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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 281 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Christ in the Arts of West Texas IncLubbockTX$303k2
The High Steppers Drill Team IncSan DiegoCA$303k1
HOUMAS HOUSE FOUNDATIONDarrowLA$303k0
Helping LinkRentonWA$303k1
Refua Vesimcha IncBrooklynNY$303k0
ONEIDA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCUticaNY$303k1
RAINBOW PRODUCTIONSHamptonVA$303k1
KATHARSIS MEDIAAlbuquerqueNM$303k2
Nepal Education and Cultural CenterGermantownMD$303k0
FIREBIRD CHILDRENS THEATRECollegevillePA$303k1
GRANITE STATE NEWS COLLABORATIVEKeeneNH$303k1
FOUR COUNTY PLAYERSBarboursvilleVA$303k0
UMANOORGTorranceCA$302k0
STARS OF TOMORROW DANCE INCSaint LouisMO$302k0
MAIN STREET PLAYERS INCGriffinGA$302k3
BROWNBODYVadnais HeightsMN$302k1
ROSENDALE THEATRE COLLECTIVE INCRosendaleNY$302k1
Chopsticks Alley ArtSan JoseCA$302k2
LEMON BAY PLAYHOUSE INCEnglewoodFL$302k0
Smithfield Preston FoundationBlacksburgVA$302k1
Mooresville Artist GuildMooresvilleNC$302k1
ASCENT MUSICCincinnatiOH$302k0
KENKELEBA HOUSE INCNew YorkNY$302k0
CONTINUO ARTS FOUNDATION INCSummitNJ$302k1
ROGUE ARTISTS ENSEMBLESun ValleyCA$302k3
JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS INCPhiladelphiaPA$302k0
LIGHT HOUSE GROUP INCCaryNC$302k1
THE GEORGE H BUCK JR JAZZ FOUNDATION INCColumbusGA$302k3
ALISAL CENTER FOR THE FINE ARTSSalinasCA$302k0
JAPANESE AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTERVistaCA$302k0
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF UPPER ST CLAIRUpper St ClairPA$302k0
FRANKLIN OPERA HOUSE INCFranklinNH$302k1
BROADWAY AND VINE INCNapaCA$302k0
BANKERS HOUSE INCShelbyNC$302k0
Watsonville Film FestivalWatsonvilleCA$302k1
DAUER MUSEUM OF CLASSIC CARS INCSunriseFL$302k0
PUTNAM COUNTY MUSEUM INCGreencastleIN$302k0
SALEM COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYSalemNJ$302k0
WALTON ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION INCFayettevilleAR$302k11
FIRST COAST OPERA INCSaint AugustineFL$302k0
NORTH CAROLINA PRESS FOUNDATIONRaleighNC$302k0
OLD MILL FOUNDATIONSan MarinoCA$302k1
CHENANGO COUNTY BLUES ASSOCIATIONNorwichNY$302k0
GRAND MESA ARTS & EVENTS CENTER INCCedaredgeCO$301k0
NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTERAustinTX$301k0
COUNCIL OF UNITED FILIPINO ORGANIZATIONS OF TIDEWATER VIRGINIVirginia BeachVA$301k0
WINDOW ON A WIDER WORLD INCAmarilloTX$301k3
Friends of the Vergennes Opera House IncVergennesVT$301k0
EAST CLEVELAND FARMERS MARKET PRESERVATION SOCIETYClevelandOH$301k0
MISALIGNMENT MUSEUMWestlake VillageCA$301k1