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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 267 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE VIGIL PROJECT INCMandevilleLA$327k2
CHAMBER MUSIC HAWAIIHonoluluHI$327k2
FRIENDS OF LINDEN HILL INCLittle FallsMN$327k1
FOX RIVER TROLLEY ASSOCIATION INCSouth ElginIL$327k0
SEACOAST COMMUNITY CHAMBER ORCHESTRAPortsmouthNH$327k0
ANCIENT ART ARCHIVESewaneeTN$327k1
THE DANCE SCHOOLEverettWA$327k0
OPUS 118 HARLEM SCHOOL OF MUSICNew YorkNY$327k0
UNISON LEARNING CENTER INCNew PaltzNY$327k1
ORQUESTA NORTHWESTSeattleWA$327k0
PUBLIC MULTIMEDIA INCMedfordNJ$327k1
CHESTER CULTURAL ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY CENTERChesterPA$327k0
BEETHOVEN MAENNERCHOR INCSan AntonioTX$327k0
BLACK BOX THEATRE COMPANY INCLebanonIN$327k0
MACON POPS INCMaconGA$327k1
RANDOM ACTS OF SILLINESSBozemanMT$327k0
SANTA BARBARA FESTIVAL BALLETSanta BarbaraCA$327k2
ANDRE CAILLOUX CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTSNew OrleansLA$327k1
CARIBBEAN AMERICAN PASSPORT MULTICULTURAL INITIATIOrlandoFL$327k0
Terezin Music Foundation IncBrooklineMA$326k1
ROY LOZANOS BALLET FOLKLORICO DE TXAustinTX$326k0
MOON & STARS FOUNDATIONBoulderCO$326k2
Cape Fear Museum Associates IncWilmingtonNC$326k0
KEEPING THE BLUES ALIVE FOUNDATIONDeerfield BeachFL$326k1
Rhythm Revue Dance CompanySaint LouisMO$326k0
MANIDOO OGITIGAANBemidjiMN$326k0
SOUTHWEST INDIAN AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION INCCasa GrandeAZ$326k0
Plaza Media Arts Center IncPatchogueNY$326k1
MODERN ANCIENT BROWN FOUNDATION C/O MICHAEL STONE-RICHARDSDetroitMI$326k0
The Food AlliancePortlandOR$326k1
BRAVER PLAYERS MUSICAL THEATER FOUNDATIONCosta MesaCA$326k3
CHESTERTOWN ARTS LEAGUE INCChestertownMD$326k0
BURT COUNTY MUSEUM INCTekamahNE$326k0
WILLMAR COMMUNITY THEATRE INCWillmarMN$326k0
EZ KIDS CREATIVITY SHELLKingwoodTX$326k2
Relentless AcademyBrooklyn CenterMN$326k1
The Foundation for the Preservation of the Historic Millet Opera HouseAustinTX$326k0
A Broken Umbrella Theatre IncNew HavenCT$326k0
WILLIAM G ERICSON FOUNDATIONSouth PasadenaCA$326k0
COLONIAL PENNSYLVANIA FARMSTEADGradyvillePA$326k1
CENTRAL VERMONT COMMUNITY TELEVISIOBarreVT$326k0
ANCHORAGE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ENDOWMENT FOUNDATIONAnchorageAK$326k0
Discovery Language Academy IncNew BedfordMA$326k0
CENTENNIAL STATE BALLETLongmontCO$326k0
SCHMAHL SCIENCE WORKSHOPS INCSan JoseCA$326k2
DELLORA A NORRIS CULTURAL ARTS CENTER LTDSt CharlesIL$326k0
TEXAS EDUCATIONAL THEATRE ASSOCIATION INCHoustonTX$326k0
REVIVAL OF CULTURAL ARTSBrownsvilleTX$326k0
Atlanta Master ChoraleAtlantaGA$326k4
NEW CASTLE SENIOR CENTER INCNew CastleDE$326k1