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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 287 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
NORTHEAST IOWA SCHOOL OF MUSICDubuqueIA$292k1
UTAH ANIME PROMOTIONSWest JordanUT$292k0
UNION HALLDenverCO$292k2
ALCHEMY ART CENTERFriday HarborWA$292k2
CINCINNATI ART CLUBCincinnatiOH$292k0
Dixieland MontereyMontereyCA$292k0
THE RICHARD SCHMID FINE ART FOUNDATIONWalpoleNH$292k3
FRIENDS OF PALO ALTO CHILDREN'S THEATREPalo AltoCA$292k0
CASEY TIBBS FOUNDATIONFt PierreSD$292k1
DAL NIENTE NEW MUSIC NFPChicagoIL$292k7
CHRISTIAN PERFORMANCE THEATRE INCWichitaKS$292k1
CONTEMPORARY YOUTH ORCHESTRAClevelandOH$292k1
ARISTIDES DE SOUSA MENDES FOUNDATION-US DBA SOUSA MENDES FOUNDATIONGreenlawnNY$292k1
DAKOTA STAGE LIMITEDBismarckND$292k1
PHILADELPHIA MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL LLCPhiladelphiaPA$292k0
GOLDEN CROWN LITERARY SOCIETY INCNorthfieldMN$292k0
Yevmenkin Family FoundationThousand OaksCA$292k0
KC FRINGE FESTIVAL INCKansas CityMO$292k1
THE ARTS ASYLUMKansas CityMO$292k0
NAPA COUNTY FAIR ASSOCIATIONCalistogaCA$292k0
5 Stone MediaSt PaulMN$292k1
SALISBURY WICOMICO ARTS COUNCIL INCSalisburyMD$292k1
IBLA FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$292k0
OPERA INDEX INCNew YorkNY$292k0
EMERGE CDA INCCoeur D AleneID$292k1
Five Ton CraneRichmondCA$292k0
MILLARD'S CROSSING HISTORIC VILLAGENacogdochesTX$292k0
THE FIREHOUSE COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER LLCBirminghamAL$292k0
SOCIETY OF COLONIAL WARS OF DELAWAREWilmingtonDE$292k0
William Baker Choral Foundation IncRoeland ParkKS$292k3
Broad Street ComedyRichmondVA$291k0
SYRACUSE SYMPHONY FOUNDATION INC C/O LYNN D'ELIA TEMES & STANCZYK LLCSyracuseNY$291k0
Preservation Greensboro IncGreensboroNC$291k1
MIFFLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYLewistownPA$291k1
CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL THEATRE INCSalemOR$291k2
Childrens Museum of Yuma County IncYumaAZ$291k2
BALLET THEATRE OF CARMEL ACADEMY LTDIndianapolisIN$291k2
PEARLS OF INDIA FOUNDATIONBurr RidgeIL$291k0
CAMDEN FIREWORKS INCORPORATEDCamdenNJ$291k1
ORANGE COUNTY CHILDRENS THEATRECosta MesaCA$291k0
Ensemble Ballet TheatreRavensdaleWA$291k0
Sandcastles A Lake Michigan Childrens MuseumLudingtonMI$291k1
ACTS CAREER CENTER INCSouthavenMS$291k1
ROGUE THEATREGrants PassOR$291k0
Girls Rock Charlotte DBA We Rock CharlotteCharlotteNC$291k1
American Harp Society IncGranbyMA$291k1
HISPANIC CONNECTION OF SOUTHERN INDIANA INCJeffersonvilleIN$291k6
PieterLos AngelesCA$291k0
WICHITA FALLS BACKDOOR PLAYERS INCWichita FallsTX$291k1
NATIONAL WOMEN'S FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$291k0