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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 29 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR YAD VASHEM INCNew YorkNY$6M7
MANHATTAN COMMUNITY ACCESS CORPORATIONNew YorkNY$6M4
SHOMOF COLLECTION MUSEUMLos AngelesCA$6M0
BALLET OKLAHOMA INCOklahoma CityOK$6M2
THE PLAYWRIGHTS' CENTER INCMinneapolisMN$6M2
MUHAMMAD ALI MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTERLouisvilleKY$6M2
NAVY MUSEUM DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$6M0
MILLENNIUM WATER ALLIANCEWashingtonDC$6M3
CENTER FOR JEWISH CULTURE & CREATIVITYLos AngelesCA$6M1
FRIENDS OF THE BASS MUSEUM INCMiami BeachFL$6M4
THE DURHAM MUSEUMOmahaNE$6M4
TAFT MUSEUM OF ARTCincinnatiOH$6M3
THEATRE SQUARED INCFayettevilleAR$6M3
Music Performance Trust FundNew YorkNY$6M4
CONTEMPORARY ARTS FOUNDATION INCMiamiFL$6M1
LEAHY CENTER FOR LAKE CHAMPLAIN INCBurlingtonVT$6M2
ALABAMA SYMPHONIC ASSOCIATION INCBirminghamAL$6M8
IDAHO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL INCBoiseID$6M3
COOK MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCEDecaturAL$6M0
KHAKI FOUNDATIONKirklandWA$6M0
OPERA COLORADOEnglewoodCO$6M5
MISSOURI HUMANITIES COUNCILKansas CityMO$5.9M1
GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSEINCNew BrunswickNJ$5.9M2
IMPROVE THE NEWS FOUNDATIONNew CastleDE$5.9M0
NORTH ATLANTIC BOOKSBerkeleyCA$5.9M7
The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum IncBoca RatonFL$5.9M3
The Roxie TheaterSan FranciscoCA$5.9M1
THE NEW CHILDRENS MUSEUMSan DiegoCA$5.9M3
DALLAS EXPRESS MEDIAAddisonTX$5.9M1
Texas Advocacy ProjectAustinTX$5.9M6
MUSIC CONCOURSE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPLafayetteCA$5.9M1
LITHUANIAN FOUNDATION INCLemontIL$5.9M1
TOLEDO SCIENCE CENTERToledoOH$5.9M1
CAPITOL CENTER FOR THE ARTSConcordNH$5.9M1
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTSCollege ParkMD$5.9M0
PALM SPRINGS AIR MUSEUM INCPalm SpringsCA$5.9M1
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY INCTampaFL$5.9M1
OHIO LOCAL NEWS INITIATIVE INCColumbusOH$5.9M4
ATLANTA MUSIC PROJECT INCAtlantaGA$5.9M2
NATIONAL HUMANITIES CENTERResearch Triangle ParkNC$5.9M6
THE KENTUCKY SCIENCE CENTER INCLouisvilleKY$5.9M5
PAST FOUNDATIONColumbusOH$5.9M0
Walk Family Jackson Hole Housing FundMinnetonkaMN$5.9M2
ORLANDO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA INCOrlandoFL$5.9M11
National Nordic MuseumSeattleWA$5.9M6
Society for Neuro-OncologyHoustonTX$5.9M1
CAPITAL B NEWS INCNew YorkNY$5.9M8
OPERA SAN JOSE INCORPORATEDSan JoseCA$5.8M4
THE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST LOUISSaint LouisMO$5.8M2
PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS GLOBAL EMISSIONS INCGreenwichCT$5.8M1