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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 284 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
TIEL SANFORD MEMORIAL FUNDCherokeeIA$297k0
Dennison Railroad Depot Museum IncDennisonOH$297k1
CUE ART FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$297k2
LALAKEA FOUNDATIONHiloHI$297k0
SAN ANTONIO CONSERVATION SOCIETY FOUNDATIONSan AntonioTX$297k1
GALVESTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCGalvestonTX$297k0
NASSAU COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTERGarden CityNY$297k1
GUSTAVO DUDAMEL FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$297k1
STEINOUR FAMILY FOUNDATIONGettysburgPA$297k0
Queen Anne's County Arts CouncilCentrevilleMD$297k1
LRAFB HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INCJacksonvilleAR$297k0
IMPERIAL COMMUNITY THEATRE INCAugustaGA$297k1
Central District Forum for Arts & IdeasSeattleWA$297k1
THE AMERICAN BOOKBINDERS MUSEUMSan FranciscoCA$297k1
ST JOHNS FESTA INCSnellingCA$297k0
Alabama Holocaust FoundationBirminghamAL$297k0
ARTHUR ROY MITCHELL MUSEUM INCTrinidadCO$297k0
GREATER MEMPHIS UNITED CHINESE ASSOCIATIONGermantownTN$297k0
ART POSSIBLE OHIOColumbusOH$297k0
EAGLE THEATRE INCHammontonNJ$297k0
Colonial Players IncAnnapolisMD$297k0
FRIENDS OF THE TURKS & CAICOS NATIONAL MUSEUM INCSanta FeNM$297k0
HIGH MOUNTAIN HAY FEVER FESTIVALWestcliffeCO$297k0
KITSAP CHILDRENS MUSICAL THEATREPoulsboWA$297k0
NEW YORK CITY PLAYERS INCNew YorkNY$297k2
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF RHODE ISLAND INCProvidenceRI$297k2
WASHINGTON HALL QALICBSeattleWA$297k0
BRAVO WAUKEGANLake ForestIL$296k2
COMFORT & JOYSan FranciscoCA$296k0
JAPANESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL OF RALEIGH INCRaleighNC$296k0
CAMELOT DAYS INCMiamiFL$296k4
VENTURE LITITZ INCLititzPA$296k1
MESA VERDE FOUNDATIONArvadaCO$296k1
RAWDANCESan FranciscoCA$296k1
WRITERS GARRETDallasTX$296k0
Friends of McGroarty Cultural Arts Cntr AKA McGroarty Arts CenterTujungaCA$296k2
KALEIDOSCOPE FOUNDATION INCLittle RockAR$296k0
BURNAWAY INCAtlantaGA$296k0
North Texas Colorguard AssociationArlingtonTX$296k1
ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE ITALIANA DI NEW YORK INCRidgewoodNY$296k0
THE IO FOUNDATIONMadisonWI$296k6
VIBE OF KENNEWICKKennewickWA$296k14
VIRGINIA NATIONAL BALLETManassasVA$296k0
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE CENTERExeterNH$296k0
WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA EAST FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$296k3
Fullerton Museum Center AssociationFullertonCA$296k0
SPECTATOR PUBLISHING COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$296k2
Harbor TheaterBoothbayME$296k0
Culture Shock Las Vegas IncLas VegasNV$296k1
Rockit Live Foundation IncMiddletownNJ$296k0