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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 279 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
COLLABORATIVE THEATRE PROJECT INCMedfordOR$306k1
GHOSTLIGHT PRODUCTIONS INCBenton HarborMI$306k1
RED RIVER EVENTS INCRed RiverNM$306k0
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGYChantillyVA$306k0
FEDERATION OF TURKISH AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS INCBronxNY$306k0
ENTREAMIGOSTruckeeCA$306k0
DINSMORE HOMESTEAD FOUNDATION INCBurlingtonKY$306k0
Artists CouncilPalm DesertCA$306k1
THE DIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART AND CULTUREPittsburghPA$306k0
Indian Hill Historical Museum AssociatioCincinnatiOH$306k0
VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMSRichmondVA$306k0
SOUTHWOOD BAND BOOSTER CLUBShreveportLA$306k1
KOREAN-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEYPalisades ParkNJ$306k0
GILBERT & SULLIVAN SOCIETY OF HOUSTONHoustonTX$306k0
Bocon IncSan DiegoCA$306k1
Christian Womens Job Corps of Tyler IncTylerTX$306k1
BECK CULTURAL EXCHANGE CENTER INCKnoxvilleTN$306k1
FRIENDS OF TOBACCO FARM LIFE MUSEUMKenlyNC$306k0
CATTLE TRACK ARTS AND PRESERVATIONScottsdaleAZ$306k0
CASA DOS ACORESHilmarCA$306k0
Ross County Historical Society IncChillicotheOH$306k2
MARYFEST INCMarysvilleWA$306k0
SARASOTA MUSIC CONSERVATORY INCSarasotaFL$306k4
THE LIBERTY THEATRE COMPANYHaileyID$306k1
ENGAGE NORTHWESTPortlandOR$306k0
Art Explorers IncFort BraggCA$306k3
GIG HARBOR FILM FESTIVALGig HarborWA$306k0
POSTON COMMUNITY ALLIANCE INCPleasant HillCA$306k0
SUZUKI MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIALaguna BeachCA$306k0
FURRY UNIVERSAL REPRESENTATION FOR EDUCATION ARTS AND LITERATUREEastvaleCA$305k0
Brooks Preservation SocietyUnityME$305k0
PLYMOUTH COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUMLe MarsIA$305k0
Lillith Lidseen Performing Arts Assocation IncHayesvilleNC$305k0
Black Liberated Arts Center IncOklahoma CityOK$305k0
COACHELLA VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETYINCIndioCA$305k0
ARCATA PRESSSt PaulMN$305k1
FRANKLIN VILLAGERS BARN THEATRE INCSomersetNJ$305k0
DES MOINES HERITAGE CENTERDes MoinesIA$305k0
ASSYRIAN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SAN JOSSan JoseCA$305k0
CHAPIN GIRLS DANCE BOOSTER CLUBChapinSC$305k0
GREEN LAKE FESTIVAL OF MUSIC INCGreen LakeWI$305k0
Day EightWashingtonDC$305k1
MARINUS ENSEMBLENorth GardenVA$305k0
ETHIOPIAN MUSLIM ASSOC OF SEATTLESeatacWA$305k0
SIGNAL RETURN INCDetroitMI$305k1
Chisholm Trail Museum IncKingfisherOK$305k0
Have A Gay Day IncDaytonOH$305k0
LION SPEAKSPortlandOR$305k1
TUNE INCNorthwoodIA$305k0
ROCKFORD DANCE COMPANYRockfordIL$305k0