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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 238 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Saints BrigadeWest HarrisonNY$395k0
FRANKLIN COUNTY FAIR FOUNDATIONHamptonIA$395k0
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ST TAMMANY INCMandevilleLA$395k0
MANDALA SOUTH ASIAN PERFORMING ARTS INCChicagoIL$395k1
Chicago Art DepartmentChicagoIL$395k0
JAIN SOCIETY OF OREGON & SW WASHINGTONPortlandOR$395k0
PAC 14 INCSalisburyMD$395k1
SANTA PAULA ART MUSEUMSanta PaulaCA$395k1
California Assoc of Teachers of EnglishSan DiegoCA$395k0
ASE INCLexingtonKY$395k0
DANCE CONSERVATORY OF PASADENA SCHOOLPasadenaCA$394k0
THEATRE WEST INCLos AngelesCA$394k1
PORCHFEST DCWashingtonDC$394k2
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF FINDLAYFindlayOH$394k1
CALIFORNIA HERITAGE MUSEUMSanta MonicaCA$394k1
ARTISTIC FREEDOM INITIATIVE INCBrooklynNY$394k2
WESTFIELD BAND BOOSTERS ASSOCIATION INCWestfieldIN$394k0
AZOREAN MARITIME HERITAGE SOCIETYNew BedfordMA$394k0
YOUR THEATRE INCNew BedfordMA$394k0
DE COLORES ARTSSan MateoCA$394k1
IQRA CULTURAL CENTER INCEast MeadowNY$393k0
QUAD CITY SYMPHONY TRUSTDavenportIA$393k0
King Manor Assoc of Long Island IncJamaicaNY$393k1
DACE'S ROCK N MORE MUSIC ACADEMYMaple ValleyWA$393k0
DANCE UPIndependenceOH$393k0
STURGEON BAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION INCSturgeon BayWI$393k0
COASTAL JAZZ ASSOCIATION INCSavannahGA$393k1
FANM SAJ INCMiamiFL$393k1
DAFMARK DANCE THEATEREriePA$393k1
DEKALB COUNTY HISTORY CENTERSycamoreIL$393k1
CELEBRATION ARTSSacramentoCA$393k2
CAROLINA BALLET THEATRE INC ATERMGreenvilleSC$393k0
BALLET FLAMENCO LA ROSA INCMiamiFL$393k0
HISTORIC HOMESTAKE OPERA HOUSE SOCIETYLeadSD$393k2
CAROUSEL OF HAPPINESS INCNederlandCO$393k1
OREGON WALKSPortlandOR$393k2
CHINESE AMERICAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONEdisonNJ$392k0
AKRON OPERA HOUSEAkronIA$392k0
CHILDRENS THEATRE OF ELGIN & FOX VALLEY THEATRE COMPANYElginIL$392k2
THE GLOVERSVILLE THEATRE CORPGloversvilleNY$392k0
LANDMARK EVENTS INCPalm CoastFL$392k1
OKLAHOMA YOUTH ORCHESTRAS INCOklahoma CityOK$392k1
Gates Chili Color Guard Parents IncRochesterNY$392k1
GOSPEL OPPORTUNITIES INCMarquetteMI$392k3
SOUTH PHILADELPHIA STRING BAND INCPhiladelphiaPA$392k0
Mark Keppel Band Boosters IncAlhambraCA$392k0
VIRGINIA HIGHLANDS FESTIVAL INCAbingdonVA$392k1
SARATOGA SPONSOR-A-SCHOLARSaratoga SpringsNY$392k1
Hancock Center for Creative Arts Therapies IncMadisonWI$392k2
Colorado Springs Community Ventures IncColorado SpringsCO$392k1