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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 253 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Studio 1BurlingtonNC$356k1
GO CHI LIFEChicagoIL$356k0
ARMORY THEATER FUNDPortlandOR$356k2
LIFECHANGERS INCCookevilleTN$356k0
ROWAN MUSEUM INCSalisburyNC$356k2
RACE Dance CompanyOklahoma CityOK$356k1
Thru Guidance Ministries IncLos AngelesCA$356k1
THE CASSIDY THEATRE INCParma HeightsOH$356k0
SOUTH SIDE SUZUKI COOPERATIVEChicagoIL$356k2
Gallery5RichmondVA$356k0
ROOT CAUSE RESEARCH CENTER INCLouisvilleKY$355k4
Native Peoples Action Community FundAnchorageAK$355k1
Coalition for African Americans in the Performing ArtsFort WashingtonMD$355k2
SANTA MONICA YOUTH ORCHESTRASanta MonicaCA$355k2
INCHELIUM LANGUAGE AND CULTURE ASSOCIATIONIncheliumWA$355k1
WORCESTER YOUTH ORCHESTRAS INCWorcesterMA$355k1
PORTERVILLE HISTORICAL MUSEUMPortervilleCA$355k0
THE HISTORY MUSEUM OF BURKE CO INC THE HISTORY MUSEUM OF BURKE COUNTYMorgantonNC$355k0
COMMUNITY REJUVENATION PROJECT INCOaklandCA$355k1
NORTON CABLE ACCESS INCNortonMA$355k0
SHAKESPEARE AT A NJ NONPROFIT CORPORATIOJersey CityNJ$355k1
MARIA STEIN COUNTRYFEST INCMaria SteinOH$355k0
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA BALLETChampaignIL$355k1
THOMAS KINKADE MUSEUM DBA KINKADE FAMILY FOUNDATIONLos GatosCA$355k3
EVERGLADES SOCIETY FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION INCEverglades CityFL$355k0
The Players Foundation for Theatre EducationNew YorkNY$355k0
EASTERN OREGON REGIONAL ARTS COUNCIL dba ART CENTER EASTLa GrandeOR$355k1
Memorial Opera House Foundation IncValparaisoIN$354k0
ONE VOICE MISSIONColorado SpringsCO$354k1
PENNWICK FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$354k2
TELANGANA PEOPLES ASSOCIATION OF DALLASFriscoTX$354k0
Willamette Jazz SocietyEugeneOR$354k1
ENID SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONEnidOK$354k2
YOUNG ACTORS THEATER INCSpring ValleyCA$354k1
LUMBER HERITAGE REGION OF PA INCCurwensvillePA$354k2
St Peter & Paul Heritage AssociationEllinwoodKS$354k0
SC NEW PLAY FESTIVAL INCGreenvilleSC$354k1
BOUNTIFUL DAVIS ART FOUNDATIONBountifulUT$354k1
SAUSALITO CENTER FOR THE ARTSSausalitoCA$354k0
DEAF SPOTLIGHTSeattleWA$354k1
FRINGE THEATER OF KEY WEST INCKey WestFL$354k0
VICTORIA BACH FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION INCVictoriaTX$354k0
MoezArt Productions IncPhoenixAZ$354k1
THE GEORGE AND LENA VALENTE FOUNDATIONEl MaceroCA$354k5
NEWTON CULTURAL ALLIANCE INCWest NewtonMA$354k1
WATCHORN LINCOLN MEMORIAL ASSOCIATIONRedlandsCA$354k0
LA CROSSE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCLa CrosseWI$353k0
Friends of the Opera HouseElginOR$353k0
APANOPortlandOR$353k4
NATIONAL CENTER FOR JEWISH FILM INCWalthamMA$353k0