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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 210 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
JACKSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INCJacksonMI$479k1
BEAT THE ODDS INCDorchesterMA$479k0
BREVARD CULTURAL ALLIANCE INCMelbourneFL$479k0
HOLLY SPRINGS CENTERPickensSC$479k1
REFRAME YOUTH ARTS CENTERPhoenixAZ$479k6
LES DELICESClevelandOH$479k1
DUNWOODY PRESERVATION TRUST INCDunwoodyGA$479k1
International Society Daughters of Utah PioneersSalt Lake CityUT$479k1
SPACE COAST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCCocoaFL$479k0
COLUMBIA FESTIVAL INCColumbiaMD$479k1
RISING JAZZ STARSBeverly HillsCA$479k0
PHILIPSTOWN DEPOT THEATRE INCGarrisonNY$478k0
LUMINARIASan AntonioTX$478k1
Aspen JournalismAspenCO$478k1
DAYTONA BEACH SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCDaytona BeachFL$478k0
BRASIL BRASIL CULTURAL CENTERLos AngelesCA$478k2
LOCKPORT COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCLockportNY$478k0
Sanctuary Art CenterSeattleWA$478k0
MIDWEST CENTRAL RAILROADMount PleasantIA$478k0
BERKELEY CASTLE FOUNDATION INCBerkeley SpringsWV$478k0
EMERALD CITY MUSICSeattleWA$478k2
SOCIETY FOR HISTORY AND RACIAL EQUITYKalamazooMI$478k1
CAN ART CHANGE THE WORLD INCNew YorkNY$478k0
SARATOGA SPRINGS UNIVERSAL PRESERVATION HALLSchenectadyNY$477k2
ARTIST FIRSTSaint LouisMO$477k0
45TH STREET ARTISTS' COOPERATIVE IEmeryvilleCA$477k0
CEDAR RAPIDS FREEDOM FESTIVALCedar RapidsIA$477k1
Noah Webster House IncWest HartfordCT$477k1
Audience of One Youth Theater IncLittletonCO$477k0
SENIOR CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCNashvilleTN$477k0
PROVIDENCE SCHOOL OF ARTS INCKansas CityMO$477k0
MPEG Access IncMiltonMA$477k0
Mint Museum AuxiliaryCharlotteNC$477k0
NATIVE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN VOICE INCFarmingtonNM$477k0
ETHEL'S FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS INCNew YorkNY$477k3
CREATIVE KIDS PLAYHOUSE CHILDRENS THEATRE OF ORANGE COUNTYLaguna HillsCA$477k1
TURNING POINT CENTER FOR FAMILIESCosta MesaCA$477k1
REHOBOTH ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETYRehobothMA$477k0
Da Camera Endowment FundHoustonTX$477k1
COLAB ARTS INCNew BrunswickNJ$477k1
BUFFALO CREEK ART CENTER INCZephyr CoveNV$476k0
INVISIBLE THEATRETucsonAZ$476k0
CACHE VALLEY HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATIONLoganUT$476k0
STOUGHTON MEDIA ACCESS CORPORATIONStoughtonMA$476k0
HISTORIC TABERNACLE BAPTIST CHURCH- SELMA AL LEGACY FOUNDATIONSelmaAL$476k0
JMPRO Community Media IncAshevilleNC$476k5
Hued Songs IncMiamiFL$476k1
LOWELL ART ASSOCIATION DBA WHISTLER HOUSE MUSEUM OF ARTLowellMA$476k1
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR MUSIC EDUCATIONKenoshaWI$476k1
Real News Project IncNew YorkNY$476k1