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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 28 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CULTURETRUST GREATER PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$6.3M2
CAPE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT INCWest BarnstableMA$6.3M3
NASHVILLE BALLETNashvilleTN$6.3M2
WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETYClevelandOH$6.3M4
StagesHoustonTX$6.3M2
CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF ROCK COUNTY INCJanesvilleWI$6.3M0
MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART INCJacksonMS$6.3M1
STAN HYWET HALL & GARDENS INCAkronOH$6.3M4
THE KRANZBERG ARTS FOUNDATIONSt LouisMO$6.3M1
VIRGINIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRANorfolkVA$6.3M3
Bexar Bulverde Volunteer Fire DepartmentSan AntonioTX$6.3M1
THE MUSEUM OF LANGUAGE ARTS INCWashingtonDC$6.2M4
ARTSWESTCHESTER INCWhite PlainsNY$6.2M2
CALIFORNIA FILM INSTITUTESan RafaelCA$6.2M5
STAMFORD CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCStamfordCT$6.2M3
AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LEAGUE D/B/A LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRASNew YorkNY$6.2M10
Tacoma Arts LiveTacomaWA$6.2M6
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER OF SUFFOLK COUNTY INCBellportNY$6.2M2
Ellen Noel Art Museum of the Permian BasinOdessaTX$6.2M1
BRYAN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTEGalvestonTX$6.2M2
OBJECTIVE STANDARD INSTITUTEGlen AllenVA$6.2M2
NTC FOUNDATIONSan DiegoCA$6.2M4
Young Audiences of Louisiana IncNew OrleansLA$6.2M4
WIDE ANGLE YOUTH MEDIA INCBaltimoreMD$6.2M1
PITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER CORPORATIONPittsburghPA$6.2M4
SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTSSaint PaulMN$6.2M4
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TRUSTChicagoIL$6.2M3
UNITING VOICESChicagoIL$6.2M6
CONNECTICUT TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION INCHamdenCT$6.2M1
CHICAGO POLICE MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$6.2M2
BALLET TECH FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$6.1M6
DE PERE CULTURAL FOUNDATION INCDe PereWI$6.1M2
WASHINGTON PUBLIC AFFAIRS NETWORKOlympiaWA$6.1M5
Contemporary Arts Museum HoustonHoustonTX$6.1M3
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES AND ALUMNIWashingtonDC$6.1M8
HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS INCAnnapolisMD$6.1M2
DEEP SOUTH TODAYRidgelandMS$6.1M7
SPRINGER OPERA HOUSE ARTS ASSOCIATIONINCColumbusGA$6.1M2
ADIRONDACK HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONBlue Mountain LakeNY$6.1M1
Price Automobile FoundationLarkspurCA$6.1M0
LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE COMPANYChicagoIL$6.1M1
LOWER MANHATTAN CULTURAL COUNCIL INCNew YorkNY$6.1M2
THE LITERARY CLASSICS OF THE US INC D/B/A LIBRARY OF AMERICANew YorkNY$6.1M7
HC OPERATOR INCNew YorkNY$6.1M0
NATIONAL WESTERN ART FOUNDATION BRISCOE WESTERN ART MUSEUMSan AntonioTX$6.1M2
CLEVELAND CENTER FOR ARTS AND TECHNOLOGYClevelandOH$6.1M2
FRIENDS OF MONTANAPBS INCBozemanMT$6.1M0
WISCONSIN YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCMadisonWI$6.1M1
NORTHERN STAGE COMPANYWhite River JunctionVT$6M2
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCMadisonWI$6M4