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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 218 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FIRE DEPARTMENT MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS INCMemphisTN$453k0
NEWARK-GRANVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAGranvilleOH$453k0
GINGOLD THEATRICAL GROUPNew YorkNY$453k1
FRIENDS OF TOWN CREEK INDIAN MOUND INCMount GileadNC$453k0
Bradhams LegacyNew BernNC$452k0
SAINT LOUIS STORY STITCHERS ARTIST COLLECTIVESt LouisMO$452k0
SCHMIDT FAMILY FOUNDATIONSarasotaFL$452k0
FEMME HOUSENew YorkNY$452k2
THE ACTORS THEATRE WORKSHOP INCNew YorkNY$452k0
GLASS ART SOCIETY INCSeattleWA$452k1
ORCHESTRA MIAMI INCMiamiFL$452k1
UPPER PENINSULA CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INCORPORATEDMarquetteMI$452k1
ALABAMA ARCHIVES & HISTORY FOUNDATIONMontgomeryAL$452k0
DYNAMO STUDIOSOoltewahTN$452k1
PACIFIC COMMUNITY OF ALASKAAnchorageAK$452k7
NORTH PLATTE COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE INCNorth PlatteNE$452k1
GETTY HOUSE FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$452k2
MAIN STPittsburghPA$452k4
LEVEL GROUNDLos AngelesCA$452k2
ETHNIC EDUCATION HAWAI'IHonoluluHI$452k0
CLASSICAL UPRISINGPortlandME$452k0
BALANCED ALMOND INC DBA OCHRE HOUSE THEATERDallasTX$451k3
THE ODYSSEY AFTER-SCHOOL ENRICHMENT PROGRAMRockportTX$451k2
Chandler Youth TheatreChandlerAZ$451k2
BHARTIYA MANDAL FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$451k0
MELODIC MOVEMENTS PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM INCHockessinDE$451k5
SACRED HEART CULTURAL CENTER INCAugustaGA$451k1
GREAT PLAINS THEATRE COMMONSOmahaNE$451k0
BALAKER MEDIA FOUNDATIONFallbrookCA$451k0
WEST VIRGINIA ITALIAN HERITAGE FESTIVAL INCClarksburgWV$451k0
ART SANCTUARYLouisvilleKY$451k0
WHITE BIRD PRODUCTIONS INCBrooklynNY$451k4
WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERAWashingtonDC$451k2
PHOENIX FILM FOUNDATIONPhoenixAZ$451k1
NORTHWEST SINFONIETTA INCTacomaWA$451k0
CEDAR RAPIDS OPERA THEATRECedar RapidsIA$451k4
LANA'I CULTURE & HERITAGE CENTERLanai CityHI$451k1
Rowland Freedom CenterVacavilleCA$450k0
THEATRE EXPERIENCE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIWoodland HillsCA$450k0
SAN ANGELO BROADWAY ACADEMY YOUTH THEATERSan AngeloTX$450k1
FORT SMITH MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL INCFort SmithAR$450k0
INDIA ASSOCIATION OF NORTH TEXASRichardsonTX$450k0
HULL LIFESAVING MUSEUM INCHullMA$450k0
EQUITY TRUST INCAmherstMA$450k1
National Upper Cervical Chiropractic AssociationPlymouthMN$450k0
LA MUSICA DI ASOLO INCSarasotaFL$450k1
BEAR CREEK FEDERATION INCColleyvilleTX$450k0
MUSIC CONNECTIONS FOUNDATION INCBloomingtonIL$450k0
Hawaiian Music Perpetuation SocietyHonoluluHI$450k1
WAGON WHEEL THEATRE INCWarsawIN$449k0