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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 207 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE MAHOGANY PROJECTHoustonTX$491k2
SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYNewsomsVA$491k0
Now InitiativeOmahaNE$491k0
Cooperation L ALos AngelesCA$491k0
THE EVERGREEN CITY BALLETRentonWA$491k0
Shattered Globe TheatreChicagoIL$490k1
BALLET WICHITA INCWichitaKS$490k1
ROCHESTER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CHORALERochesterMN$490k1
MAUI COMMUNITY THEATREWailukuHI$490k1
VISUAL ART EXCHANGERaleighNC$490k2
THE CHARLES ADAMS STUDIO PROJECTLubbockTX$490k0
Hyde Park Jazz FestivalChicagoIL$490k1
GREATER DES MOINES MUSIC COALITIONDes MoinesIA$490k0
THE FOUNDATION FOR DANCE EDUCATION DBA INLAND PACIFIC BALLETMontclairCA$490k0
THE ART GUILD OF PORT WASHINGTON INCManhassetNY$490k1
Art Jewelry ForumLynchburgVA$490k2
ALASKAN SCOTTISH CLUB INCAnchorageAK$490k0
NOTABLE MUSIC AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONSan JoseCA$490k1
Norwalk Seaport Association IncNorwalkCT$490k1
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE PORTLANDPortlandOR$490k0
ARISE MEDIA INCPleasantvilleNY$490k0
SUNRIVER MUSIC FESTIVALSunriverOR$490k0
HISTORIC CRAB ORCHARD MUSEUM & PIONEER PARK INCTazewellVA$490k1
THEO UBIQUE THEATREChicagoIL$490k0
Hawaii Mobile Museum of ToleranceHonoluluHI$489k1
AMERICA'S SURVIVAL INCEmmitsburgMD$489k2
NATIONAL COLLEGE TESTING ASSOCIATIONMadisonWI$489k0
ARTHOUSE STUDIO INCSan JoseCA$489k1
FOUNDATION TO ADVANCE JAZZSan FranciscoCA$489k1
WEST COAST STOCK CAR HALL OF FAMEDanvilleCA$489k1
ENRICH CHICAGOChicagoIL$489k1
REVERE COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER INCRevereMA$489k1
TAHOMA INDIAN CENTERTacomaWA$489k0
GREAT BARRINGTON PUBLIC THEATER INCGreat BarringtonMA$489k2
EDUCATIONAL CENTER of ARTS and SCIENCESProvidenceRI$489k0
SEENFIRE FOUNDATIONSan MarinoCA$489k1
HAGOOD MILL FOUNDATIONPickensSC$489k1
Jewish War Veterans of the USA National Memorial IncWashingtonDC$488k0
AMERICAN ITALIAN HERITAGE SOCIETY INCOmahaNE$488k0
The Institute for Sustained Attention IncNew YorkNY$488k0
NEW YORK CITY FIRE MUSEUMNew YorkNY$488k2
BARN RAISING MEDIA INCChicagoIL$488k3
Tkiya Music IncBrooklynNY$488k1
GSI FOUNDATION INCSanta MonicaCA$488k0
APPALACHIAN BALLET COMPANYMaryvilleTN$488k0
PARTICIPANT INCNew YorkNY$488k1
MABOU MINES DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$488k4
Ballet North TexasDallasTX$488k2
Latinos United for a New AmericaSan JoseCA$488k2
Marion Art Center IncMarionMA$488k1