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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 219 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MURRAY ART GUILDMurrayKY$449k1
FLORIDA MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS INCTampaFL$449k0
MONICA BILL BARNES & COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$449k1
RUSSIAN HISTORY FOUNDATIONJordanvilleNY$449k1
SUMMERBELLAGranite BayCA$449k1
FRIEND HISTORICAL SOCIETYFriendNE$449k0
Chinese Performing Arts of AmericaSan JoseCA$449k3
MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA INCManchesterMA$449k0
AMERICAN FESTIVAL CHORUS AND ORCHESTRALoganUT$449k2
STREET THEORY COLLECTIVECambridgeMA$449k2
STATE THEATRE FOR THE ARTSRed BluffCA$449k0
BASQUE FOUNDATION INCBoiseID$449k1
INFORMATION AGE LEARNING CENTERWallNJ$449k1
Inner Arbor Trust IncColumbiaMD$448k1
DALLAS ARCHITECTURE FORUMDallasTX$448k1
LUCAS THEATRE FOR THE ARTS INCSavannahGA$448k6
QUAD CITIES COMMUNITY BROADCASTING GROUPRock IslandIL$448k2
CLARION MUSIC SOCIETYNew YorkNY$448k0
Tulsa JuneteenthTulsaOK$448k1
WESTON DRAMA WORKSHOPWestonMA$448k0
Phoenix Chamber Music SocietyPhoenixAZ$448k1
CAMERATA CHICAGO ASSOCIATIONWheatonIL$448k1
SCOOL SOUNDS INCBrooklynNY$448k3
KIMOKEO FOUNDATIONWailukuHI$448k1
PACIFIC NORTHWEST SCHOOL OF MUSICBellevueWA$448k3
Materials Exchange Center for Community ArtsEugeneOR$448k1
LEGACY THEATER FOUNDATION INCCarthageIL$448k5
VOX FEMINA LOS ANGELESCulver CityCA$448k1
OWASSO BAND PATRONS CLUBOwassoOK$448k0
CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY MUSEUM OF CAPE COD INCMashpeeMA$447k1
CARVER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYWaconiaMN$447k0
Santa Cruz Childrens Museum of DiscoveryCapitolaCA$447k0
CREATIVEONE PRODUCTIONS INCWildwoodFL$447k3
THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED NYC INCNew YorkNY$447k1
STEVENSON ARTS FOUNDATIONMenlo ParkCA$447k0
ISLIP ARTS COUNCIL INCBay ShoreNY$447k4
ADVENTIST FORUMRosevilleCA$447k1
ARCA IMAGES INCCoral GablesFL$447k1
AIKEN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAAikenSC$446k1
GALENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCGalenaIL$446k0
American Friends of Promotora De Las Bellas Artes ACSan DiegoCA$446k0
Brooklyn Poets IncBrooklynNY$446k1
HISTORIC AUGUSTA INCAugustaGA$446k1
Whitman County Historical SocietyColfaxWA$446k0
LOUDOUN SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION INCLeesburgVA$446k0
SPRINGTIME TALLAHASSEE FESTIVAL INCTallahasseeFL$446k1
CALIFORNIA CHORAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATIONLa HabraCA$446k1
MORRISON-SHEARER FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$446k1
HONOR FLIGHT SYRACUSE INCSyracuseNY$446k0
DANCES FOR A VARIABLE POPULATION INCNew YorkNY$446k1