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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 237 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
VINTAGE VINTNERS ATHLETIC BOOSTERS CLUBNapaCA$397k0
RATTLE FOUNDATIONStudio CityCA$397k1
Black Psychiatrists of America IncWashingtonDC$397k0
BUFFALO MEDIA RESOURCES INCBuffaloNY$397k1
BARRINGTON YOUTH DANCE ENSEMBLE INCBarringtonIL$397k4
WEST VALLEY YOUTH THEATERLos GatosCA$397k0
MAIN STREET ARTS INCClifton SpringsNY$397k1
THE YOUNGSTOWN PLAYHOUSEYoungstownOH$397k0
HISTORIC PETERSBURG FOUNDATION INCPetersburgVA$397k0
ARTISTS ARCHIVES OF THE WESTERN RESClevelandOH$397k0
CONCRETE COUCHColorado SpringsCO$397k1
FLIGHT PATH DANCE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$397k2
THE MAHAN COLLECTION FOUNDATION INCBernardsvilleNJ$397k0
Norway Hall FoundationVistaCA$396k0
CHARLESTON ARTIST GUILDCharlestonSC$396k1
WE ARE THE CULTURE CREATORS NONPROFITDetroitMI$396k2
DIMENSIONS DANCE COMPANYSaint LouisMO$396k1
SOCIETY FOR CREATIVE ANACHRONISM - PENNSIC WAR INCScotts ValleyCA$396k0
OWENSBORO AREA MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY INCOwensboroKY$396k1
GOLDEN GATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHORUSSan FranciscoCA$396k1
GILPIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYCentral CityCO$396k1
HERALD AND BANNER PRESSOverland ParkKS$396k0
REDTONE RECORDSEast Palo AltoCA$396k1
NEW YORK MILLS ARTS RETREATNew York MillsMN$396k3
BIG DANCE THEATER INCBrooklynNY$396k2
The Miami Womans ClubMiamiFL$396k0
SARABANDE BOOKS INCLouisvilleKY$396k1
YOUNG STARS THEATRE INCSouth PasadenaCA$396k0
NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN HALL OF FAMEGreat FallsMT$396k1
NATIONAL SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN COLONISTSWashingtonDC$396k0
GERMANIA OF POUGHKEEPSIE INCPoughkeepsieNY$396k0
MONROE COUNCIL OF THE ARTS CORPORATIONKey WestFL$395k1
DELAWARE RIVER MILL SOCIETY AT STOCKTONStocktonNJ$395k1
POLLARD THEATRE COMPANYGuthrieOK$395k0
UNION COUNTY COMMUNITY ARTS COUNCIL INCMonroeNC$395k0
FORT CHADBOURNE FOUNDATIONBronteTX$395k2
WE MAKE NOISE INCChandlerAZ$395k1
Assoc for Preservation of Historic NatchitochesNatchitochesLA$395k1
VIETNAM HELICOPTER PILOTS ASSOCIATIONArlingtonTX$395k0
CAVEMAN MUSIC FESTIVAL INCFort CollinsCO$395k0
THE CASTLE FERREIRA FOUNDATIONSan DiegoCA$395k0
PU'A FOUNDATIONHonoluluHI$395k0
MUSIC IN COMMON INCHapevilleGA$395k1
HANOVER TAVERN FOUNDATIONHanoverVA$395k1
ARTS LETTERS AND NUMBERSNew YorkNY$395k0
FEDERATION OF UNITED STATES TEACHERS AND ADJUDICATORS OF HIGHLAND DANCINGBirminghamMI$395k0
IN THE HEART OF THE BEAST PUPPET AND MASK THEATREMinneapolisMN$395k0
NORTH CAROLINA POTTERY MUSEUM INCSeagroveNC$395k1
Dance Parade IncNew YorkNY$395k1
Authors Alliance IncBerkeleyCA$395k2