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 216 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GLASS ART KALAMAZOOKalamazooMI$459k2
SUMMERVILLE ORCHESTRASummervilleSC$459k0
BATTLE OF NASHVILLE TRUST INCNashvilleTN$459k0
CHIPPEWA VALLEY CULTURAL ASSOCIATION INCChippewa FallsWI$459k1
ASIAN RESOURCE CENTER OF SAN ANTONISan AntonioTX$459k0
RIVER OAKS SQUARE ARTS & CRAFT CENTER INCAlexandriaLA$459k1
BAOBICHEN FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$459k2
Community School of Music and Arts IncIthacaNY$459k1
BALLET NORTHWESTOlympiaWA$458k0
NORTH COUNTRY CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCLincolnNH$458k0
KELLY FITZPATRICK MEMORIAL GALLERY INCWetumpkaAL$458k0
OPERA FESTIVAL OF CHICAGOChicagoIL$458k1
MASSPOETRY INCBostonMA$458k2
Austin Scottish Rite Community and Childrens Theatre IncAustinTX$458k1
BEAUFORT COUNTY ARTS COUNCILWashingtonNC$458k0
TIBETAN ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIARichmondCA$458k0
PIERRE MONTEUX MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONHancockME$458k1
BEAVER DAM AREA COMMUNITY THEATRE INCBeaver DamWI$458k1
BATAVIA ARTISTS ASSOCIATION NFP INC WATER STREET STUDIOSBataviaIL$458k1
HELEN HAYES YOUTH THEATRE INCNew CityNY$458k0
TORRANCE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER FOUNDATIONTorranceCA$458k1
WESTFIELD ARTS COLLECTIVE INCWestfieldNJ$458k0
SO'OH SHINALI SISTER PROJECTWest CovinaCA$458k3
PORTLAND REVELSPortlandOR$458k2
UNITED IRISH OF DAYTON INCDaytonOH$457k0
TOPA INSTITUTE PKA YIDDISHKAYTOjaiCA$457k1
Pohaha I Ka LaniKurtistownHI$457k2
NITSCH THEATRE ARTSEast PeoriaIL$457k0
MONTEREY HISTORY AND ART ASSOCIATION LTDMontereyCA$457k0
Portland Experimental Theatre EnsemblePortlandOR$457k4
HBCU FIRST INCNew YorkNY$457k1
VERONA AREA COMMUNITY THEATER INC C/O DEE BALDOCKVeronaWI$457k0
ART HOUSE INCClevelandOH$457k1
Saguaro City Music TheatreTucsonAZ$457k1
THE CURRENT MEDIA INCLafayetteLA$457k1
CRYSTAL CHOIRCupertinoCA$457k0
COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE INCWaterlooIA$457k1
RAILROAD MUSEUM OF SOUTH FLORIDA INCFort MyersFL$457k9
PHILADELPHIA HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE FOUNDATION INCPhiladelphiaPA$457k1
Bill of Rights Defender FoundationMountain BrookAL$456k0
ARTREACH ORLANDO INCWinter ParkFL$456k1
ART PAPERS INCAtlantaGA$456k0
THE ERVIL A THIEL AND RONALD E THIEL CHARITABLE TRUSTColorado SpringsCO$456k1
JASPER COUNTY MUSEUM FOUNDATIONNewtonIA$456k0
CREATIVE ARTS CENTER IN CHATHAM INCChathamMA$456k1
TRIANGLE YOUTH BALLETChapel HillNC$456k1
BASILICA ARTS INCHudsonNY$456k0
The Legacy Imperative IncNaplesFL$456k2
CZECH CULTURAL & COMMUNITY CENTERHoustonTX$456k0
THE CRITIC SEES LTDNew YorkNY$456k2