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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 221 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SCULPTURETUCSONORG INCTucsonAZ$442k1
LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA ENDOWMENT INCLouisvilleKY$442k0
Denton Black Film Festival Institute IncDentonTX$442k0
Wabanaki AllianceStillwaterME$442k1
The Excelsior FoundationJeffersonTX$442k0
ECCLES COMMUNITY ART CENTEROgdenUT$442k0
THE PHARMACY AND MEDICAL MUSEUM OF TEXAS INCCueroTX$441k0
ARTS SCHOOLS NETWORKHoustonTX$441k1
Chinese Civic CenterHoustonTX$441k0
LA PENA INCAustinTX$441k0
EAST COWETA BAND BOOSTERS INCSharpsburgGA$441k0
WONDERFEET KIDS MUSEUM INCRutlandVT$441k1
Alaska Junior Theater IncAnchorageAK$441k1
Southern California Streets InitiativeLos AngelesCA$441k1
FRIENDS OF THE CHENNAULT AVIATION & MILITARY MUSEUM OF LOUISIANA INCMonroeLA$441k2
Panama City Symphony IncPanama CityFL$441k0
CENTER FOR AMERICAN CULTURE AND IDEASTucsonAZ$441k3
WOMENS ART CENTER OF THE HAMPTONS INCEast HamptonNY$441k1
SANDWICH AREA COMMUNITY ACCESSSandwichMA$441k1
SQUONK OPERA INCPittsburghPA$441k2
Artist Outreach IncDallasTX$441k1
KENOSHA PUBLIC MUSEUMS FOUNDATION INCKenoshaWI$440k1
YORK ART ASSOCIATION INCYorkPA$440k1
ARMENIAN HERITAGE MUSEUM A CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATIONFresnoCA$440k1
HERITAGE FLIGHT MUSEUMBurlingtonWA$440k0
Walls Turned Sideways NFPChicagoIL$440k2
FRIENDS OF THE PARAGON CAROUSEL INCHullMA$440k0
CORN STOCK THEATREPeoriaIL$440k0
MINNESOTA CHORALEMinneapolisMN$440k1
MUSIC THERAPY SERVICES INCSpringfieldMO$440k0
ARMENIAN CULTURAL & EDUCATIONAL CENTER INCWatertownMA$440k0
ZLOTOFF FOUNDATION C/O PAUL M ZLOTOFFBirminghamMI$440k0
GREAT BASIN HERITAGE AREA PARTNERSHIPBakerNV$440k1
ECHO PUBLISHINGMearsMI$440k4
Marquee Youth StageSt CharlesIL$439k1
ALABAMA WRITERS FORUM INCMontgomeryAL$439k2
BAD SPACE DANIA INCDania BeachFL$439k0
OJAI PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCEOjaiCA$439k1
DEFEAT OF JESSE JAMES DAYS COMMITTEE INCNorthfieldMN$439k0
PRIMARY INFORMATION INCBrooklynNY$439k2
RHINEHART FAMILY FOUNDATION INCFallstonMD$439k0
STATE CAPITOL FOUNDATION INC NORTH CAROLINA STATE CAPITOLRaleighNC$439k0
TheGifted Arts IncRaleighNC$439k2
CULTURA BRASIL IN AUSTINAustinTX$439k0
THE WELMAN PROJECTFort WorthTX$439k0
BLACK ALPHABET NFPChicagoIL$439k0
OPEN STUDIO PROJECT INCEvanstonIL$439k1
MAKING LIGHT PRODUCTIONS INCTallahasseeFL$439k0
MICHIGAN MUSIC CONFERENCELivoniaMI$439k0
Center for Latter-Day Saint Arts IncNew YorkNY$439k1