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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 25 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ARTS AND HUMANITIES COUNCIL OF MONTGOMERSilver SpringMD$7.2M1
WAITT INSTITUTENorth Sioux CitySD$7.2M1
LONG ISLAND CHILDREN'S MUSEUMGarden CityNY$7.2M4
AKRON ART MUSEUMAkronOH$7.2M4
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETYBostonMA$7.2M8
NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRESolana BeachCA$7.1M0
NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION ASSOCIATIONPittstonPA$7.1M5
GEORGIA FAMILY CONNECTION PARTNERSHIP INCAtlantaGA$7.1M2
AIR ZOO LEGACY FOUNDATIONPortageMI$7.1M1
Arts Midwest IncorporatedMinneapolisMN$7.1M5
BISHOP MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND NATURE INCBradentonFL$7.1M1
RED MOUNTAIN THEATRE COMPANY INCBirminghamAL$7.1M7
MOUNT ZION BAPTIST CHURCH PRESERVATION SOCIETYAthensOH$7.1M0
HOUSE OF BLUES MUSIC FORWARD FOUNDATION Doing business as MUSIC FORWARDBeverly HillsCA$7.1M1
MAYMONT FOUNDATIONRichmondVA$7.1M4
IRVING S GILMORE INTERNATIONAL KEYBOARDKalamazooMI$7.1M1
ASIA SOCIETY TEXAS CENTERHoutonTX$7.1M4
IRVINE BARCLAY THEATRE OPERATING COIrvineCA$7.1M3
BALLET HISPANICO OF NEW YORK INCNew YorkNY$7.1M5
MUSIC INSTITUTE OF CHICAGOEvanstonIL$7.1M6
CALIFORNIA RODEO INCSalinasCA$7.1M7
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE ADIRONDACKSTupper LakeNY$7M5
THE COLUMBUS MUSEUM INCColumbusGA$7M3
NEW HAVEN CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS INCWaterburyCT$7M0
CENTER FOR INQUIRY INCAmherstNY$7M5
CHICAGO INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION INCLongmontCO$7M0
Spokane Symphony SocietySpokaneWA$7M4
SCIENCE CENTER OF IOWADes MoinesIA$7M3
DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM INCNew YorkNY$7M7
KENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO INCLouisvilleKY$7M5
FRIENDS OF KSPSSpokaneWA$7M1
VIRGINIA FOUNDATION FOR THE HUMANITIES AND PUBLIC POLICYCharlottesvilleVA$6.9M0
MAINE STATE MUSIC THEATREBrunswickME$6.9M2
PORT ANGELES WATERFRONT CENTER DBA FIELD ARTS & EVENTS HALLPort AngelesWA$6.9M1
CHESAPEAKE BAY MARITIME MUSEUM INCSaint MichaelsMD$6.9M3
PALM BEACH CULTURAL INNOVATION CENTERPalm BeachFL$6.9M1
SPHINX ORGANIZATION INCDetroitMI$6.9M6
PALACE THEATRE TRUSTManchesterNH$6.9M1
THE CLAY STUDIOPhiladelphiaPA$6.9M1
THE DREAMYARD PROJECT INCBronxNY$6.9M3
SOUTH COAST CHINESE CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONIrvineCA$6.9M0
SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTIONS INCThe VillagesFL$6.8M2
The Studio Theatre IncWashingtonDC$6.8M3
KIDSPACE A PARTICIPATORY MUSEUMPasadenaCA$6.8M4
NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM INCKansas CityMO$6.8M0
HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICANew YorkNY$6.8M5
HOMBRE NUEVOEl MonteCA$6.8M2
THE PALACE THEATER GROUP INCWaterburyCT$6.8M2
Stamford Museum & Nature Center IncStamfordCT$6.8M2
GOSPEL MUSIC ASSOCIATION INCFranklinTN$6.8M0