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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 225 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FOLKLORE VILLAGE FARM INCDodgevilleWI$430k0
Kinosaito IncVerplanckNY$430k0
Napa Valley Youth SymphonyNapaCA$430k1
Little Theater of Conroe IncConroeTX$430k0
Treasure House of HopeAuroraCO$430k1
LONG ISLAND MARITIME MUSEUMWest SayvilleNY$429k1
NEW MEXICO PHILHARMONIC FOUNDATION INCAlbuquerqueNM$429k0
Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation IncWoodstockVT$429k0
Guarneri Hall NFPChicagoIL$429k0
GRAND VALLEY PUBLIC RADIO COMPANYGrand JunctionCO$429k1
THE LAFAYETTE SYMPHONY INCLafayetteIN$429k0
FORT LA PRESENTATION COMPANYOgdensburgNY$429k0
MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HERITAGEPalo AltoCA$429k1
Texas Folklife ResourcesAustinTX$429k2
ENCORE CHAMBER MUSIC INSTITUTEGates MillsOH$429k0
FOLK ARTS CENTER OF NEW ENGLAND INCStonehamMA$429k1
PENTANGLE COUNCIL ON THE ARTSWoodstockVT$429k2
WINDSYNCHoustonTX$429k1
COMMISSION FOR ART RECOVERY INCNew YorkNY$429k0
DOWNEAST RAIL HERITAGE PRESERVATION TRUST INCEllsworthME$429k0
WORKSHOP 13 INCWareMA$429k1
On Stage IncNewburyportMA$429k1
PLAYASummer LakeOR$429k1
Girls Choral AcademyGrand RapidsMI$428k1
MIAMI YOUTH BALLET INCMiamiFL$428k2
BLACKFRIARS OF ROCHESTER NY INCRochesterNY$428k0
O'HANLON CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCMill ValleyCA$428k0
Monroe Arts Center IncMonroeWI$428k1
CARIBBEING INCBrooklynNY$428k2
LANCASTER COUNTY COUNCIL OF THE ARTSLancasterSC$428k2
INTERSECTION ARTSDetroitMI$428k0
CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF FRANKLIN INCFranklinMA$428k0
LAKESIDE CHARITABLE TRUSTAustinTX$428k0
ASPIRE CREATIVE ARTS PROGRAMAnaheimCA$428k1
FRIENDS OF THE CITY OF RALEIGH MUSEUMRaleighNC$428k0
CASCADE MUSIC FOUNDATIONSeattleWA$428k0
NEW JERSEY ARTS AND CULTURE RENEWAL FUNDPrincetonNJ$428k1
CHATFIELD CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCChatfieldMN$428k2
DENVER MARCH POWWOW INCDenverCO$428k0
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE MIAMI METRO INCMiamiFL$428k0
MERIDIAN SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION INCMeridianMS$428k0
MERIDIAN LITTLE THEATREMeridianMS$427k0
HIGHLANDS LITTLE THEATRE INCSebringFL$427k1
GROUNDUP MUSIC FOUNDATION INCMiamiFL$427k0
NORTHERN LIGHTS MUSIC FESTIVALGilbertMN$427k0
THE SCARAB CLUBDetroitMI$427k1
Columbia Art LeagueColumbiaMO$427k0
THE REMNANT TRUST INCIndianapolisIN$427k0
DELTAVILLE MARITIME MUSEUM AND HOLLY POINT NATURE PARKDeltavilleVA$427k0
BEAUX ARTS OF THE LOWE ART MUSEUM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI INCCoral GablesFL$427k0