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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 265 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
OPENING NIGHT THEATER INCBurbankCA$331k3
JULIEN DUBUQUE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALDubuqueIA$331k1
IRISH DIASPORA CENTERHavertownPA$331k1
WHAM ART ASSOCIATIONSurpriseAZ$331k1
CAPITAL AREA PRESERVATION INCRaleighNC$331k0
UMPQUA ACTORS COMMUNITY THEATRERoseburgOR$331k1
MASTER ARTS THEATREGrand RapidsMI$331k1
PENNSYLVANIA HERITAGE FOUNDATIONHarrisburgPA$331k1
QFI FoundationSunnyvaleCA$331k0
ANTHOLOGY OF RECORDED MUSIC INCAlbanyNY$331k2
TALLGRASS FILM ASSOCIATIONWichitaKS$331k1
LONGVIEW ACTLongviewTX$331k5
MEXICO BEYOND MARIACHI INCNew YorkNY$331k2
MARION CULTURAL ALLIANCE INCOcalaFL$331k0
HAMANGIA FOUNDATION INCPrincetonNJ$331k0
MAIN STAGE PRODUCTIONS INCConroeTX$331k0
Rokeby MuseumFerrisburghVT$331k0
SANIBEL HISTORICAL MUSEUM & VILLAGE INCSanibelFL$331k1
KAJI ASO STUDIO INCBostonMA$331k0
BOISE LITTLE THEATERBoiseID$331k0
ZION'S YOUTH SYMPHONY & CHORUS INCLas VegasNV$331k0
WOODBRIDGE ARTS ALLIANCE INCWoodbridgeNJ$331k0
MABEE-GERRER MUSEUMShawneeOK$331k1
Prologue TheatreArlingtonVA$331k0
AURORA HISTORICAL SOCIETYAuroraIL$331k1
THE INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF DINNERWARE DESIGN INCKingstonNY$330k0
MANDT COMMUNITY CENTERINCStoughtonWI$330k0
AMERICAN PAINT HORSE FOUNDATIONFort WorthTX$330k0
CONNECTFAITH INCPleasantvilleNY$330k1
PROVINCETOWN ARTS PRESS INCProvincetownMA$330k0
South Valley Civic TheatreGilroyCA$330k0
MENDOCINO FILM FESTIVAL INCMendocinoCA$330k1
LOVE OUR HEROS INCBellvilleOH$330k2
WHARTON ESHERICK MUSEUMPaoliPA$330k1
ASIAN CINE-VISION INC C/O JOHN WOONew YorkNY$330k0
Northglenn Arts and Humanities FounNorthglennCO$330k0
VARSITY CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCCarbondaleIL$330k1
ATHEIST COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN INCAustinTX$330k0
WATERCOLOR ART SOCIETY-HOUSTONHoustonTX$330k3
LAREDO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INCLaredoTX$330k0
FRIENDS OF THE CHORAL SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$330k0
WINTER GARDEN ART ASSOCIATIONWinter GardenFL$330k1
HUNTSVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAHuntsvilleAL$330k0
Advocates for Indigenous California Language SurvivalFresnoCA$330k4
BOSTON BY FOOT INCBostonMA$330k1
LEADERSHIP OHIOColumbusOH$330k1
BALLET ETUDES OF SOUTH FLORIDA INCMiamiFL$330k2
DAVID WARTHER CARVINGSSugarcreekOH$330k0
THE WILL MCLEAN FOUNDATION INCBrooksvilleFL$330k0
MOLIERE IN THE PARK INCBrooklynNY$330k0