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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 259 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CENTRE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYState CollegePA$343k1
THE STATE SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI OF PENNSYLVANIAFairfaxVA$343k0
POLK COUNTY FAIR & RODEO ASSOCIATIONMenaAR$343k0
REDTWIST THEATREChicagoIL$342k1
FLORIDA FEDERATION OF COLORGUARDS CIRCUIT INCOrange ParkFL$342k13
HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ POLISH SCHOOL NFPRomeovilleIL$342k3
AMERICA ON WHEELS INCAllentownPA$342k1
Midcoast Music AcademyRockportME$342k0
AUGUSTA WESTOBOU FESTIVAL INCAugustaGA$342k1
CHRISTIAN MEDIA INCScottsbluffNE$342k1
Action ArtsRenoNV$342k0
ENDOWMENT FOR THE MCWANE SCIENCE CENTERBirminghamAL$342k2
THE PERFORMANCE PROJECT INCPembroke PinesFL$342k0
POTOSI FOUNDATION INCPotosiWI$342k0
CHAPPELL HILL HISTORICAL SOCIETYChappell HillTX$342k0
WOMEN'S CLUB FOUNDATION INCHagerstownMD$342k1
Academy of Hawaiian Arts IncAlamedaCA$342k0
MENOMONEE FALLS DOWNTOWN INCMenomonee FallsWI$342k0
Dixon Historical SocietyDixonCA$342k0
THE KRISTIN CHENOWETH ARTS AND EDUCATION FUNDNashvilleTN$342k0
Dance Source HoustonHoustonTX$342k0
THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA INCPittsburghPA$342k0
HINDUACTIONWest ChesterOH$342k0
THE PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF FALL RIVERFall RiverMA$342k0
SALT LAKE ACADEMY OF MUSICSalt Lake CityUT$342k0
GREAT PLAINS THEATRE INCAbileneKS$342k0
BANDERA NATURAL HISTORY AND ART MUSEUMBanderaTX$342k1
PRINCETON PRO MUSICAPrincetonNJ$342k0
WHITEWATER COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCRichmondIN$341k1
CENTER FOR BROADCAST JOURNALISMSaint PaulMN$341k2
JESS CURTISGRAVITY INCSan FranciscoCA$341k3
CASTROVILLE ARTICHOKE FESTIVAL INCCastrovilleCA$341k1
CHELTENHAM TOWNSHIP ART CENTRECheltenhamPA$341k1
FRIENDS OF THE KOTZSCHMAR ORGAN INCPortlandME$341k0
ATLANTA CELEBRATES PHOTOGRAPHY INCAtlantaGA$341k0
National Museum of Americans in WartimeBristowVA$341k1
HISTORIC RIVOLI THEATER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER RESTORATION COALITIONPendletonOR$341k0
OMAHA RODEO INCElkhornNE$341k0
THE OPERA HOUSE PLAYERS INCEnfieldCT$341k0
Salt Lake Choral ArtistsSalt Lake CityUT$341k2
30 BY NINETY THEATRE INCMandevilleLA$341k1
FOLSOM CULTURAL CENTERFolsomCA$341k0
SURFRIDER SPIRIT SESSIONSKailuaHI$341k0
New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center IncNew BedfordMA$341k0
THE MUSEUM OF FOOD AND DRINKBrooklynNY$341k1
HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATIONWestervilleOH$341k0
Hogfish MaineCape ElizabethME$341k3
OLD SLATER MILL ASSOCIATIONPawtucketRI$341k0
NEWPORT OPERA HOUSE ASSOCIATIONNewportNH$341k2
LOS PLENEROS DE LA 21 INCNew YorkNY$341k1