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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 268 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MARYLAND MEDIA INCCollege ParkMD$326k0
MOROCCAN JEWISH HERITAGE FEDERATION INCBrooklynNY$325k0
HISTORIC BOULDER INCBoulderCO$325k2
FRIENDS OF ROGERS ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTERSherburneNY$325k1
OVERTURE BAND PROGRAMS INCStoughtonWI$325k3
OUTERARTS MARYLAND INCChestertownMD$325k2
ARTCROFT INCParisKY$325k2
Friends of Hauberg Civic Center FoundationRock IslandIL$325k1
The Howard Family FoundationAlexandriaVA$325k0
Matheson History MuseumGainesvilleFL$325k2
Katy FFA Livestock Show & Rodeo Association IncKatyTX$325k0
ARMENIAN YOUTH ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIAGlendaleCA$325k0
THE WESTERVELT FOUNDATIONTuscaloosaAL$325k0
OASIS ARTS INCSan FranciscoCA$325k0
CRAVEN ARTS COUNCIL AND GALLERYINCNew BernNC$325k0
LIBERIANS IN COLUMBUS INCColumbusOH$325k0
CYPRUS AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTEAlexandriaVA$325k1
ART GUILD OF BURLINGTONBurlingtonIA$325k0
ARTS SOUTHEAST INCSavannahGA$325k1
AFRO BRAZIL ARTS INCNew YorkNY$325k1
THE SUTTER CLUB FOUNDATIONSacramentoCA$325k0
HOUSTON AERONAUTICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY INCHoustonTX$325k1
SLEEPY HOLLOW THEATRE & ARTS PARKBismarckND$325k1
ANKENY FRIENDS OF THE ARTSAnkenyIA$325k1
Young Texas Artists IncConroeTX$325k1
ONE YEAR LEASEBrooklynNY$325k0
SPIN FILM IMPACTPortlandOR$325k0
Turner Hall of Monroe IncMonroeWI$325k0
La Compagnia de' Colombari IncNew YorkNY$325k0
The Video Game History Foundation IncEmeryvilleCA$324k1
River Tree Center for the ArtsKennebunkME$324k0
FRIENDS OF OLYMPIA STATION INC DBA TANDY BEAL & COMPANYSanta CruzCA$324k2
ROCKY MOUNTAIN BALLET THEATREMissoulaMT$324k1
SOUTHERN MINNESOTA SCHOOL OF MUSIC THE MANKATO SCHOOL OF MUSICMankatoMN$324k0
THE NVLD PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$324k1
WASHINGTON ARCHITECTURAL FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$324k1
HAWAII ISLAND PORTUGUESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CULTURAL & EDUCATIONAL CTRHiloHI$324k0
INTERNATIONAL DOUBLE REED SOCIETYPolk CityIA$324k0
SPARK CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF MONTANA INCGreat FallsMT$324k2
IRVING COMMUNITY THEATERIrvingTX$324k0
PRICKETT'S FORT MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCFairmontWV$324k1
IIBADA DANCERS INCIndianapolisIN$324k0
PARKE PLAYERS INCORPORATEDRockvilleIN$324k0
THE JAMES J FIORENTINO FOUNDATIONMinneapolisMN$324k2
AFRIKIN FOUNDATION INCWest Palm BchFL$324k0
Amador Livermore Valley Historical SocietyPleasantonCA$324k1
MARS HILL AUDIO INCCharlottesvilleVA$324k1
CHUMASH MUSEUM AND CULTURAL EDUCATION FOUNDATIONSanta YnezCA$324k0
MUSIC BEFORE 1800 INCNew YorkNY$324k0
DELMARVA DISCOVERY CENTER & MUSEUM INCPocomoke CityMD$323k1