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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 249 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MINT HILL HISTORICAL SOCIETYMint HillNC$365k0
LEXINGTON HISTORY MUSEUM INCLexingtonKY$365k0
The Plano Conservancy For Historic Preservation IPlanoTX$365k2
Friends of Prescott IncGrotonMA$365k0
ARTS BENICIABeniciaCA$365k1
Cartoon Art Museum of CaliforniaSan FranciscoCA$365k1
CHASCO FIESTA INCNew Port RicheyFL$365k0
PARKWAY PLAYHOUSE OF BURNSVILLEBurnsvilleNC$365k1
AZARA BALLET INCSarasotaFL$365k2
WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION INCWinter GardenFL$365k0
CERO COLLECTIVE INCNew YorkNY$365k0
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SONGWRITER FESTIVALS INCRed LodgeMT$365k0
Heritage Museum of Orange CountySanta AnaCA$365k2
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF NEW YORK - OTTORINO RESPIGHINew YorkNY$365k2
LA CASA DE MARIA RETREAT CENTERLos AngelesCA$365k1
IMMATERIAL INCORPORATEDBrooklynNY$365k0
Wimberley Valley RadioWimberleyTX$365k0
Artists of YardleyYardleyPA$365k0
GRAND OAKS HIGH SCHOOL BAND BOOSTER ASSOCIATIONSpringTX$365k0
HAWAII ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTSHonoluluHI$365k0
NO LABEL MEDIA GROUP INCEast HamptonNY$365k0
MONTCLAIR HISTORICAL SOCIETYMontclairNJ$365k1
AMELIA PARK CHILDRENS MUSEUM INCWestfieldMA$365k1
FACETIME THEATRE INCPhoenixvillePA$364k2
GUJARATI SAMAJ OF ARKANSAS INCLittle RockAR$364k0
THE CATHOLIC PEACE TIMES WEEKLY INCFlushingNY$364k2
NEW CITY ARTS INITIATIVECharlottesvilleVA$364k1
THE INSTITUTE FOR AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIESWashingtonCT$364k0
CARPE DIEM ARTS INCSilver SpringMD$364k2
CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING MINISTRIESCastaliaOH$364k1
WEST VIRGINIA MINE WARS MUSEUMMatewanWV$364k1
APPLAUSE ACADEMY MA INCTauntonMA$364k0
222 HEALDSBURG PERFORMING ARTSHealdsburgCA$364k0
PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL OF CENTRAL PAState CollegePA$364k5
OCEAN CITY THEATRE COMPANYOcean CityNJ$364k0
THE GOTTLIEB-SCHWARTZ FAMILY FOUNDATIONStaten IslandNY$364k0
VIRGINIA PIEDMONT HERITAGE AREA ASSOCIATIONMiddleburgVA$364k1
Legends Do LiveMissouri CityTX$364k2
FRIENDS OF THE BANDSHELL INCDaytona BeachFL$364k0
THE CIVIC STANDARD INCHardwickVT$364k0
Muskogee Little Theatre IncMuskogeeOK$364k0
STORYARKMinneapolisMN$364k2
ARTE INCNew HavenCT$364k1
CHUGACH HERITAGE MUSEUM AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPOSITORYAnchorageAK$364k0
ALLEGHENY CEMETERY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONPittsburghPA$364k0
Mandarin Museum & Historical SocietyIncJacksonvilleFL$364k0
LEARNQUEST INCActonMA$364k0
Habitot Childrens MuseumBerkeleyCA$364k1
KA LAHUI KAIHonoluluHI$364k0
THE THOREAU SOCIETY INCConcordMA$364k2