS COUNTRY CLUB HISTORIC LANDMARK PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONOlympia FieldsIL$491k0
SERENDIPITY THEATRE COMPANY D/B/A 2ND STORYChicagoIL$491k1
HILLGROVE BAND BOOSTER ASSOC INCMariettaGA$491k0
Global Social ServicesColumbusOH$491k1
METROPOLIS ENSEMBLE INCQueensNY$491k1
NORTH ANDOVER COMMUNITY ACCESS & MEDIA INCNorth AndoverMA$491k1
FAITH CO-OP INCChattanoogaTN$491k1
JAMESTOWNE SOCIETY INCWilliamsburgVA$491k1