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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 250 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE WORLD FAMOUS BLUE CRAB FESTIVAL INCLittle RiverSC$364k0
GREATER NEWBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORPNewburghNY$363k0
BARBARA E KUHLKE CHAR REM UNITRUSTColumbusOH$363k1
Imagine MKEIncMilwaukeeWI$363k0
ROXY BREMERTONBremertonWA$363k1
COMMUNITY MUSEUM SOCIETY INCLake CitySC$363k0
Bravo Creative Arts CenterFranklinTN$363k0
ME2 ORCHESTRA INCCharlestownMA$363k2
Ladies of Hip-Hop FestivalJersey CityNJ$363k1
DIMENSIONS DANCE THEATER OF MIAMI INCMiamiFL$363k2
False Profit IncSan FranciscoCA$363k0
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ASSISTANTS IN HIGHER EDUCATIONVictoriaTX$363k1
LAURA INGALLS WILDER MUSEUM & TOURIST CENTERWalnut GroveMN$363k0
THE BANG GROUP INCNew YorkNY$363k2
BLACK FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL FOUNDATIONCharlestonSC$363k0
AMERICAN THEATER GROUPEast BrunswickNJ$363k1
Theatre Gap InitiativeMatthewsNC$363k0
Wayland Community Access And Media IncWaylandMA$363k1
LOOK FOR THE GOOD PROJECT INCCheshireCT$363k1
Lake PlacidNorth Elba Historical Society IncLake PlacidNY$363k0
Action Wildlife Foundation IncGoshenCT$363k0
STRIKE ANYWHERE INCNew YorkNY$363k1
Nam Kue SchoolSan FranciscoCA$362k0
AUTUMNFESTWoonsocketRI$362k0
LUMA 8ChicagoIL$362k1
CARROLL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYCarrolltonOH$362k0
NRHS FUND INCMoorestownNJ$362k0
The SparkBoulderCO$362k3
SUMTER GALLERY OF ARTSumterSC$362k1
LANESVILLE HERITAGE WEEKEND INCLanesvilleIN$362k0
WYO THEATRE FOUNDATION INCSheridanWY$362k0
California State Band ChampionshipsChino HillsCA$362k4
PULASKI COUNTY IMAGINATION LIBRARYLittle RockAR$362k2
ANDERSON ABRUZZO INTL BALLOON MUSEUM FDNAlbuquerqueNM$362k1
MOTORCYCLEPEDIANewburghNY$361k0
JIJAK FOUNDATIONShelbyvilleMI$361k0
BLACK GIRLS FILM CAMPCharlotteNC$361k2
ARMENIAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK INCBaysideNY$361k0
CASA Charter School FoundationHarrisburgPA$361k0
METROPOLITAN ST PATRICK'S DAY PARADE IN ST LOUIS INCSt LouisMO$361k0
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI CHILDRENS MUSEUMCape GirardeauMO$361k0
TIZMORET INCBrooklineMA$361k1
OMNIPEACE FOUNDATION INCLos AngelesCA$361k0
River Gallery School IncBrattleboroVT$361k0
ROANOKE VALLEY CHILDRENS CHOIR INCSalemVA$361k1
LANDMARK WEST INCNew YorkNY$361k1
FALLON COMMUNITY THEATREFallonNV$361k0
FLYAWAY PRODUCTIONSSan FranciscoCA$361k1
MINNESOTA MASONIC HISTORIC BUILDINGSBloomingtonMN$360k5
PITTSBURGH SPOTLIGHTPittsburghPA$360k0