Skip to main content
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 23 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MUSIC AND DANCE THEATER CHICAGO INCChicagoIL$7.8M6
AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTERPittsburghPA$7.8M5
TOWN HALL FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$7.8M2
City Springs TheatreSandy SpringsGA$7.8M0
PORTLAND CENTER STAGEPortlandOR$7.7M4
ARTISTS FOR HUMANITY INCBostonMA$7.7M9
COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND ARTSMountain ViewCA$7.7M4
NEWINGTON CROPSEY FOUNDATIONHastings On HudsonNY$7.7M4
Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation TrustBoyertownPA$7.7M0
UNIVERSITY RADIO FOUNDATION INCCharlotteNC$7.7M8
POWERHOUSE SCIENCE CENTERSacramentoCA$7.7M2
AUSTIN LYRIC OPERAAustinTX$7.7M2
NEVADA BALLET THEATRE INCLas VegasNV$7.7M4
EMBRACE BOSTON INCBostonMA$7.7M0
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LATINO ARTS AND CULTURESan AntonioTX$7.7M4
GRAND OPERA HOUSE INCWilmingtonDE$7.7M2
OKLAHOMA CITY MUSEUM OF ART INC FKA OKLAHOMA CITY ART MUSEUMOklahoma CityOK$7.7M3
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
EDUCATION THROUGH MUSIC INCNew YorkNY$7.7M4
THE RICHMOND BALLETRichmondVA$7.7M5
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund IncArlingtonVA$7.7M4
THE COLORADO EDUCATION INITIATIVEDenverCO$7.7M7
Wichita Art Museum IncWichitaKS$7.6M1
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
Hunter Museum of American ArtChattanoogaTN$7.6M3
REST OF WORLD MEDIA INCMenlo ParkCA$7.6M0
Traditional Culture Reviving Center IncNew YorkNY$7.6M0
BRAVO GREATER DES MOINES INCDes MoinesIA$7.6M1
LYRIC OPERA OF KANSAS CITY INCKansas CityMO$7.5M2
CONSENSUS BUILDING INSTITUTE INCCambridgeMA$7.5M8
Dixon Gallery and GardensMemphisTN$7.5M2
MUSIC THEATRE WICHITAWichitaKS$7.5M3
THE MUSEUM FOR AFRICAN ART D/B/A THE AFRICA CENTERNew YorkNY$7.5M3
Norway HouseMinneapolisMN$7.5M3
BROOKLYN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM CORPORATIONBrooklynNY$7.5M3
INDIANAPOLIS ART CENTER INCIndianapolisIN$7.5M3
PITTSBURGH OPERA INCPittsburghPA$7.5M6