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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 244 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
EAST HAWAII CULTURAL COUNCILHiloHI$377k4
Bergen County Players IncOradellNJ$377k0
TENNESSEE VALLEY ART ASSOCIATIONTuscumbiaAL$377k0
SCOTFEST INCTulsaOK$377k0
MNFF INCMiddleburyVT$377k1
PROJECT DANZTHEATRE COMPANYChicagoIL$377k1
Japanese American Memorial PilgrimagesSanta CruzCA$377k3
Prescott Symphony OrchestraPrescottAZ$377k0
GLOBAL BHUTANESE HINDU ORGANIZATIONGalionOH$377k2
STONE QUARRY HILL ART PARK INCCazenoviaNY$377k0
Rancho Cucamonga Bands and Colorguard Booster AssociationRancho CucamongaCA$377k0
ISLAND STAR PERFORMANCES INCGalvestonTX$377k3
MILLER ART CENTER FOUNDATION INCSturgeon BayWI$377k0
COLOR FARM IMPACT INCNew YorkNY$376k0
JEFF & KELLIE HEPPER FAMILY FOUNDATIONHoustonTX$376k0
THE LYRIC COUNCIL INCBlacksburgVA$376k2
GEORGIA METROPOLITAN DANCE THEATRE INCMariettaGA$376k2
PORTLAND CHINATOWN HISTORY FOUNDATIONPortlandOR$376k1
REVITALIZE ROLLARollaND$376k0
Compact Institute of Ideas IncNew YorkNY$376k1
CORPSVETS INCKennesawGA$376k2
ARTS ON ALEXANDERAustinTX$376k1
Wallowa Band Nez Perce Trail Interpretive CenterWallowaOR$376k0
SANTA FE FILM INSTITUTESanta FeNM$376k0
MALO MOTIVATING ACTION LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITYOntarioCA$376k1
GREEN LAWN CEMETERY FOUNDATION INCColumbusOH$376k0
Girls Rock DC IncWashingtonDC$376k3
BUENA VISTA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYBakersfieldCA$376k0
CUMBERLAND SUMMER THEATRE INCCumberlandMD$376k0
ABILENE PHILHARMONIC FOUNDATIONAbileneTX$376k0
Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program IncSt AugustineFL$376k0
Verdani Institute for the Built Environment IncCarlsbadCA$376k0
RADIO CLUB OF AMERICACape CanaveralFL$376k0
NORTH COUNTRY CHAMBER PLAYERSINCFranconiaNH$376k0
SANTA BARBARA ARTS COLLABORATIVE INCSanta BarbaraCA$376k1
INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGYSteubenvilleOH$376k2
IOWA ART WORKS INCCedar RapidsIA$375k1
Friends of WRRDallasTX$375k0
FORT WORTH EARLY MUSICDallasTX$375k0
CHRISTMAS LANE INCDoverFL$375k0
DANCE NOTATION BUREAU INCNew YorkNY$375k3
BELL ARTS FACTORYVenturaCA$375k1
FRIENDS OF THE PENN INCPlymouthMI$375k1
UPPER VALLEY BAROQUE AND EARLY MUSIC COLLEGIUMHanoverNH$375k0
Web Chaver IncPatersonNJ$375k3
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF COMMUNITY BROADCASTERS INCBelgradeMT$375k0
WHITE RIVER VALLEY ANTIQUE ASSCNOdonIN$375k0
WHEELS O' TIME MUSEUMDunlapIL$375k1
MIAMI BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM INCMiamiFL$375k0
THE MCCANDLESS COLLECTION INCNew YorkNY$375k0