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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 211 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE SCULPTURE CENTERClevelandOH$476k1
KATY ARTREACHKatyTX$476k1
Johns Creek Symphony OrchestraJohns CreekGA$476k3
Open Center for the ArtsChicagoIL$476k0
ASHUELOT CONCERTSKeeneNH$476k0
RENAISSANCE MUSIC ACADEMY OF VABlacksburgVA$475k2
KANTOREIEnglewoodCO$475k1
ASHLAND CABLE ACCESS CORPORATIONAshlandMA$475k0
NAKA-KON JAPANESE CULTURAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONOverland ParkKS$475k0
LD BELL BAND BOOSTERBedfordTX$475k0
Urbanworld Foundation IncNew YorkNY$475k0
COVENANT BALLET THEATRE OF BROOKLYNBrooklynNY$475k2
OVATION SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSUplandCA$475k0
CARDBOARD CARESAlexandriaMN$475k3
HUMBOLDT CHAMBER OF COMMERCEHumboldtTN$474k0
Six Square Austins Black Cultural DistrictAustinTX$474k1
FIRE MUSEUM OF MARYLAND INCLuthervilleMD$474k0
SORG OPERA REVITALIZATION GROUP LLCMiddletownOH$474k0
TROY HISTORICAL SOCIETYTroyPA$474k0
SOUTH ASIA INSTITUTEChicagoIL$474k0
ROANOKE BALLET THEATRE INCRoanokeVA$474k1
SAN DIEGO ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTEREscondidoCA$474k0
Theater at the Center IncMunsterIN$474k3
UNITY EARTH INCFlushingNY$474k1
AUSTIN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB INCAustinTX$474k0
ARCADIA PROJECTStauntonVA$474k0
Turkish Cultural CenterRonkonkomaNY$474k0
5 MEDIA INCSan FranciscoCA$474k0
L'ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE HOUSTON INCHoustonTX$474k0
SCOTTISH RITE CATHEDRAL PRESERVATION ASSOCIATIONSaint LouisMO$473k0
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF OUTSET INCJacksonWY$473k0
VENTURA COUNTY ARTS COUNCILVenturaCA$473k1
Liberty Bell PopsPhiladelphiaPA$473k1
CHARLOTTE COUNTY ART GUILD INCPunta GordaFL$473k0
PRO ART ASSOCIATIONWiseVA$473k0
FIDALGO DANCEWORKSAnacortesWA$473k2
FRIENDS OF THE PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK LTDEllicott CityMD$473k1
CHICAGO TAMIL SANGAMVernon HillsIL$473k0
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OLD CITY INCFort LauderdaleFL$473k0
EMPIRE STATE AEROSCIENCES MUSEUMGlenvilleNY$473k0
Push Dance CompanySan FranciscoCA$472k1
FLORIDA WATER RESOURCES JOURNAL INCPalm Beach GardensFL$472k0
THE COUNCIL OF EDUCATORS IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURERaleighNC$472k0
THE HATCH INCBrattleboroVT$472k1
THE LUMINARY INCSt LouisMO$472k1
LEADERSHIP CHARLOTTECharlotteNC$472k1
INTERNATIONAL SEJONG SOLOISTS INCNew YorkNY$472k2
CHILDREN'S MUSICAL THEATRE OF BARTLESVILLEBartlesvilleOK$472k0
RHODE ISLAND COMPUTER MUSEUM INCWarwickRI$472k0
DETROIT TECHNO FOUNDATIONFerndaleMI$472k0