Skip to main content
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 214 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
LONG X ARTS FOUNDATIONWatford CityND$465k2
SOUTH SHORE CHORALE INCFond Du LacWI$465k0
Decoda IncNew YorkNY$465k2
ENTRADA INSTITUTE INCTorreyUT$465k0
VOICES OF HOPE INCFarmingtonCT$465k0
ASIAN CULTURE AND MEDIA ALLIANCE INCSan DiegoCA$465k0
The National Voice of America Museum of BroadcastingWest ChesterOH$465k1
MALIBU ADAMSON HOUSE FOUNDATIONMalibuCA$465k0
Theatre For All IncWilmingtonNC$465k2
NEW FEDERAL THEATRE INCNew YorkNY$465k2
FLORIDA LITFEST INCTallahasseeFL$465k1
THE FRIEDMAN-KIEN & TOYONAGA FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$465k0
EAST LYME REGIONAL THEATER GUILDNianticCT$465k0
FABArts IncColumbusGA$465k1
IOWA ARTS IN EDUCATION DBA ARTFORCE IOWADes MoinesIA$465k1
ARTPOPBarium SpringsNC$464k0
The Intentional Man Project DBA Camp Lost BoysLos AngelesCA$464k2
I LOVE MUSIC TOUR INCJacksonvilleFL$464k0
CALIFORNIA PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$464k1
PRETTY HUMAN INCDenverCO$464k2
LYNX EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INCNewmarketNH$464k1
HUNGARY FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$464k1
FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSICDenverCO$464k0
JOURDAN-BACHMAN PIONEER FARMS FOUNDATION INCAustinTX$464k0
AMERICAN WOMEN ARTISTSKnoxvilleTN$464k1
BRAVEMAKERRedwood CityCA$464k1
NEW YORK STATE RHYTHM & BLUES FEST INCSyracuseNY$464k0
TEENTIXSeattleWA$464k1
SIDE STREET PROJECTSPasadenaCA$464k1
PLAYFUL PEOPLE PRODUCTIONSCampbellCA$464k3
Mercury Soul IncBurlingameCA$464k1
Dance Film SF IncSan FransciscoCA$464k2
TIDEWATER ARTS OUTREACHNorfolkVA$463k1
San Diego Academy of Ballet & Ballet TheatreSan DiegoCA$463k1
FACTORY TWO INCFlintMI$463k0
The Actors Conservatory TheatreLewisvilleTX$463k5
WEST HAWAII DANCE THEATREKailua KonaHI$463k0
The L'Enfant TrustWashingtonDC$463k1
Trustees of Bloomfield AcademySkowheganME$463k1
OPERATION SONG INCNashvilleTN$463k1
WISCONSIN MUSEUM OF QUILTS & FIBER ARTS INCCedarburgWI$463k1
TAMWORTH MUSIC FESTIVALStauntonVA$463k3
MARSHALL COUNTY ARTS AND CULTURE ALLIANC DBA ARTS CULTURE ALLIANCEMarshalltownIA$463k1
NEW ENGLAND CAROUSEL MUSEUM INCBristolCT$463k1
ARIZONA SOLAR ENERGY INDUSTRIES ASSOCScottsdaleAZ$463k1
THE EPISCOPAL ACTORS' GUILD OF AMERICA INCNew YorkNY$462k1
BOULDER SYMPHONY INCBoulderCO$462k0
Genos CenterCalabasasCA$462k0
THE CHURCH HILL IRISH FESTIVAL BY SPBSSHenricoVA$462k0
RIVERVIEWJAZZ ORGJersey CityNJ$462k2