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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 260 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MELA FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$341k1
NW FILM CAMPMontroseCA$341k3
St Louis Cathedral ConcertsSaint LouisMO$341k1
IMPERIAL CALCASIEU MUSEUM INCLake CharlesLA$341k1
THE WINTERSET IOWA THEATERWintersetIA$341k1
WICHITA COUNTY HERITAGE SOCIETY DBA KELL HOUSE HERITAGE CENTERWichita FallsTX$341k1
CHECKERBOARD FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$341k1
FIESTA 2003VestaviaAL$341k0
BLUE WATER THEATRE COMPANYWayzataMN$341k2
Vermilion County Museum SocietyDanvilleIL$341k0
UNTITLED ART SPACE INCOklahoma CityOK$340k0
ARKANSAS CRAFT SCHOOLMountain ViewAR$340k0
District of Columbia Arts CenterWashingtonDC$340k0
MARIACHI FESTIVALHoustonTX$340k0
DAKSHINI BENGALI ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIATorranceCA$340k0
Mareck Center for DanceColumbiaMO$340k0
THE562 NETWORK INCLong BeachCA$340k3
HONEY ART ACADEMY INCFlushingNY$340k0
US BOARD RIDERS CLUBSLaguna BeachCA$340k0
ETHNIC ENRICHMENT CULTURAL COUNCILKansas CityMO$340k1
STAGE WEST INCSpring HillFL$340k0
THE QUEEN ELIZABETH II SEPTEMBER 11TH MEMORIAL GARDEN INCNew YorkNY$340k0
SHISHU BHARATI SCHOOL INCBelmontMA$340k0
JUST OFF BROADWAY INCHastingsMI$340k0
REMEMBERUSORG INCPlymouthMA$340k0
PERIDANCE ENSEMBLE LTD THENew YorkNY$340k1
Tracing Patterns FoundationBerkeleyCA$340k0
COASTAL STAGES INCSanta Rosa BeachFL$340k1
GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE FOUNDATION INCGloucesterMA$340k0
SEASUN THEATRE ARTIST GROUPLos AngelesCA$340k1
SUL ROSS STATE UNIVERSITY FRIENDS OF THE CTR FOR BIG BEND STUDIESAlpineTX$340k0
Scioto County Childrens Museum IncPortsmouthOH$340k1
I AM LOGAN SQUAREChicagoIL$340k0
PREMIER LONE STAR WIND ORCHESTRADallasTX$340k0
WILMINGTON BALLET ACADEMY OF THE DANCE INCWilmingtonDE$340k1
PARTNERSHIP INCJuneauAK$340k2
Hendersonville Performing Arts Company IncHendersonvilleTN$339k0
GWINNETT BALLET THEATRE INCSuwaneeGA$339k0
CLEVELAND SCHOOL OF DANCEClevelandOH$339k0
MUSICA FRANKLIN INCGreenfieldMA$339k0
SALT LAKE MUSIC SCHOOL FOUNDATIONSalt Lake CityUT$339k2
Celebration Barn TheaterSouth ParisME$339k3
AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY THEATRE INCHagerstownMD$339k3
NORCAM INCNorth ReadingMA$339k0
Estelita's LibrarySeattleWA$339k0
Illinois State Organization of the NSDARSaint CharlesIL$339k0
Diasporic Vietnamese Artists NetworkSan FranciscoCA$339k1
PUBLIC SPACE ONEIowa CityIA$339k2
FU XING COLLEGEIrvineCA$339k1
CHAMBER MUSIC CENTER OF NEW YORK INCNew YorkNY$339k1