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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 27 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ASIA SOCIETY TEXAS CENTERHoutonTX$6.2M3
THE NEON MUSEUMLas VegasNV$6.2M2
STAMFORD CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCStamfordCT$6.2M3
AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LEAGUE D/B/A LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRASNew YorkNY$6.2M10
SWISS INSTITUTENew YorkNY$6.2M2
Ellen Noel Art Museum of the Permian BasinOdessaTX$6.2M1
NEW DANCE THEATRE INCDenverCO$6.2M2
Young Audiences of Louisiana IncNew OrleansLA$6.2M4
WIDE ANGLE YOUTH MEDIA INCBaltimoreMD$6.2M1
PITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER CORPORATIONPittsburghPA$6.2M4
QUEENS MUSEUM OF ARTQueensNY$6.2M5
SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTSSaint PaulMN$6.2M4
FOX TUCSON THEATRE FOUNDATIONTucsonAZ$6.2M1
HOME PORT ALLIANCE FOR THE USS NEW JERSEY INCCamdenNJ$6.2M3
Caramoor Center for Music & the Arts IncKatonahNY$6.2M4
MUSIC WILL INCMontclairNJ$6.2M7
CALIFORNIA FILM INSTITUTESan RafaelCA$6.2M5
CULTURAL COUNCIL OF GREATER JACKSONVILLE INCJacksonvilleFL$6.2M1
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TRUSTChicagoIL$6.2M3
TWO EAST SIXTY-SECOND STREET FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$6.2M0
CONNECTICUT TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION INCHamdenCT$6.2M1
BALLET TECH FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$6.1M6
METROPOLITAN REGIONAL ARTS COUNCILSt PaulMN$6.1M1
HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS INCAnnapolisMD$6.1M2
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SEATTLE & KING COUNTYSeattleWA$6.1M5
TWO RIVER THEATRE COMPANY INCRed BankNJ$6.1M2
Dixon Gallery and GardensMemphisTN$6.1M2
DEEP SOUTH TODAYRidgelandMS$6.1M7
MUSIC CONCOURSE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPSan FranciscoCA$6.1M1
SPRINGER OPERA HOUSE ARTS ASSOCIATIONINCColumbusGA$6.1M2
ADIRONDACK HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONBlue Mountain LakeNY$6.1M1
ASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF VA ANTIQUITIESRichmondVA$6.1M3
OKLAHOMA PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY INCOklahoma CityOK$6.1M2
LYRIC OPERA OF KANSAS CITY INCKansas CityMO$6.1M2
CICERO RESEARCHAustinTX$6.1M6
NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION ASSOCIATIONPittstonPA$6.1M5
TRACE MEDIA INCBrooklynNY$6.1M6
SAN JOSE CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY MUSEUMSan JoseCA$6.1M7
LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE COMPANYChicagoIL$6.1M1
NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF HISTORY FOUNDATION INCRaleighNC$6.1M1
HC OPERATOR INCNew YorkNY$6.1M0
NATIONAL WESTERN ART FOUNDATION BRISCOE WESTERN ART MUSEUMSan AntonioTX$6.1M2
JUDD FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$6.1M6
FRIENDS OF MONTANAPBS INCBozemanMT$6.1M0
NORTHERN STAGE COMPANYWhite River JunctionVT$6M2
IRVINE BARCLAY THEATRE OPERATING COIrvineCA$6M3
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCMadisonWI$6M4
MANHATTAN COMMUNITY ACCESS CORPORATIONNew YorkNY$6M4
SHOMOF COLLECTION MUSEUMLos AngelesCA$6M0
BALLET OKLAHOMA INCOklahoma CityOK$6M2