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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 283 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ST LAWRENCE POWER & EQUIPMENT MUSEUMMadridNY$299k0
ARTS & CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF ST LUCIE INCFort PierceFL$299k0
RISING STAR WORLD FOUNDATION CORPCoral GablesFL$299k0
Charlotte Master ChoraleMatthewsNC$299k1
THE BRIDGE PAICharlottesvilleVA$299k1
LEWIS & CLARK TRAIL HERITAGE FOUNDATION INCGreat FallsMT$299k1
SILVER EYE CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHYPittsburghPA$299k1
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF ATLAS KINDER FOUNDATIONHobokenNJ$299k0
REDLANDS ART ASSOCIATIONRedlandsCA$299k0
LAKE GEORGE ARTS PROJECT INCLake GeorgeNY$299k0
JAMES MERRILL HOUSE FOUNDATIONStoningtonCT$299k0
The Record Community News GroupLombardIL$299k1
LA STATE PENITENTIARY MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCAngolaLA$299k0
ETC FOUNDATIONSanta BarbaraCA$299k0
KENNETT SYMPHONY OF CHESTER COUNTYKennett SquarePA$299k1
THE FRIENDS OF THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION INCNantucketMA$299k0
KATHMANDU VALLEY PRESERVATION TRUST INCNew YorkNY$299k2
SUMMIT PUBLIC RADIO AND TV INCDillonCO$299k1
CENTRAL DAKOTA CHILDREN'S CHOIRBismarckND$299k2
MEDIA ARTS COUNCILMediaPA$299k0
GUTIERREZ WILDLIFE CENTERBitelyMI$299k0
CULTUREWORKSHollandMI$298k1
SILETZ TRIBAL ARTS AND HERITAGE SOCIETYSiletzOR$298k0
Salisbury Community TV & Media Center IncSalisburyMA$298k1
NORTH HAWAII HERITAGE FOUNDATIONHonokaaHI$298k2
HYDE PARK THEATREAustinTX$298k0
THE PHELPS MANSION MUSEUMBinghamtonNY$298k1
OLDE CAPITOL HILL COUNCIL INCOklahoma CityOK$298k0
SHARPSTEEN MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONCalistogaCA$298k0
VIRGINIA'S HERITAGE MUSIC TRAIL THE CROOKED ROADAbingdonVA$298k0
T LEAGUE RGTFremontCA$298k0
JACKSONVILLE AREA MUSEUM FOUNDATIONJacksonvilleIL$298k0
Philippine Cultural Foundation IncTampaFL$298k1
LUMINA STUDIO THEATRE INCSilver SpringMD$298k2
SHAKESPERIENCE PRODUCTIONS INCWaterburyCT$298k2
SALINE COUNTY AG SOCIETY INCClatoniaNE$298k12
Clark Youth Theatre IncorporatedTulsaOK$298k4
REDBUD ARTS CENTERHoustonTX$298k0
SPRINGFIELD CONTEMPORARY THEATRE INCSpringfieldMO$298k1
Milwaukee Arts Partners CorporationMilwaukeeWI$298k0
NORTHERN WV DANCE COUNCILMorgantownWV$298k0
NJ PERUVIANS INCPatersonNJ$298k0
Asante Art Institute of Indianapolis IncIndianapolisIN$298k1
LANDER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYBattle MountainNV$298k0
SPIRIT OF GREAT OAK BOOSTERSTemeculaCA$298k0
MEDFIELD YOUTH HOCKEY ASSOCIATIONINCMedfieldMA$298k0
BOMAZEEN LAND TRUSTPortlandME$298k2
SEVILLE VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION INCSevilleFL$298k0
Dubois County Museum IncJasperIN$297k0
ROYAL EXPRESSIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLETGreensboroNC$297k1