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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 245 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MUSIC-ARTS INSTITUTEIndependenceMO$375k0
TILLAMOOK COUNTY PIONEER MUSEUM FOUNDATIONTillamookOR$375k1
STAY ARTSDowneyCA$375k2
Golden Thread ProductionsSan FranciscoCA$375k1
The Calumet Theatre CompanyCalumetMI$375k0
Freehold Theatre Lab StudioSeattleWA$375k3
Chicago Cultural AllianceChicagoIL$375k1
GREENE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYCoxsackieNY$375k0
WAREHOUSE ARTS MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION INCTucsonAZ$375k0
Prescott Circus TheatreOaklandCA$375k2
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE LA NOUVELLE-0RLEANSNew OrleansLA$375k0
FREELANDER FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUSTNew YorkNY$375k0
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VETERANS MUSEUM AND HERITAGE CENTERAndersonCA$375k0
FRIENDS OF THE ORCHESTRASteamboat SpringsCO$375k1
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF CHICKEN SHED INCNew YorkNY$375k2
FORT SMITH MUSEUM OF HISTORYFort SmithAR$375k0
Friends of the Lincoln Collection of Indiana IncFort WayneIN$374k0
RBH CENTER INCBrooklynNY$374k0
Elmhurst Heritage FoundationElmhurstIL$374k0
BRETHREN DISASTER RELIEF AUCTION INCFredericksburgPA$374k0
THE CASTLE MUSEUMMariettaOH$374k1
CENTRAL CURRENT INCSyracuseNY$374k1
CEDAR FALLS COMMUNITY THEATRE INCCedar FallsIA$374k0
Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra IncLynchburgVA$374k1
MAIN STREET THEATRE COMPANYConnellsvillePA$374k0
Fire Historical and Cultural Arts CollaborativeKalamazooMI$374k0
HAMPTONS TAKE 2 DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL INCBridgehamptonNY$374k1
Jordan High School Band and Color Guard Booster ClubFulshearTX$374k0
MONTA VISTA HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC BOOSTERS ASSOCIATIONCupertinoCA$374k0
Elizabeth City Downtown Inc A Revitalization CorporationElizabeth CityNC$374k0
CARMEL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE INCStone MountainGA$374k0
CHAMBER MUSIC MONTEREY BAYCarmelCA$374k2
HENAGER FAMILY MUSEUM INCElberfeldIN$374k0
SPIRIT OF FLIGHT FOUNDATIONNampaID$373k0
SOCIETY FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC EDUCATIONClevelandOH$373k0
LOUISVILLE-JEFFERSON COUNTY YOUTH ORCHESTRA INCLouisvilleKY$373k1
THE TENNESSEE WILLIAMS THEATRE COMPANY OF NEW ORLEANSNew OrleansLA$373k2
VISION CORNER INCUnion CityIN$373k0
BEYOND THE NOTES MUSIC FESTIVALGreen BayWI$373k1
Alabama Dance CouncilBirminghamAL$373k1
Hawthorne Arts CollaborativeBelfastME$373k1
HIGH DESERT TEST SITESJoshua TreeCA$373k0
THE MOVEMENT CENTERHonoluluHI$373k0
Song Summit Foundation IncPark CityUT$373k1
Millburn Institute of TalentMillburnNJ$373k12
DANCE HEGINBOTHAM INCBrooklynNY$373k1
URBAN THEATER CHICAGO NFPChicagoIL$373k0
INDIANA BALLET THEATRE NW INCMerrillvilleIN$373k1
WELLINGTON RITZ THEATRE INCWellingtonTX$373k0
FORWARD PROGRESS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CENTERS INCSan AntonioTX$373k1