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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 223 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FINE ARTS CENTER PARTNERSGreenvilleSC$436k0
CocetaLittletonCO$436k0
PENNSYLVANIA REGIONAL BALLETEnolaPA$436k3
Tahoe School of MusicTruckeeCA$436k1
CHAMBER MUSIC CHARLESTONCharlestonSC$436k1
SILICON VALLEY SHAKESPEARESan JoseCA$436k1
BAY COMMUNITY THEATRE ORGANIZATIONSuttons BayMI$436k7
NORTHWEST PEG-TV INCSt AlbansVT$436k1
ZYZZYVA INCSan FranciscoCA$436k1
Bombyx Center for Arts and EquityNorthamptonMA$436k1
PORTUGUESE AMERICAN WAR VETERANS OF THE US INC AND THEIR AFFILIATEDPeabodyMA$436k0
BALLETS WITH A TWIST FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$436k0
SCIENCE MUSEUMS OF WILSON INCWilsonNC$436k1
SAKURA MATSURI INCSan FranciscoCA$435k0
THE CENTER FOR BLACK BROWN AND QUEER STUDIES INCCambridgeMA$435k0
Kamoinge IncorporatedMetuchenNJ$435k6
SUMMIT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AKRON OHIOAkronOH$435k0
German American Societies of San DiegoEl CajonCA$435k0
ALMA LEWISPittsburghPA$435k1
Arc Dance Productions IncSeattleWA$435k1
DOCS IN PROGRESS INCSilver SpringMD$435k1
Cockroach IncLas VegasNV$435k0
SIMPSON STREET FREE PRESS INCMononaWI$435k2
JIM AND NORMA LESLIE FAMILY FOUNDATIONMinneapolisMN$435k0
EBONY REPERTORY THEATRE INCLos AngelesCA$435k0
Wellspring-Cori Terry and DancersKalamazooMI$435k0
BY WESTERN HANDSCodyWY$434k0
BUGLE BOY FOUNDATIONLa GrangeTX$434k0
LOWCOUNTRY FOUNDATION FOR WOUNDED MILITARY HEROESBlufftonSC$434k0
EL PASO MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATIONEl PasoTX$434k0
THE FRIENDS OF THE GOLDEN REGIMENTBlue SpringsMO$434k0
Arts for All Wisconsin IncMadisonWI$434k1
PROJECT PITLos AngelesCA$434k0
BACKYARD KIDS THEATER INCSonomaCA$434k1
THE GUNK FOUNDATIONWoodstockNY$434k0
ZENKAIKON ENTERTAINMENT INCGlensidePA$434k0
Dance Entropy IncLong Island CityNY$434k1
FRIENDS OF THE NEUBERGER MUSEUM OF ART INCPurchaseNY$434k0
UMPQUA VALLEY ARTS ASSOCIATIONRoseburgOR$434k1
CYT TRI-VALLEY INCLivermoreCA$434k4
PIEDMONT CRAFTSMEN INCWinstonsalemNC$434k1
SOUTHEAST ALABAMA COMMUNITY PLAYERS INCDothanAL$433k0
LOMPOC MUSEUM ASSOCIATES INCLompocCA$433k1
GALVESTON ARTS CENTERGalvestonTX$433k1
INDIANA WAR MEMORIALS FOUNDATION INCIndianapolisIN$433k0
OFFKAISan JoseCA$433k0
TRIAD CULTURAL ARTS INCWinston SalemNC$433k1
IF INNOVATION FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$433k0
LEGION ARTS INCCedar RapidsIA$433k1
CLAYSPACE NFPLisleIL$433k0