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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 235 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
DANCE ARTS LOS ALAMOSWhite RockNM$402k0
RIVER ARTS OF MORRISVILLE INCMorrisvilleVT$402k1
OKLAHOMA ARTS INSTITUTE FOUNDATIONOklahoma CityOK$402k0
SALEM MULTI INSTITUTESalemOR$402k1
THEATRE33BellevueWA$402k4
CENTER FOR GROUP STUDIESNew YorkNY$402k0
MONIRA FOUNDATIONJersey CityNJ$402k1
TOSHIKO TAKAEZU FOUNDATION INCJersey CityNJ$402k1
HOFFMAN CENTERManzanitaOR$402k1
THE WARD MELVILLE HERITAGE ORGANIZATION LTDStony BrookNY$402k0
THE SANDY HOOK FOUNDATION INCFort HancockNJ$402k1
Little Compton Historical Society IncLittle ComptonRI$402k1
YURT EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL INCRedwood CityCA$402k0
FutureHeights IncCleveland HeightsOH$401k0
SOUTH CAROLINA BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATIONColumbiaSC$401k2
GREENE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYEutawAL$401k0
Famfrequency Productions IncPhiladelphiaPA$401k2
New York Dance Theatre IncCommackNY$401k4
NORTH POINTE BALLET INCNorth RidgevilleOH$401k0
BEACHES FINE ARTS SERIES INCJacksonville BeachFL$401k1
MAKING MUSIC MATTERS INCBostonMA$401k0
OWEN COX DANCE GROUPKansas CityMO$401k1
ANGELICO PROJECT A CENTER FOR THOUGHT AND CULTUREGreenhillsOH$401k0
THE SANDRA BORNSTEIN HOLOCAUST EDUCATION CENTERProvidenceRI$401k1
FRIENDS OF JOHN SLADE ELY HOUSE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTNew HavenCT$401k0
Visart IncCharlotteNC$401k1
CHAGRIN VALLEY LITTLE THEATREChagrin FallsOH$401k0
ANKHKASTA NATURAL HEALING INCHoustonTX$401k0
OUTSIDER FILM AND ARTS FESTIVAAustinTX$400k3
THE PEAR AVENUE THEATREMountain ViewCA$400k0
CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE RESEARCH INCBrooklynNY$400k1
Archer County Museum and Arts Center IncArcher CityTX$400k0
SECOND GENERATION THEATRE COMPANYKenmoreNY$400k1
SHAKER BRIDGE THEATRE INCWhite River JunctionVT$400k2
LATINO CENTER OF ART AND CULTURESacramentoCA$400k0
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN RHODES SCHOLARSMcLeanVA$400k1
DANCE NOW ENSEMBLE INCMiami BeachFL$400k0
FLORIDA LIGHTHOUSE ASSOCIATION INCPensacolaFL$400k0
HISTORIC FOURTH WARD SCHOOL FOUNDATIONVirginia CityNV$400k1
ALTOONA COMMUNITY THEATREAltoonaPA$400k0
WORLDSHAPERSNew YorkNY$400k0
The VM Music Company IncCoppellTX$400k0
PLYMOUTH ROCK PUBLISHING CORPPlymouthMA$400k1
SEQUENTIAL ARTISTS WORKSHOPGainesvilleFL$400k2
PERMIAN BASIN HONOR FLIGHT INCMidlandTX$400k0
Cave Creek MuseumCave CreekAZ$400k0
Diamano Coura West African Dance CoOaklandCA$400k0
HUI HOOLANAKualapuuHI$400k2
ASSITEJUSA DBA THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES USAINCNew YorkNY$400k1
TAPOLOGY INCMount MorrisMI$400k0