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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 22 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
UNIVERSITY RADIO FOUNDATION INCCharlotteNC$7.7M8
TELFAIR MUSEUM OF ART INCSavannahGA$7.7M2
INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETYIndianapolisIN$7.7M5
AUSTIN LYRIC OPERAAustinTX$7.7M2
ALASKA PUBLIC MEDIA INCAnchorageAK$7.7M6
NEVADA BALLET THEATRE INCLas VegasNV$7.7M4
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LATINO ARTS AND CULTURESan AntonioTX$7.7M4
INDIAN PUEBLO CULTURAL CENTERAlbuquerqueNM$7.7M6
GRAND OPERA HOUSE INCWilmingtonDE$7.7M2
OLD SALEM INCWinstonsalemNC$7.7M1
COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE FOUNDATION INCBrooklineMA$7.7M2
MID-AMERICA ARTS ALLIANCEKansas CityMO$7.7M4
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF PHOENIXPhoenixAZ$7.7M3
Old Dartmouth Historical SocietyNew BedfordMA$7.7M4
ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INCLittle RockAR$7.7M1
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund IncArlingtonVA$7.7M4
THE COLORADO EDUCATION INITIATIVEDenverCO$7.7M7
THE POETRY FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$7.6M3
SHAKERTOWN AT PLEASANT HILL KENTUCKY INCHarrodsburgKY$7.6M6
John C Campbell Folk School IncBrasstownNC$7.6M2
MIDWEST INDIGENOUS IMMERSION NETWORKHermantownMN$7.6M1
PIONEER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSRenoNV$7.6M1
UNITED PERFORMING ARTS FUND INCMilwaukeeWI$7.6M4
THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE FOR MOVIES AND THE PERFORMING ARTS INCRidgefieldCT$7.6M3
MCWANE SCIENCE CENTERBirminghamAL$7.6M2
ROOTS OF HUMANITY FOUNDATION INCLehiUT$7.6M1
PALO ALTO HISTORY MUSEUMPalo AltoCA$7.6M1
SPHINX ORGANIZATION INCDetroitMI$7.6M4
Hunter Museum of American ArtChattanoogaTN$7.6M3
EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY HISTORIC SITE INCPhiladelphiaPA$7.6M4
REST OF WORLD MEDIA INCMenlo ParkCA$7.6M0
Traditional Culture Reviving Center IncNew YorkNY$7.6M0
BRAVO GREATER DES MOINES INCDes MoinesIA$7.6M1
CONSENSUS BUILDING INSTITUTE INCCambridgeMA$7.5M8
BROOKLYN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM CORPORATIONBrooklynNY$7.5M3
MUSIC THEATRE WICHITAWichitaKS$7.5M3
THE MUSEUM FOR AFRICAN ART D/B/A THE AFRICA CENTERNew YorkNY$7.5M3
Norway HouseMinneapolisMN$7.5M3
INDIANAPOLIS ART CENTER INCIndianapolisIN$7.5M3
SFPBS FOUNDATION INCBoynton BeachFL$7.5M3
THE PHILOS PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$7.5M6
THE CENTER FOR JEWISH HISTORY INCNew YorkNY$7.5M8
THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S CHORUS OF NEW YORK CITY INCNew YorkNY$7.5M4
COLORADO RAILROAD HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INCGoldenCO$7.5M1
NASHVILLE PUBLIC TELEVISION INCNashvilleTN$7.5M3
The Orange Show FoundationHoustonTX$7.5M1
SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INCSanta BarbaraCA$7.5M3
WAMCAlbanyNY$7.4M5
Arizona Theatre CompanyTucsonAZ$7.4M4
MADISON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCMadisonWI$7.4M3