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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 224 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CHANNEL 17 INCHammondLA$433k0
THE SWEET HOUSE FOUNDATIONGrand RapidsMI$433k0
EAST PALO ALTO COMMUNITY ARCHIVEEast Palo AltoCA$433k0
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION FOUNDATIONPensacolaFL$433k0
BALLETHNIC DANCE COMPANYEast PointGA$433k2
BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN ARTS ASSOCIATION INCBlue RidgeGA$433k0
BLACKSPACE URBANIST COLLECTIVE INC BLACKSPACE URBANIST COLLECTIVE INCBrooklynNY$433k2
Visionaries of the Creative ArtsWashingtonDC$432k2
BERKSHIRE CIVIC BALLET INC dba ALBANY BERKSHIRE BALLETPittsfieldMA$432k0
Boston Chamber Music Society IncCambridgeMA$432k0
CALA AlliancePhoenixAZ$432k0
Judy Garland Childrens MuseumGrand RapidsMN$432k0
Irish Center of PittsburghGreensburgPA$432k0
MUSIC IN WORLD CULTURES INCLawrencePA$432k1
ORION NEIGHBORHOOD TELEVISION CORPORATIONLake OrionMI$432k1
VAIL COMMUNITY TELEVISION CORPORATIONAvonCO$432k1
CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT FOUNDATION INCBirminghamAL$432k0
Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and CultureWichita FallsTX$432k1
Media Literacy NowWatertownMA$432k2
Aesthetic Realism Foundation IncNew YorkNY$432k4
HIDDENITE CENTER INCHiddeniteNC$432k1
Chicago Dancemakers ForumChicagoIL$432k1
NANCY GRAVES FOUNDATION INCLong Island CityNY$432k2
CHILDREN'S PERFORMING ARTSWhite Bear LakeMN$432k0
KANSAS CITY ESTATE PLANNING SYMPOSIUMKansas CityMO$432k0
ARTS BRIDGING THE GAPLos AngelesCA$431k3
THE RHAPSODY PROJECTRentonWA$431k1
Shakespeare By The SeaRedondo BeachCA$431k2
Cincinnati Children's ChoirCincinnatiOH$431k2
Association of Indo AmericansAlbanyCA$431k0
AUSABLE CLUB PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONSt HubertsNY$431k0
MISSOURI VALLEY ECLIPSE AMATEUR ATHLETIC CLUBDeSotoKS$431k0
CALIFORNIA SURF MUSEUMOceansideCA$431k0
UNION PACIFIC MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONCouncil BluffsIA$431k0
Gaura Nitai FoundationIrvingTX$431k0
COSMOS CLUB FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$431k0
FEDERATION OF HELLENIC SOCIETIES OR GREATER OF NY INCAstoriaNY$431k0
SYSTEM FOR EDUCATION EMPOWERMENT AND SUCCESSHoustonTX$430k2
LAKE WALES ARTS COUNCIL INCLake WalesFL$430k0
Mariachi Spectacular de AlbuquerqueAlbuquerqueNM$430k2
URBAN MUSIC THEATRE INCIndianapolisIN$430k3
Portland TaikoPortlandOR$430k1
GO-GO MUSEUMWashingtonDC$430k0
GERMAN-AMERICAN SCHOOL ASSNWhittierCA$430k0
HARRISBURG AREA RIVERBOAT SOCIETYHarrisburgPA$430k0
ALLEN COUNTY HISTORICAL & GENEALOGY SOCIETY INCScottsvilleKY$430k0
JapanFest IncAtlantaGA$430k0
ANDOVER COMMUNITY ACCESS & MEDIA INCAndoverMA$430k1
LINKS HALL INCChicagoIL$430k1
WILTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCWiltonCT$430k0