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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 233 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
RAISE THE ROOF FOR THE ARTSSidneyOH$407k0
SOUTHWEST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCSt GeorgeUT$407k0
CENTRAL JERSEY ARTS COUNCIL INCCarteretNJ$407k0
Yan FoundationLos AltosCA$407k0
FAIRHOPE EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT FOUNDATIONFairhopeAL$407k0
City of South Salt Lake Arts Council IncSalt Lake CityUT$407k0
Moffat Road Railroad Museum AssociationGranbyCO$407k1
TEATRO GRATTACIELO INCNew YorkNY$407k1
Concho Christmas Celebration IncSan AngeloTX$407k0
QUAD-CITY MUSIC GUILDMolineIL$407k0
SOCIETY OF AMERICAN BUSINESS EDITORS AND WRITERSPhoenixAZ$407k2
FREETOWN VILLAGE INCIndianapolisIN$407k2
FRIENDS OF THE LINCOLN SQUARE THEATERDecaturIL$406k0
HADDONFIELD PLAYS AND PLAYERSHaddonfieldNJ$406k2
Transgender Film Center LTDWichitaKS$406k1
GILMER ARTS & HERITAGE ASSOCIATIONEllijayGA$406k1
DORCHESTER CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCCambridgeMD$406k1
THE LITTLE OPERA THEATER OF NY INCNew YorkNY$406k0
PHILLIPS' MILL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INCNew HopePA$406k0
TRUE SKOOL INCMilwaukeeWI$406k2
THE CENTER FOR EMERGING VISUAL ARTISTS LTDPhiladelphiaPA$406k3
ARIZONA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY FOUNDATIONMesaAZ$406k0
COSTUME SOCIETY OF AMERICA INCColumbusGA$406k1
ACADEMY OF HIMALAYAN ART AND CHILDRHolualoaHI$406k1
HEART OF JOB FOUNDATIONBeverly HillsCA$406k0
HIGHWAYS INCSanta MonicaCA$406k0
CUBACARIBESan FranciscoCA$406k1
BERKELEY COMMUNITY CHORUS & ORCHESTRABerkeleyCA$406k0
FUSIONFEST INCOrlandoFL$406k0
Riverside Arts Center Foundation IncYpsilantiMI$406k1
HOOSIER SALON PATRONS ASSOCIATION INCIndianapolisIN$406k0
THE EAGLE MOUNTAIN-SAGINAW ISD EDUCATION FOUNDATIONFort WorthTX$406k0
SOUND OF CHILDRENLos AngelesCA$406k0
EMERGING GREATER FUTURE INCBaltimoreMD$405k0
SPOOKY ACTION THEATER COMPANYWashingtonDC$405k1
Flip Museum IncHillsboroOR$405k2
FRANKLIN STREET ARTS COLLECTIVE D/B/A FRANK GALLERYCarrboroNC$405k0
CymaSpacePortlandOR$405k6
SPRINGVILLE SIERRA RODEO ASSOCIATIONSpringvilleCA$405k0
SKYLIGHT THEATRE COMPANYLos AngelesCA$405k3
BALLET FRONTIER OF TEXASFort WorthTX$405k1
JAMES K POLK MEMORIAL ASSOCIATIONColumbiaTN$405k0
Drumming for Your Life InstituteDowneyCA$405k0
International Art Project Foundation IncBloomingtonIN$405k0
MUSICBREEDS INCHempsteadNY$405k0
SOUTHERN MEMORIAL ASSOCIATIONLynchburgVA$405k0
INDIA FINE ARTS INCAustinTX$405k0
BELL TOWER PRODUCTIONSDubuqueIA$405k1
MATHER HOMESTEAD FOUNDATIONDarienCT$405k0
TRAVELERS REST HISTORICAL SOCIETYTravelers RestSC$405k0