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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 209 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
EDENTON HISTORICAL COMMISSIONEdentonNC$483k0
Arizona Band & Orchestra Directors AssociationTempeAZ$483k2
BODY WISDOM INCOaklandCA$483k0
Hudson River Music Hall Productions IncHudson FallsNY$483k1
WESTCHESTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYElmsfordNY$483k0
AGASTYA GURUKULAMBothellWA$483k0
PROJECT MUSIC HEALS US INCGuilfordCT$483k1
Walnut Creek Concert BandWalnut CreekCA$483k1
GUJARATI SAMAJ OF MISSISSIPPI INCMadisonMS$483k0
Chicago City Theatre Company dba Joel Hall Dancers & CenterChicagoIL$483k1
4 ELEMENTS STUDIO INCUticaNY$483k1
OPERA ROANOKERoanokeVA$483k1
CAPRI COMMUNITY FILM SOCIETY INCMontgomeryAL$483k1
Poncan Theatre Company IncPonca CityOK$483k0
NEW MEXICO JAZZ WORKSHOP INCAlbuquerqueNM$483k4
MAINE PRESERVATIONYarmouthME$482k1
Wyoming Fine Arts CenterCincinnatiOH$482k2
HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL OF MUSIC INCDobbs FerryNY$482k0
MUZIK 3 FOUNDATION INCLa JollaCA$482k0
CYPRESS CREEK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS AND COMMUNITY ENRICHMENTSpringTX$482k1
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CHESHIRE COUNTYKeeneNH$482k0
ROME LITTLE THEATRE INCRomeGA$482k1
PULASKI COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCWinamacIN$482k0
ORPHEUM THEATRE ENDOWMENT INCSioux CityIA$482k0
NEWPORT STRING PROJECTNewportRI$482k0
TUCSON ARIZONA BOYS CHORUSTucsonAZ$482k1
New Plays IncMoundMN$481k0
TANGIER AMERICAN LEGATION INSTITUTE FOR MOROCCAN STUDIES (TALIM)Silver SpringMD$481k1
STURDIVANT MUSEUM ASSOCIATION STURDIVANT MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCSelmaAL$481k0
Bloom Arts Foundation IncLos AngelesCA$481k2
ALEUT INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONAnchorageAK$481k4
WING-IT PRODUCTIONSSeattleWA$481k2
LITTLE THEATRE OF SHREVEPORTShreveportLA$481k0
INDIA CHILDRENS PRESSCupertinoCA$481k1
Brazos Valley Museum of Natural HistoryBryanTX$481k1
Krymov Lab IncBrooklynNY$481k2
HARMONIE PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$481k0
MENDELSSOHN CLUB OF PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$480k2
EL MUSEO CULTURAL DE SANTA FE INCSanta FeNM$480k0
GALLERY 1516 OF REGIONAL ARTISTS INCOmahaNE$480k0
CENTRAL KENTUCKY JAPANESE SCHOOL INCLexingtonKY$480k0
PPC Entertainment IncAuburnCA$480k1
NEWPORT NEWS PUBLIC ART FOUNDATIONNewport NewsVA$480k2
Students Publishing Co IncEvanstonIL$480k2
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRANew YorkNY$480k0
COLLECTIVE EYEPortlandOR$480k0
WINSTON-SALEM THEATRE ALLIANCE INCWinstonsalemNC$480k1
READING SCIENCE CENTERReadingPA$480k0
MONTEZ PRESS ARTS INCNew YorkNY$480k2
THE LAND CRUISER HERITAGE MUSEUMSandyUT$480k0