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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 234 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
KETCHIKAN AREA ARTS & HUMANITIES COUNCILKetchikanAK$405k0
INDIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE FOUNDATIONDallasTX$405k2
Black Art SpeaksFairfieldOH$405k0
FRIENDS OF THE HASTINGS PERFORMING ARTS CENTERHastingsMI$405k0
Grace Arts Center IncFort LauderdaleFL$405k0
THE 1932 CRITERION THEATREBar HarborME$405k0
DENVER TURNVEREIN INCDenverCO$405k0
45th ParallelPortlandOR$405k4
ANNISQUAM ASSOCIATION INCGloucesterMA$404k0
GRAND MARAIS ARTS INCGrand MaraisMN$404k0
BROOKHAVEN LITTLE THEATREBrookhavenMS$404k0
EL BUEN SAMARITANO RADIO MINISTRYVisaliaCA$404k2
HERITAGE MUSEUM OF BIG SPRINGBig SpringTX$404k0
JOSEPH CAMPBELL FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$404k1
SOMERSET ACCESS TELEVISION INCFall RiverMA$404k0
KREWE OF POSEIDONSlidellLA$404k0
CULTURAL COALITION INCMesaAZ$404k1
CAPITOL THEATRE CENTER FOUNDATIONChambersburgPA$404k1
YELLOW TREE THEATREOsseoMN$404k2
INTERNATIONAL MUSLIM OUTREACH INCTampaFL$404k1
ART SWEATS INCNew YorkNY$403k1
Wave Pool CorpCincinnatiOH$403k1
Heritage Square FoundationPhoenixAZ$403k1
THE TULSA ARTS MANAGEMENT CONSORTIUMTulsaOK$403k0
Dance FremontSeattleWA$403k1
HONDURAS WELL PROJECTOregon CityOR$403k0
ARIZONA THEATER MATTERSGlendaleAZ$403k0
WORLD THEATRE FOUNDATIONKearneyNE$403k0
JOSEPH'S HOUSE HOLDING CORPORATIONCamdenNJ$403k1
BALAFON WEST AFRICAN DANCE ENSEMBLEPittsburghPA$403k0
BURKE ARTS COUNCIL INCMorgantonNC$403k0
TEXAS ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETYSan MarcosTX$403k0
STEPHEN MANLEY EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATIONLebanonTN$403k0
HOT HOUSE WESTSalt Lake CityUT$403k6
MID-COLUMBIA SYMPHONY SOCIETYRichlandWA$403k0
THE LOTOS FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$403k0
REGINA KLENJOSKI DANCE COMPANYTorranceCA$403k2
I AND I ANTIQUE TRACTOR AND GAS ENGINE CLUBPenfieldIL$403k0
CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF ZHENDAI HE USASan MarinoCA$403k0
TROPICALFETE INCNew YorkNY$403k1
FRENCH AMERICAN MUSEUM EXCHANGE INCEssexCT$403k2
ROYAL PALM PLAYERS INCBoca GrandeFL$403k0
CHINATOWN MUSEUM FOUNDATION CHINESE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF CHICAGOChicagoIL$402k0
CHAPPARELLS BATON & DRUM CORPS INCAkronOH$402k3
REPARATIONS MEDIA NFPChicagoIL$402k0
Lukaba ProductionsChicagoIL$402k1
FINE ARTS NETWORKMurrietaCA$402k0
RINAS BAIS YAAKOV INCBrooklynNY$402k0
Charlotte Art League IncCharlotteNC$402k1
EVERGREEN RODEO ASSOCIATIONEvergreenCO$402k0