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 231 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE PEOPLE'S NONPROFIT ACCELERATORPortlandOR$413k2
Music Export MemphisMemphisTN$413k1
Chico Theater Company IncChicoCA$413k5
FRIENDS OF THE LEVITT PAVILION STEELSTACKS C/O ARTSQUESTBethlehemPA$413k0
HISTORIC COLONY HOUSE INCLake WalesFL$413k0
Americans for the Arts Action FundWashingtonDC$413k2
SHIPS OF EXPLORATION & DISCOVERY RESRCHSanta FeNM$413k2
SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF BLUEGRASS MUSIC OF AMERICAKirksvilleMO$413k2
PATRIOTIC PRODUCTIONS INCOmahaNE$413k2
Floyd Community Center for the ArtsFloydVA$413k1
THE MONTPELIER CENTER FOR ARTS AND EDUCATIONMontpelierVA$413k0
PORT TOWNSEND FILM INSTITUTEPort TownsendWA$413k1
PESVEBI INCBrooklynNY$413k1
FAME CENTERChicagoIL$413k0
METRO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONMarlboroughMA$412k2
ARTLAB JDetroitMI$412k0
MISSOULA RAVALLI TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION INCMissoulaMT$412k1
COMMUNITY THEATRE OF TERRE HAUTerre HauteIN$412k0
THE THEATRE COMPANY OF BCSBryanTX$412k1
ASPIRING LEADERS ENRICHMENT CENTER INCFlushingNY$412k2
CATSKILL ART SOCIETY INCLivingston ManorNY$412k1
UPBEAT NYC INCBronxNY$412k2
LASSEN ASSOCIATIONMineralCA$412k0
MAGICAL EARTHFriscoTX$412k0
GIANTS OF THE EARTH HERITAGE CENTER INCSpring GroveMN$412k0
BARE HANDS GALLERY INCBirminghamAL$412k1
The Mexican MuseumSan FranciscoCA$411k0
BERRIEN ARTIST GUILD INCSt JosephMI$411k0
Great Arizona Puppet Theater IncPhoenixAZ$411k1
AMERICAN HEARING IMPAIRED HOCKEY ASSN INCEvanstonIL$411k0
WILHELM REICH INFANT TRUST CORPRangeleyME$411k0
FRIENDS OF THE APOSTLE ISLANDS NATIONAL LAKESHORE INCBayfieldWI$411k2
SILICON VALLEY JEWISH FILM FESTIVALSunnyvaleCA$411k1
GREENSBORO BALLET INCGreensboroNC$411k1
MICHIGAN BLACK EXPO INCGrand RapidsMI$411k2
THE COMING KING FOUNDATIONKerrvilleTX$411k1
SALT CONTEMPORARY DANCE INCSt GeorgeUT$411k2
California Dance InstituteLos AngelesCA$411k1
ALTRUISM MEDIA INCLexingtonMO$411k1
Coventry Foundation IncColumbiaSC$411k0
Randolph Community Cable TV IncRandolphMA$411k0
LUMINARY ARTS CORPORATIONSan MarcosCA$411k3
WWII AIRBORNE DEMONSTRATION TEAMFrederickOK$411k0
Longmont Public MediaLongmontCO$411k1
MILWAUKEE PRESERVATION ALLIANCEMilwaukeeWI$411k2
Butler County Symphony Association IncButlerPA$411k0
GERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETYColumbusOH$411k1
GREAT LAKES EXPERIMENTAL ARTS INCOkemosMI$410k0
Child Hope InternationalSanta BarbaraCA$410k1
OLD SONGS INCVoorheesvilleNY$410k0