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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 239 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AMERICAN MUSEUM TORT LAW INCWinstedCT$392k1
ZOCALO PUBLIC SQUARELos AngelesCA$392k6
OREGON SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION IN SALEMPortlandOR$392k5
YORBA LINDA SPOTLIGHT THEATER COMPANYYorba LindaCA$391k1
HALL OF HEROES SUPER HERO MUSEUM INCElkhartIN$391k0
NILES ESSANAY SILENT FILM MUSEUM INCFremontCA$391k3
ASOCIACION MAYABSan FranciscoCA$391k0
EL CAMPANIL THEATRE PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONAntiochCA$391k1
THE UNTAXERMeadviewAZ$391k1
The Society for EthnomusicologyBloomingtonIN$391k1
LATIMER COOKSEY ARTS & CULTURALTulsaOK$391k1
Chicago Tap Theatre NFPChicagoIL$391k2
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF GRANGE PARK OPERA FOUNDATIONTaconicCT$391k0
BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF PERFORMING ARTS INCWoodsideNY$391k0
VOENABeniciaCA$391k1
K SPACE CONTEMPORARYCorpus ChristiTX$391k0
DEMOLAY INTERNATIONAL 73000 NORTHERN CALIFORNIAUnion CityCA$391k1
VIVE LES ARTS SOCIETE OF KILLEEN-HARKER HEIGHTS INKilleenTX$391k0
ARTS COUNCIL OF GREENWOOD COUNTY INCGreenwoodSC$391k1
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ART LEAGUE INC DBA STANILAUS ARTS COUNCILModestoCA$391k1
FLORENCE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAFlorenceSC$391k0
HENDERSON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION INCHendersonNV$391k3
LELA D JACKSON FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS COChicagoIL$391k2
FRIENDS OF THE WRIGHT OPERA HOUSE INCOurayCO$391k5
CROWLEY MUSEUM AND NATURE CENTER INCSarasotaFL$390k1
Abilene Preservation League IncAbileneTX$390k0
FRIENDS OF THE UPPER EAST SIDE HISTORIC DISTRICTS INCNew YorkNY$390k0
MINNESOTA COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICSRosevilleMN$390k7
OPHELIAS JUMP PRODUCTIONS A CALIFORNIA PUBLIC BENEClaremontCA$390k0
WESTERN MONTANA CREATIVE INITIATIVESMissoulaMT$390k1
Manitou Art TheatreColorado SpringsCO$390k4
Monument Legacy IncCarmelIN$390k0
NEW ORLEANS ACCESS TELEVISION INCNew OrleansLA$390k1
SACHANJ A NJ NONPROFIT CORPORATIONEdisonNJ$390k0
NAVI JOURNEY CORPLakewoodNJ$390k1
TED BROWN MUSIC OUTREACHTacomaWA$390k1
Colorado Institute of MusicDenverCO$390k0
CONJURING ARTS RESEARCH CENTERNashuaNH$390k0
GLEN ARBOR ARTS CENTERGlen ArborMI$389k2
THEATREZONE INCChelseaMA$389k1
NO SURF HOUSEClevelandOH$389k1
Riverside Arts CouncilRiversideCA$389k1
CLEVELAND CHORAL ARTS ASSOCIATIONClevelandOH$389k0
COLUMBIA MUSIC FESTIVAL ASSOCIATIONColumbiaSC$389k1
Tennessee Museum of AviationSeviervilleTN$389k0
South Jersey Cultural AllianceGallowayNJ$389k1
THE GILBERT THEATER INCFayettevilleNC$389k2
KULTURE KLUB COLLABORATIVEMinneapolisMN$389k1
PEOPLES DISPATCH LTDNew YorkNY$389k1
BIHL HAUS ARTS INCSan AntonioTX$388k1