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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 27 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
BROWN COUNTY MAPLE LEAF MANAGEMENT GROUPNashvilleIN$6.5M1
DAYTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORYDaytonOH$6.5M2
FUND FOR THE ARTS INCLouisvilleKY$6.5M2
PONSOLD MOTHERWELL CHARITABLE TRUSTStanfordvilleNY$6.5M3
Historical Society of Seattle & King County dba Museum of History & IndustrySeattleWA$6.5M6
SITE SANTA FESanta FeNM$6.5M2
HOYT SHERMAN PLACE FOUNDATIONDes MoinesIA$6.5M1
JAPANESE CHILDREN'S SOCIETY INCEnglewood CliffsNJ$6.5M3
ST GEORGE THEATRE RESTORATION INCStaten IslandNY$6.5M2
LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIESNew OrleansLA$6.5M4
THE PHILOS PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$6.5M4
CHANNEL 5 PUBLIC BROADCASTING INCRenoNV$6.5M1
US NAVY MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$6.5M8
East Bay Center for the Performing ArtsRichmondCA$6.5M5
ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION TRUST FOR MASSACHUSETTS INCPlymouthMA$6.5M0
THE O'KEEFFE MUSEUM FOUNDATIONSanta FeNM$6.5M0
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICAAuburndaleMA$6.5M6
CAPE FEAR REGIONAL THEATRE AT FAYETTEVILLE INCFayettevilleNC$6.5M0
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY FOUNDATIONSan DiegoCA$6.4M1
DES MOINES METRO OPERA INCIndianolaIA$6.4M1
THE LOUISIANA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRANew OrleansLA$6.4M13
CURIODYSSEYSan MateoCA$6.4M6
QUEENS MUSEUM OF ARTQueensNY$6.4M6
GROW NEBRASKAKearneyNE$6.4M1
VIRGINIA LIVING MUSEUM INCNewport NewsVA$6.4M2
Houston Local Information Initiative IncHoustonTX$6.4M7
COMMUNITY WORKS WEST INCOaklandCA$6.4M2
Tucson Symphony SocietyTucsonAZ$6.4M7
MUSCARELLE MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATIONWilliamsburgVA$6.4M1
CUYAHOGA VALLEY PRESERVATION AND SCENIC RAILWAY ASSOCIATIONPeninsulaOH$6.4M3
United States Olympic and Paralympic MuseumColorado SpringsCO$6.4M4
SOUND OF HOPE RADIO NETWORK INCSan FranciscoCA$6.4M2
NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC BROADCASTINGDurhamNH$6.4M1
ARTS & BUSINESS COUNCIL OF GREATER BOSTON INCBostonMA$6.4M2
THE CHINATI FOUNDATIONMarfaTX$6.4M2
CULTURAL AND HERITAGE COMMISSIONRock HillSC$6.4M1
BUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCESBuffaloNY$6.4M5
CLYFFORD STILL MUSEUMDenverCO$6.4M5
PERFORMING ARTS HOUSTONHoustonTX$6.4M5
ORPHEUM PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE LTDWichitaKS$6.3M2
MOCO KIDSCO INCBethesdaMD$6.3M6
LV PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP WLVT-TV CHANNEL 39BethlehemPA$6.3M4
ACTORS THEATRE OF LOUISVILLE INCLouisvilleKY$6.3M2
ALAMO PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL DOING BUSINESS AS KLRNSan AntonioTX$6.3M6
DELAWARE ART MUSEUM INCWilmingtonDE$6.3M2
LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETYLa JollaCA$6.3M6
DISCOVERY SCIENCE CENTER OF LOS ANGELESSylmarCA$6.3M8
TRACE MEDIA INCBrooklynNY$6.3M6
From The Heart ProductionsOxnardCA$6.3M1
Pasadena Conservatory of MusicPasadenaCA$6.3M1