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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 232 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SKAGIT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYLaconnerWA$410k1
Schaghticoke First Nations Inc Schaghticoke SFNCopakeNY$410k0
YONGJIA ASSOCIATES USA INCFlushingNY$410k0
UKRAINIAN CHORUS DUMKA OF AMERICA INCNew YorkNY$410k0
HAKKA FOUNDATIONArcadiaCA$410k1
MUSKEGON CIVIC THEATREMuskegonMI$410k0
IDAHO STATE CIVIC SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION INCPocatelloID$410k1
PLAYWRIGHTS FOUNDATION INCSan FranciscoCA$410k1
SPLASHES OF HOPE INCHuntingtonNY$410k1
Rachel Carson Place of Wonder IncSilver SpringMD$410k1
PICKLE HILL PUBLIC BROADCASTING INCKenaiAK$410k1
AMERICAN OVERSEAS SCHOOLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCFayettevilleNC$409k0
THE ARNOLD FOUNDATION INCNorcrossGA$409k3
HAMBURG NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY INCBuffaloNY$409k1
Los Gatos Public Media IncLos GatosCA$409k1
GOSPEL MUSIC HYMN SING FOUNDATIONMorristownTN$409k0
SCULPTURE FIELDS AT MONTAGUE PARKChattanoogaTN$409k0
ST MARY'S ART CENTER INCVirginia CityNV$409k0
TEXAS PUBLIC RADIO FOUNDATIONSan AntonioTX$409k2
The Paseo Project IncTaosNM$409k0
VIBE OF PORTLANDPortlandOR$409k2
THEATRIKOS THEATRE COMPANYFlagstaffAZ$409k2
SAN CLEMENTE COMMUNITY THEATRESan ClementeCA$409k0
Jag Singers Booster Club IncMadisonMS$409k0
GREENWOOD LAKE GAELIC CULTURAL SOCIETYGreenwood LakeNY$409k0
FIRST AMENDMENT MUSEUM AT THE GANNETT HOUSEAugustaME$409k0
KOREAN CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING SYSTEMMorton GroveIL$409k0
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY COLLABORATIVELexingtonKY$408k0
EAST VALLEY CHILDRENS THEATREMesaAZ$408k0
Art Spaces - Wabash Valley Outdoor SculptureTerre HauteIN$408k0
THE DISCOVERY ORCHESTRA INCSummitNJ$408k2
UCAT FOUNDATION INCOverland ParkKS$408k0
COLUMBUS AREA ARTS COUNCIL INCColumbusIN$408k1
DECATUR ARTS ALLIANCE INCDecaturGA$408k1
AFTERWORK THEATER INCNew YorkNY$408k1
NORTHWOODS CHILDRENS MUSEUMEagle RiverWI$408k0
Jifeng Book IncWashingtonDC$408k1
The Foundation for the Spiritual Practic Ventura Community CounselingVenturaCA$408k1
BROADWAY SCHOOL OF MUSIC & THE ARTSClevelandOH$408k0
PIED PIPER PLAYERS INCBurlingameCA$408k0
MUSEUMS MOVING FORWARD INCLos AngelesCA$408k7
ALBEMARLE CHARLOTTESVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETYCharlottesvilleVA$408k0
NEW ENGLAND SYMPHONIC ENSEMBLE INCChesapeake BeachMD$408k1
SEATTLE JAZZ FELLOWSHIPSeattleWA$408k1
ART FEMINISM INCBaltimoreMD$408k1
MICHIGAN HISTORY FOUNDATION INCLansingMI$408k0
Oregon International Ballet AcademyPortlandOR$407k2
VANG COUNCIL OF LA CROSSELa CrosseWI$407k3
EMPACT ART INCBaltimoreMD$407k1
Chicago Artists CoalitionChicagoIL$407k1