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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 212 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSSan FranciscoCA$472k1
DPM ASSET MANAGEMENT INCWacoTX$472k3
COLUMBIA CHILDRENS THEATREColumbiaSC$472k0
LANESBORO ARTS CENTERLanesboroMN$472k1
FRIENDS OF VISTA HOUSETroutdaleOR$472k0
CORNING ELMIRA MUSICAL ARTS INC ORCHESTRA OF THE SOUTHERN FINGER LAKESCorningNY$472k2
PONTIAC TRANSPORTATION MUSEUMPontiacMI$471k0
World FandomFlower MoundTX$471k0
SOUTHINGTON COMMUNITY CULTURAL ARTS INCSouthingtonCT$471k1
AFGHAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF WASHINGTONKentWA$471k0
TCH SUDEKUM MEMORIAL TRUSTOrlandoFL$471k1
POPE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYGlenwoodMN$471k0
Music To Life IncWilderVT$471k1
BREMERTON SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONBremertonWA$471k2
JOURNEY ARTSPhiladelphiaPA$471k1
HAWAIIAN RAILWAY SOCIETYEwa BeachHI$471k1
PIONEER SCHOOL OF DRAMA C/O ROBBY HENSONDanvilleKY$471k3
Winston Salem Festival BalletWinston SalemNC$471k1
RISE ABOVE PERFORMING ARTS INCSarasotaFL$471k0
Matthews Alive IncMatthewsNC$471k0
GAINESVILLE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INCGainesvilleFL$471k0
HOT SUMMER JAZZ FESTIVALSaint PaulMN$471k1
SCIENCE SPECTRUM TALKINGTON ENDOWMENTLubbockTX$471k0
BURLINGTON RIVERFRONT ENTERTAINMENTBurlingtonIA$471k4
THE LIBRARY OF AMERICAN LANDSCAPE HISTORY INCAmherstMA$471k1
BALLET FOLKLORICO OLLIN YOLIZTLIPhoenixAZ$470k2
METRO THEATER COMPANYSaint LouisMO$470k2
The Word A Storytelling Sanctuary IncThorntonCO$470k2
DANCE PROJECT OF WASHINGTON HEIGHTS INCNew YorkNY$470k1
ADVENTURE CHILDRENS MUSEUMEugeneOR$470k1
Pennsylvania Nepalese Guthi AssociationPlymouth MeetingPA$470k0
TRICKSTER ART GALLERYSchaumburgIL$470k1
Portland Lyric TheaterSouth PortlandME$470k0
WILLIAM BONIFAS FINE ARTS CENTEREscanabaMI$470k0
GREATER CLEVELAND URBAN FILM FDNClevelandOH$470k0
STRAND THEATRE AND CULTURAL ARTS ASSOCIATION INC (THE STRAND)DelawareOH$470k0
VIDEO VOLUNTEERSNew YorkNY$470k1
FRIENDS OF THE AUDITORIUMOskaloosaIA$470k0
MIHO BELMONT INTERNATIONAL INCBelmontMA$470k1
BURLESQUE HALL OF FAME INCLas VegasNV$470k1
MUSEUM OF THE ARKANSAS GRAND PRAIRIEStuttgartAR$470k0
New Mexico In Depth IncRio RanchoNM$469k3
ARTIST-BLACKSMITHS ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA INCJohnstownPA$469k1
WILD PROJECT PRODUCTIONS INCNew YorkNY$469k2
Virginia Beach Art Center IncVirginia BeachVA$469k0
KULTURE KOOL SOUTH ASIAN CULTURAL CENTER INCRutherfordNJ$469k1
THE ACTS 44 FOUNDATION INCLimaOH$469k1
NUTMEG PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION INCFarmingtonCT$469k1
ILLINOIS ROUTE 66 HERITAGE PROJECTSpringfieldIL$469k2
PROFESSIONAL NUMISMATISTS GUILD INCMurrietaCA$469k2