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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 256 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SHEA THEATER ARTS CENTER INCTurners FallsMA$349k0
PENTIMENTI PRODUCTIONS NFPChicagoIL$349k0
Little Globe IncSanta FeNM$349k2
National Association of Voice Actors FoundationLos AngelesCA$349k2
MAINE NATURAL HISTORY OBSERVATORYGouldsboroME$349k1
RIVERSIDE THE FARNSLEY-MOREMEN LANDING INCLouisvilleKY$348k0
KENNEBUNKPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETYKennebunkportME$348k1
OLD JAIL MUSEUM AND HERITAGE CENTER INCJim ThorpePA$348k1
MAUI HISTORICAL SOCIETYWailukuHI$348k1
ART LAB INCStaten IslandNY$348k0
San Francisco Camerawork IncSan FranciscoCA$348k1
Colonial Markets and Colonial Fairs IncPurcellvilleVA$348k0
DO IT FOR THE LOVEOaklandCA$348k3
Patuxent River Naval Air Museum AssnLexington ParkMD$348k0
BETA-LOCAL INCSan JuanPR$348k2
STAGELIGHT FAMILY PRODUCTIONSLa HabraCA$348k0
Center for the Arts of Greater LapeerLapeerMI$348k0
FRIENDS OF OKLAHOMA MUSIC INCMuskogeeOK$348k0
INTERNATIONAL SKIING HISTORY ASSOCIATIONManchester CenterVT$348k4
ARCADIA PERFORMING ARTS INCWindberPA$348k1
FILAMENT THEATRE ENSEMBLE NFPChicagoIL$348k3
DYCKMAN FARMHOUSE MUSEUM ALLIANCENew YorkNY$348k1
SGS RAGA SAGARA INCFriscoTX$348k0
OXFORD MAINSTREET INCOxfordPA$348k1
OAK RIDGE COMMUNITY ART CENTEROak RidgeTN$348k0
IN A PERFECT WORLDLos AngelesCA$348k1
VEDA GEETHA FOUNDATIONORGSan DiegoCA$348k2
ALOHA PERFORMING ARTS COMPANYKealakekuaHI$348k1
SRI VEDA VIDYA PEETHAMTracyCA$348k1
SHIGEKO KUBOTA VIDEO ART FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$348k0
ARTEEAST INCBrooklynNY$347k1
Public Radio International IncMinneapolisMN$347k9
NORTH AMERICAN CULTURAL LABORATORYHighland LakeNY$347k1
GIVE MUSIC INCSpringfieldMA$347k1
CREATIVE ARTS ALLIANCEPlanoTX$347k4
JACARANDAMUSICLos AngelesCA$347k1
Alliance Francaise Silicon ValleyLos GatosCA$347k0
HISTORIC PRESERVATION EDUCATION FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$347k0
JUNEAU JAZZ & CLASSICSJuneauAK$347k1
TULSA BALLET THEATRE TRUST FUNDSt PetersburgFL$347k1
LUDINGTON AREA ARTS COUNCILLudingtonMI$347k1
CHRISTKINDLMARKT SLCSeverna ParkMD$347k0
CONCORD COMMUNITY TVConcordNH$347k1
Jazz VivaceCincinnatiOH$347k0
KSER FoundationEverettWA$347k0
BEAVER ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MICHIGANBeaver IslandMI$347k0
Pioneer Arizona FoundationPhoenixAZ$347k0
JAZZ HOUSTONHoustonTX$347k2
LIVE LIFE RESOURCESStamfordVT$347k2
FOUNDATION FOR ARTS AND CULTURAL CONNECTIONS INCBirminghamAL$347k2