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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 291 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CREATIVE MINDS MT INCBillingsMT$286k0
ALABAMA CONSTITUTION VILLAGE FOUNDATIONHuntsvilleAL$286k0
CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGNSan FranciscoCA$286k1
CHINESE CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF LONG ISLAND INCGreenvaleNY$286k0
DOWNTOWN SAN ANGELO INCSan AngeloTX$286k2
METRO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INCORPORATEDBrooklynNY$286k0
NORTH SHORE MUSIC ALLIANCE INCGlenviewIL$286k1
KAKE TRIBAL HERITAGE FOUNDATIONKakeAK$286k1
CELEBRATE THE BEATDenverCO$286k2
WASCO CO HISTORICAL MUSEUMThe DallesOR$286k0
Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians IncBrooklynNY$286k0
INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF CREATIVESNaplesFL$285k1
SLAVE DWELLING PROJECT INCLadsonSC$285k1
HILLSBOROUGH ARTS COUNCILHillsboroughNC$285k0
WASECA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYWasecaMN$285k1
MARYLAND CHINESE LANGUAGE INSTITUTELanhamMD$285k0
LOCAL CLOTH INCAshevilleNC$285k0
WILD PROJECTSBerkeleyCA$285k0
KING SEJONG INSTITUTE CENTER USALos AngelesCA$285k1
ALMAAlbuquerqueNM$285k3
HORTON RECORDS LTDTulsaOK$285k0
Alaska Native Voices Educational InstituteJuneauAK$285k3
RIDGEWOOD NEPALESE SOCIETY INCRidgewoodNY$285k0
LIFE AND LIGHT FOUNDATIONSanteeCA$285k0
WOMBWORK PRODUCTIONS INCBaltimoreMD$285k1
PARRHASIAN HERITAGE FOUNDATIONTucsonAZ$285k0
BELLEVUE LITERARY REVIEW INCNew YorkNY$285k1
Cactus Pear Music FestivalConverseTX$285k2
THE MIGHTY EIGHTH FOUNDATION INCSavananhGA$285k0
THE ORATORIO SOCIETY OF VIRGINIACharlottesvilleVA$285k2
Kearny Street WorkshopSan FranciscoCA$285k0
LANCASTER CREATIVE FACTORYLancasterPA$285k1
NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WASHINGTON DWashingtonDC$285k0
HEADLONG DANCE THEATER INCPhiladelphiaPA$285k2
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSICSpencertownNY$285k1
THE BIG HOUSE FOUNDATION INCMaconGA$285k1
EAST GRAND FORKS BLUELINE CLUB INCEast Grand ForksMN$285k0
Palouse Discovery Science Center IncPullmanWA$285k1
MEDIA PROJECTS INCDallasTX$285k0
FULCRUM POINT NEW MUSIC PROJECTChicagoIL$284k0
THE DOWNTOWN PITTSFIELD CULTURAL ASSOCIATION INCPittsfieldMA$284k0
Voice For Christ Ministries IncNenanaAK$284k0
LAKELAND FOUNDATIONBellinghamWA$284k1
WEST MICHIGAN COMMUNITY HELP NETWORKMuskegonMI$284k0
MUSEUM VILLAGE OF OLD SMITH'S CLOVE INCMonroeNY$284k1
Columbus Gay Men's ChorusColumbusOH$284k0
KNICKERBOCKER COTILLION INCLivingstonNJ$284k1
Caledonian Society of ArizonaPhoenixAZ$284k0
CHESAPEAKE CHILDRENS MUSEUM INCAnnapolisMD$284k1
Associates of the Restored Temple Theatre LtdViroquaWI$284k1