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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 24 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE CENTER FOR JEWISH HISTORY INCNew YorkNY$7.5M8
THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S CHORUS OF NEW YORK CITY INCNew YorkNY$7.5M4
COLORADO RAILROAD HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INCGoldenCO$7.5M1
THE PUBLIC BROADCASTING COUNCIL OF CNY INCSyracuseNY$7.5M1
NASHVILLE PUBLIC TELEVISION INCNashvilleTN$7.5M3
The Orange Show FoundationHoustonTX$7.5M1
WAMCAlbanyNY$7.4M5
Arizona Theatre CompanyTucsonAZ$7.4M4
Caramoor Center for Music & the Arts IncKatonahNY$7.4M5
MADISON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCMadisonWI$7.4M3
FRIENDS OF WWOZ INCNew OrleansLA$7.4M4
DALLAS THEATER CENTERDallasTX$7.4M1
UNLIMITED OPPORTUNITIES INCBoonvilleMO$7.4M1
CONFLUENCE COUNCIL INCEau ClaireWI$7.4M1
EDUCATIONAL THEATRE ASSOCIATIONCincinattiOH$7.4M3
YOUTH AMERICA GRAND PRIX INCNew YorkNY$7.4M3
BEAVERTON ARTS FOUNDATION INCBeavertonOR$7.4M1
EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY HISTORIC SITE INCPhiladelphiaPA$7.4M6
PUENTE DE LA COSTA SURPescaderoCA$7.4M4
ALASKA PUBLIC MEDIA INCAnchorageAK$7.4M5
Writers Theatre IncGlencoeIL$7.4M2
OPERA AMERICA INCNew YorkNY$7.4M4
CHISHOLM TRAIL HERITAGE MUSEUM INCCueroTX$7.4M1
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS INCChapel HillNC$7.3M8
THE CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCESChicagoIL$7.3M6
VILAR PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCAvonCO$7.3M3
HENRY FORD ESTATEDearbornMI$7.3M1
Friends of Idaho Public Television IncBoiseID$7.3M1
ADVENTURE SCIENCE CENTER - NASHVILLENashvilleTN$7.3M5
THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACKS IN DANCEWashingtonDC$7.3M3
CREATION AND PRESERVATION PARTNERS INCSheboyganWI$7.3M1
THE EDWARD ORTON JR CERAMIC FOUNDATIONWestervilleOH$7.3M6
FILM FORUM INCNew YorkNY$7.3M8
CENTRAL CITY OPERA HOUSE ASSOCIATIONWheat RidgeCO$7.3M3
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MUSIC EDUCATIONHerndonVA$7.3M4
SEWELL C BIGGS TRUST THE BIGGS MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARTDoverDE$7.3M1
Dubuque County Historical SocietyDubuqueIA$7.3M2
ATLANTA HALL MANAGEMENT INCAtlantaGA$7.3M6
FOX TUCSON THEATRE FOUNDATIONTucsonAZ$7.3M1
NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC MEDIA INCSpringfieldMA$7.3M6
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER INCFarmington HillsMI$7.3M5
DE ETTE HOLDEN CUMMER MUSEUM FOUNDATIONJacksonvilleFL$7.2M6
HERITAGE FOUNDATION OF WILLIAMSON COUNTYFranklinTN$7.2M4
SU THEATRE CORPORATION D/B/A SYRACUSE STAGESyracuseNY$7.2M2
Detroit Historical SocietyDetroitMI$7.2M5
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURYChicagoIL$7.2M3
Cultural Council of Palm Beach County IncLake Worth BeachFL$7.2M3
KENTUCKY DANCE COUNCIL INC DBA LOUISVILLE BALLETLouisvilleKY$7.2M2
NEIGHBORHOOD TRUST FINANCIAL PARTNERS INCNew YorkNY$7.2M7
LADY LEX MUSEUM ON THE BAY ASSOCCorpus ChristiTX$7.2M2