Skip to main content
Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 25 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
HALEAKALA INC D/B/A THE KITCHENNew YorkNY$6.7M3
THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN MUSEUM INCAustinTX$6.7M2
UNITED WAY OF LANCASTER COUNTYLancasterPA$6.7M1
DELTA AIR TRANSPORT HERITAGE MUSEUM INCAtlantaGA$6.7M3
NATIONAL FORENSIC LEAGUE D/B/A NATIONAL SPEECH AND DEBATE ASSOCWest Des MoinesIA$6.7M5
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART OF THE UNITED STATESJacksonWY$6.7M5
EDWARD M KENNEDY INSTITUTE FOR THE UNITED STATES SENATE INCBostonMA$6.7M6
GRAY AREA FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTSSan FranciscoCA$6.7M7
THE ART AND ADVOCACY SOCIETYBrooklynNY$6.7M1
CENTER STAGE ASSOCIATES INCBaltimoreMD$6.7M3
GROSSE POINTE WAR MEMORIAL ASSOCIATIONGrosse Pointe FarmsMI$6.7M3
FLORENCE GRISWOLD MUSEUM INCOld LymeCT$6.7M4
WEST NEWTON CINEMA FOUNDATION INCWest NewtonMA$6.7M0
Planes of Fame Air MuseumChinoCA$6.7M0
The Forward Association IncNew YorkNY$6.7M8
NEW YORK LIVE ARTS INCNew YorkNY$6.6M6
THE AMERICAN SWEDISH INSTITUTEMinneapolisMN$6.6M4
TEXAS PUBLIC RADIOSan AntonioTX$6.6M2
TENNESSEE GOLF FOUNDATIONFranklinTN$6.6M2
MOVEMENT ALLIANCE PROJECTPhiladelphiaPA$6.6M4
NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER INCAndoverMA$6.6M5
Lobero Theatre FoundationSanta BarbaraCA$6.6M5
CULTURETRUST GREATER PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$6.6M2
Omaha Children's MuseumOmahaNE$6.6M1
Geva Theatre Center IncRochesterNY$6.6M3
BUFFALO OLMSTED PARKS CONSERVANCY INCBuffaloNY$6.6M2
THE CENTER FOR ARTS & INNOVATION INCBoca RatonFL$6.6M1
MID ATLANTIC ARTS INCBaltimoreMD$6.6M3
Tulsa Oktoberfest IncTulsaOK$6.6M0
The Tiny News Collective IncPhiladelphiaPA$6.6M1
HARID CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC INCBoca RatonFL$6.6M2
AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM IN PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$6.6M1
DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY TELEVISION CENTER INCNew YorkNY$6.6M10
THE AUSTIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INCAustinTX$6.6M2
RIVERS OF STEEL HERITAGE CORPORATIONHomesteadPA$6.6M1
THE GLASS-GLEN BURNIE MUSEUM INCWinchesterVA$6.5M6
HERITAGE PLANTATION OF SANDWICH INCSandwichMA$6.5M4
THE GREENE FOUNDATION INCRochelle ParkNJ$6.5M0
SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART ASSOCIATIONSan JoseCA$6.5M6
NORTHWEST MARITIME CENTERPort TownsendWA$6.5M2
PROJECT STEP INCBostonMA$6.5M2
GPS EDUCATION PARTNERS INCWaukeshaWI$6.5M4
BROWN COUNTY MAPLE LEAF MANAGEMENT GROUPNashvilleIN$6.5M1
DAYTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORYDaytonOH$6.5M2
FUND FOR THE ARTS INCLouisvilleKY$6.5M2
ALLIANCE FOR YOUNG ARTISTS AND WRITERS INCNew YorkNY$6.5M1
THE COLUMBUS MUSEUM INCColumbusGA$6.5M3
SITE SANTA FESanta FeNM$6.5M2
HOYT SHERMAN PLACE FOUNDATIONDes MoinesIA$6.5M1
JAPANESE CHILDREN'S SOCIETY INCEnglewood CliffsNJ$6.5M3