Skip to main content
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 289 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MARBLEHEAD LITTLE THEATRE INCMarbleheadMA$289k2
Contemporary Art Review Los AngelesCulver CityCA$289k0
LOCAL OKLAHOMA MUSIC ASSOCIATIONEdmondOK$289k0
LEU CIVIC CENTER INCMascoutahIL$289k1
REHOBOTH BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETYRehoboth BeachDE$289k1
KALA FOUNDATIONEwa BeachHI$289k0
CITYSPACE INCEasthamptonMA$289k0
BLUEWATER CHAMBER ORCHESTRAClevelandOH$289k2
MILWAUKEE JAZZ INSTITUTE INCMilwaukeeWI$289k1
BERWIN ART EDUCATION CENTERPlainsboroNJ$288k1
CHILDREN'S REPERTORY OF OR WORKSHOPS INC (CROW)FlorenceOR$288k0
Brazilian Cultural Arts Center of Santa BarbaraGoletaCA$288k2
MINNESOTA AVIATION HALL OF FAMEBurnsvilleMN$288k0
KENTUCKY SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONLouisvilleKY$288k0
MONDAY EVENING CONCERTSLos AngelesCA$288k0
PRIME STAGEHarmonyPA$288k1
Bellevue Youth ChoirsBellevueWA$288k0
NO 1 BRITISH FLYING TRAINING SCHOOL MUSEUM INCTerrellTX$288k0
Museum of the San Ramon ValleyDanvilleCA$288k1
LEXINGTON ARTS COUNCIL INCLexingtonMI$288k0
Ballet Repertory Theatre of New MexicoAlbuquerqueNM$288k1
Hawaii Science and Technology MuseumHiloHI$288k1
DIGNITY USA INCMaldenMA$288k1
DONA ANA ARTS COUNCIL INCLas CrucesNM$288k2
Ybor City Museum Society IncTampaFL$288k0
HURST RANCH FOUNDATIONWest CovinaCA$288k0
MOUNT HOLLY CEMETERYLittle RockAR$288k1
MARIEMONT PLAYERS INCCincinnatiOH$288k0
ATLANTA WRITERS CLUBAtlantaGA$288k1
OSFNA 1Brooklyn ParkMN$288k0
DANCING CRANE INCBrooklynNY$288k0
LIVE THE SPIRIT RESIDENCYChicagoIL$288k0
SAN DIEGO SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMESSanteeCA$288k0
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTYNorristownPA$288k1
FRIENDS OF MOVIELAND INCLamesaTX$288k0
Inside Out Theatre Company IncFort LauderdaleFL$288k1
THE SOCIETY OF BLUFFTON ARTISTSBlufftonSC$288k0
THE PAT CONROY LITERARY CENTER INCBeaufortSC$288k0
South Carolina Pride Movement IncColumbiaSC$288k0
MCPHERSON MUSEUM & ARTS FOUNDATIONMcPhersonKS$287k1
ETHAN ALLEN INSTITUTESouth BurlingtonVT$287k0
NORTHVILLE ART HOUSE INCNorthvilleMI$287k1
DANCE MOVES STLSt LouisMO$287k1
IOWA CHORAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION INCWashingtonIA$287k0
THE CASINO STAR THEATER FOUNDATIONGunnisonUT$287k1
NIGHT MOVESPensacolaFL$287k2
SAVE THE HAMPTON HOUSE INCORPORATEDMaywoodIL$287k1
MIRAGE PERFORMANCE ENSEMBLEIrvingTX$287k0
GRAND RAPIDS CIVIC THEATRE ENDOWMENTGrand RapidsMI$287k0
GUJARATI SAMAJ OF ST LOUIS INCHazelwoodMO$287k0