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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 26 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINEElk Grove VillageIL$6.8M3
RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA & MUSIC SCHOOLEast ProvidenceRI$6.8M4
TWO RIVER THEATRE COMPANY INCRed BankNJ$6.8M3
KANSAS CITY REPERTORY THEATRE INCKansas CityMO$6.8M2
BOCA RATON MUSEUM OF ARTBoca RatonFL$6.7M2
FRIENDS OF THE NC STATE MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCESRaleighNC$6.7M4
DELTA AIR TRANSPORT HERITAGE MUSEUM INCAtlantaGA$6.7M3
THE BALTIMORE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INCBaltimoreMD$6.7M3
NATIONAL FORENSIC LEAGUE D/B/A NATIONAL SPEECH AND DEBATE ASSOCWest Des MoinesIA$6.7M5
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART OF THE UNITED STATESJacksonWY$6.7M5
DAYTON HISTORYDaytonOH$6.7M1
LANCASTERHISTORYORGLancasterPA$6.7M2
GRAY AREA FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTSSan FranciscoCA$6.7M7
METROPOLITAN REGIONAL ARTS COUNCILSt PaulMN$6.7M1
THE HISTORYMAKERSChicagoIL$6.7M2
THE ART AND ADVOCACY SOCIETYBrooklynNY$6.7M1
SAN DIEGO AIR & SPACE MUSEUM INCSan DiegoCA$6.7M5
WEST NEWTON CINEMA FOUNDATION INCWest NewtonMA$6.7M0
CHARLES W BOWERS MUSEUM CORPORATIONSanta AnaCA$6.7M3
NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONSColumbiaSC$6.7M7
San Diego Opera AssociationSan DiegoCA$6.7M6
The Forward Association IncNew YorkNY$6.7M8
ARIZONA OPERA COMPANYPhoenixAZ$6.7M2
WELCOME AMERICA INCPhiladelphiaPA$6.6M2
THE SHELDON ARTS FOUNDATIONSaint LouisMO$6.6M2
TEXAS PUBLIC RADIOSan AntonioTX$6.6M2
TENNESSEE GOLF FOUNDATIONFranklinTN$6.6M2
MOVEMENT ALLIANCE PROJECTPhiladelphiaPA$6.6M4
NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER INCAndoverMA$6.6M5
UNITED WAY OF LANCASTER COUNTYLancasterPA$6.6M1
Lobero Theatre FoundationSanta BarbaraCA$6.6M5
Remnant Publications IncColdwaterMI$6.6M3
Omaha Children's MuseumOmahaNE$6.6M1
Geva Theatre Center IncRochesterNY$6.6M3
BUFFALO OLMSTED PARKS CONSERVANCY INCBuffaloNY$6.6M2
THE CENTER FOR ARTS & INNOVATION INCBoca RatonFL$6.6M1
Tulsa Oktoberfest IncTulsaOK$6.6M0
SAN JOSE CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY MUSEUMSan JoseCA$6.6M7
The Tiny News Collective IncPhiladelphiaPA$6.6M1
CINEREACH LTDBrooklynNY$6.6M1
DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY TELEVISION CENTER INCNew YorkNY$6.6M10
THE AUSTIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INCAustinTX$6.6M2
COSMOSPHERE INCHutchinsonKS$6.6M2
ARDEN THEATRE COMPANYPhiladelphiaPA$6.6M2
GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONGalvestonTX$6.6M3
RIVERS OF STEEL HERITAGE CORPORATIONHomesteadPA$6.6M1
THE GLASS-GLEN BURNIE MUSEUM INCWinchesterVA$6.5M6
THE GREENE FOUNDATION INCRochelle ParkNJ$6.5M0
SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART ASSOCIATIONSan JoseCA$6.5M6
GPS EDUCATION PARTNERS INCWaukeshaWI$6.5M4