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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 22 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MUSIC WILL INCCovinaCA$8.1M10
NC TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM FOUNDATIONSpencerNC$8.1M2
THE HENRY MORRISON FLAGLER MUSEUM INCPalm BeachFL$8M5
BAYORGSan FranciscoCA$8M6
ANKERBERG THEOLOGICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTEChattanoogaTN$8M6
ARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL CHARLOTTE/MECKLENBURG INCCharlotteNC$8M2
NASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIONashvilleTN$8M5
THE WALDEN WOODS PROJECTLincolnMA$8M1
ICA LALos AngelesCA$8M1
DR PEPPER MUSEUM AND FREE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTEWacoTX$8M2
BRD FAMILY FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$8M0
POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE RADIO INCBlacksburgVA$8M6
PLUM BUSH FOUNDATION C/O KINGSLEY BUSINESS SERVICE INCMillisMA$8M0
Houston Grand Opera Endowment IncHoustonTX$8M1
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGEAstoriaNY$8M5
CLYFFORD STILL MUSEUM FOUNDATIONDenverCO$8M2
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MEXICAN ART FKA MEXICAN FINE ARTS CENTER MUSEUMChicagoIL$8M2
FLINT INSTITUTE OF ARTSFlintMI$8M2
Amant Foundation USABrooklynNY$8M2
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE LOUVRE INCNew YorkNY$8M2
FIRST STEP HOUSINGSacramentoCA$8M2
THE ERIC CARLE MUSEUM OF PICTURE BOOK ART INCAmherstMA$8M6
KEITH ALBEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCHuntingtonWV$8M1
SEAPORT MUSEUM NEW YORKNew YorkNY$8M3
EASTERN WASHINGTON STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETYSpokaneWA$8M2
CASA MANANA INCFort WorthTX$8M2
Wartime History Museum Inc (AKA Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum)BentonvilleAR$8M0
CENTER OF CREATIVE ARTSSaint LouisMO$7.9M7
SIGNATURE THEATRE COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$7.9M5
Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public BroadcastingBaton RougeLA$7.9M1
RAISE YOUR HAND FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLSAustinTX$7.9M7
JAZZ HOUSE KIDS INCMontclairNJ$7.9M3
CABOT PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCBeverlyMA$7.9M5
ODCSan FranciscoCA$7.9M4
Bowdoin International Music FestivalBrunswickME$7.9M3
ST ANN'S WAREHOUSE INCBrooklynNY$7.9M8
PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY BROADCASTING CORPORATIONPittsburghPA$7.9M6
CINCINNATI OPERA ASSOCIATION INCCincinnatiOH$7.9M4
DALLAS COUNTY HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONDallasTX$7.8M4
THE FRK FOUNDATION D/B/A FREDERICK R KOCH FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$7.8M1
ANDERSON RANCH ARTS FOUNDATIONSnowmass VillageCO$7.8M4
Merola Opera ProgramSan FranciscoCA$7.8M4
RETRO REPORT INCMysticCT$7.8M1
ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ARTCosta MesaCA$7.8M8
KANU O KA AINA LEARNING OHANAKamuelaHI$7.8M3
HARPER'S MAGAZINE FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$7.8M3
FREDERICK R WEISMAN ART FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$7.8M3
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONLouisvilleKY$7.8M4
ART TREK INCNewbury ParkCA$7.8M4
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF CLEVELAND HOLDINGS FOUNDATIONClevelandOH$7.8M1