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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 255 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Fine Art Miracles IncPittsburghPA$351k2
IMPACT ARTS INCAustinTX$351k1
GUIDANCE ACADEMYSouthlakeTX$351k0
UKRAINIAN MUSEUM-ARCHIVE INCClevelandOH$351k0
FRANKENMUTH HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONFrakenmuthMI$351k1
DIXIE CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCRustonLA$351k1
BAY CITY PLAYERS INCBay CityMI$351k0
SOLVANG HERITAGE ASSOCIATES INCSolvangCA$351k2
CIRCUS CITY FESTIVAL INCPeruIN$351k0
The Music Education InitiativeRogersAR$351k1
DOUGLAS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY C/O GENERAL CROOK HOUSEOmahaNE$350k0
MELBOURNE CIVIC THEATRE INCMelbourneFL$350k0
Colorado Municipal Clerks AssociationWestminsterCO$350k0
SEAL INCMilwaukeeWI$350k1
JAPANESE INSTITUTE OF SAWTELLELos AngelesCA$350k2
CLEVELAND ARTS PRIZESouth EuclidOH$350k1
HOUSTON SAENGERBUNDHoustonTX$350k0
CAMILLE PLAYERS INCBrownsvilleTX$350k0
ST PATRICK FOUNDATIONNew OrleansLA$350k0
Darlington African American MuseumHartsvilleSC$350k0
CLUB MOLISANI CHARITIES INCWickliffeOH$350k0
NATIONAL ASSOC OF SCHOOLS OF THEATRE INCRestonVA$350k0
American Chinese United AssociationWoburnMA$350k0
BARTLESVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCBartlesvilleOK$350k0
WALSKE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION STEVEN C WALSKE ET AL TRUSTEESBostonMA$350k0
Drag Story HourSan FranciscoCA$350k6
THE ISRAEL FOREVER FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$350k2
1941 Historical Aircraft GroupGeneseoNY$350k0
MISHPACHAH INCMasonOH$350k0
MUSEUM OF DURHAM HISTORYDurhamNC$350k1
PUBLIC ART SAINT PAULSt PaulMN$350k2
Lee Jazz Omega Inc Memphis Jazz WorkshopCordovaTN$350k1
GROUND FLOOR THEATREAustinTX$350k0
JUAN DE FUCA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS INCPort AngelesWA$350k1
RILEY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYManhattanKS$349k0
STORYKNIFE WRITERS RETREATHomerAK$349k0
Montana Monuments FoundationButteMT$349k0
MORE FOR COLORADOWestminsterCO$349k0
INSTITUTE FOR SPECIALIZED INTERESTS INCGranada HillsCA$349k0
ATLANTIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCHinghamMA$349k0
REVOLUTIONARY EDUCATION INCHumbleTX$349k2
BEZERK PRODUCTIONSJoshua TreeCA$349k0
QUEENS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA C-O QUEENS COLLEGEFlushingNY$349k0
FLYING V LTDBethesdaMD$349k1
SCOTUSBLOG INCWashingtonDC$349k1
Treehouse Shakers IncNew YorkNY$349k0
THE SOCIETY OF COLONIAL WARSNew YorkNY$349k1
GEORGE L CARTER RAILROAD MUSUEM INCJohnson CityTN$349k1
WATERWORKS VISUAL ARTS CENTER INCSalisburyNC$349k1
BELLE PLAINE FESTIVALS AND EVENTS INCBelle PlaineMN$349k1