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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 266 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
VETERANS BREAKFAST CLUBPittsburghPA$330k1
THE MUSEUM OF AUTOMOBILES INCMorriltonAR$330k0
ELEGBA FOLKLORE SOCIETY INCRichmondVA$329k1
LOUDOUN HERITAGE FARM MUSEUMSterlingVA$329k1
CHESTNUT CREEK SCHOOL OF THE ARTSGalaxVA$329k0
JACK ARTS INCBrooklynNY$329k2
ORCHESTRA SANTA MONICA ASSOCIATIONSanta MonicaCA$329k1
CLOVERDALE ARTS ALLIANCECloverdaleCA$329k0
THE SPANISH COLONIAL ARTS SOCIETYSanta FeNM$329k1
GOAT IN THE ROAD PRODUCTIONSNew OrleansLA$329k3
CONIFERS STAGEDOOR THEATRE INCConiferCO$329k0
MONTANA ACTORS THEATRE INCHavreMT$329k0
The Textile MuseumAshburnVA$329k0
EXTENDChesterNY$329k2
HEAL THE HOOD FOUNDATION OF MEMPHISMemphisTN$329k1
Siegel & Shuster SocietyMayfield HeightsOH$329k0
EMPOWER PEACE INCBostonMA$329k0
ATLANTA PRESERVATION CENTER INCAtlantaGA$329k1
ST GEORGE LIGHTHOUSE ASSN INCSt George IslandFL$329k0
STAIBDANCE INCAtlantaGA$329k2
BALLANTYNE BALLCharlotteNC$329k0
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERTRidgecrestCA$329k0
Visions Museum of Textile ArtSan DiegoCA$329k0
ABOUT PRODUCTIONSPasadenaCA$329k0
WISCONSIN BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INCMadisonWI$328k1
LUBBOCK MOONLIGHT MUSICALS INCLubbockTX$328k1
AZUKA THEATRE COLLECTIVEPhiladelphiaPA$328k0
HILL COUNTRY COMMUNITY THEATER INCMarble FallsTX$328k0
Make Music Alliance IncBrooklynNY$328k1
QUINCY SOCIETY OF FINE ARTSQuincyIL$328k1
North Bay Theatrics IncCotatiCA$328k3
GREENWICH ARTS COUNCIL INCGreenwichCT$328k1
IU MIEN COMMUNITY SERVICESSacramentoCA$328k1
ARTS IN REACH-ENCOURAGING GROWTHPortsmouthNH$328k1
THE AFRICAN AMERICAN RESOURCES-CULTURAL AND HERITAGE SOCIETY INCFrederickMD$328k1
CHRISTIANSBURG INSTITUTE INCChristiansburgVA$328k1
THREADS DANCE PROJECTMinneapolisMN$328k1
Denver Press ClubDenverCO$328k0
TEXAS PANHANDLE WAR MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCAmarilloTX$328k1
THE DAYS OF '47 INCSalt Lake CityUT$328k0
Cowlitz YouthLongviewWA$328k0
Coho Productions IncPortlandOR$328k3
Refugee Choir ProjectTacomaWA$328k2
NORTH TOPEKA ARTS DISTRICT INCTopekaKS$328k2
HEARTS OF HARVESTONEFranklinTN$328k0
THE CAPITOL SYMPHONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRAS INCCentrevilleVA$328k2
ROCKY MOUNTAIN QUILT MUSEUMGoldenCO$328k1
Danbury Music CentreDanburyCT$327k2
Norman Music Alliance IncNormanOK$327k0
EVANSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONEvanstonIL$327k0