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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 248 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
HAMILTON WOOD TYPE & PRINTING MUSEUM INCTwo RiversWI$368k1
DELTA ARTS ALLIANCE INCClevelandMS$368k0
International Fine Art FundFriscoTX$368k0
NICHOLS HOUSE MUSEUM INCBostonMA$368k1
THE ROSSETTER HOUSE FOUNDATION INCCocoaFL$368k0
HOLLISTON CABLE ACCESS INCHollistonMA$368k0
CARLMONT MUSIC BOOSTERS INCSan CarlosCA$368k0
Walla Walla Chamber Music FestivalWalla WallaWA$368k0
BAS MELECH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCBaltimoreMD$367k1
TUCSON DESERT SONG FESTIVALTucsonAZ$367k0
OAKLANDS ASSOCIATION INCMurfreesboroTN$367k1
ARTISTICODenverCO$367k0
East Brother Light Station IncRichmondCA$367k0
LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL IWinooskiVT$367k1
FLORIDA ASSOCIATION FOR MEDIA IN EDUCATION INCNorth Palm BeachFL$367k1
SPARK ARTS IGNITE LEARNINGMissoulaMT$367k1
ARTESCAPESonomaCA$367k0
ARTSTART INCRhinelanderWI$367k0
GREEK AMERICA CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$367k1
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSICNew YorkNY$367k0
Silver Spur Rodeo IncYumaAZ$367k0
ALL OF THE ABOVE HIP HOP ACADEMYLansingMI$367k0
HEARTLAND FESTIVAL ORCHESTRAPeoriaIL$367k1
ALICEVILLE MUSEUM INCAlicevilleAL$367k1
GALVESTON ARTIST RESIDENCYGalvestonTX$367k1
American Comparative Literature Association IncChicagoIL$367k2
EXHIBIT J INCStaten IslandNY$367k2
Alexandria & Akea's Playhouse IncStaten IslandNY$367k1
MORRIS JUMEL MANSION INCNew YorkNY$366k1
ALLIED ARTS OF WHATCOM COUNTYBellinghamWA$366k1
MARIN GIRLS CHORUSSan RafaelCA$366k0
Frank Waters FoundationTucsonAZ$366k0
RED BAY MUSEUMRed BayAL$366k0
RICOCHET PRODUCTIONS INCOjaiCA$366k2
LITERARY SOCIETY OF THE DESERTIndian WellsCA$366k0
EUREKA SYMPHONYBaysideCA$366k1
HOUSTON BOYCHOIR INCHoustonTX$366k5
CAPITAL CITY THEATREMiddletonWI$366k2
MOTION PACIFIC DANCE INCSanta CruzCA$366k3
THE N'NAMDI CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTDetroitMI$366k0
OKLAHOMA SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK INCOklahoma CityOK$366k2
ACT MARKET STREETSan FranciscoCA$366k4
NEWBERRY CONSORT NFPChicagoIL$366k2
The Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra IncRidgefieldCT$366k1
ATLANTA CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL BANDLEADERS ASSOCIATION INCSnellvilleGA$366k0
KEYS CORPSherrillNY$366k0
THOMASVILLE ENTERTAINMENT FOUNDATION INCThomasvilleGA$366k2
GARDEN STATE FILM FESTIVALSea GirtNJ$366k1
MAI FAMILY SERVICESLivoniaMI$366k0
TETON ARTS COUNCIL INCDriggsID$366k1