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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 298 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
DETROIT THEATER ORGAN SOCIETYDetroitMI$275k0
HAMILTON GIBSON PRODUCTIONS INCWellsboroPA$275k0
WI FAIRS INCMerrillWI$275k1
CORNING PAINTED POST HISTORICAL SOCIETYCorningNY$275k1
WADSWORTH-SULGRAVE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$275k0
ELMWOOD COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE INCNyackNY$275k0
SAINT CHARLES COUNTY VETERANS MUSEUMO FallonMO$275k1
BAY STREET PLAYERS INCEustisFL$275k0
ANNIES ART ATTIC INCKingmanAZ$275k3
Nichole Canuso Dance CompanyPhiladelphiaPA$275k1
AGUA SOL Y SERENO INCSan JuanPR$275k0
FOLSOM HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOLSOM HISTORYFolsomCA$275k1
MEYER THEATRE CORPORATIONGreen BayWI$275k0
KOREAN AMERICAN CULTURE AND ARTS INCNew YorkNY$275k0
ROCK RIVER HERITAGE INCFort AtkinsonWI$275k1
PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTIVE ALLIANCEEriePA$274k0
Saint Cloud Municipal BandPrincetonMN$274k0
GODFREY DANIELSBethlehemPA$274k1
AUGUSTA JEWISH MUSEUM INCAugustaGA$274k0
40 NORTH88 WEST INCChampaignIL$274k0
POLARIS DANCE THEATREPortlandOR$274k0
Society for Contemporary Art C-O The Art Institute of ChicagoChicagoIL$274k0
HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETYHoustonTX$274k1
CONTINUING THE LEGACY DANCE FOUNDATIONLas VegasNV$274k3
THE MOVEMENT THEATRE COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$274k2
JRO COMMUNITY OUTREACH INCSaint CharlesMO$274k0
ELIZABETH YOUTH THEATER ENSEMBLEElizabethNJ$274k1
THE BRICK STUDIO RP INCSaint JamesNY$274k1
FRIENDS OF NOBSKA LIGHT INCFalmouthMA$274k0
GARLAND SUMMER MUSICALSDallasTX$274k0
Driehaus Design InitiativeChicagoIL$274k0
THE FOOTLIGHT CLUBJamaica PlainMA$274k0
National Queer TheaterBrooklynNY$274k1
Willamette Master ChorusSalemOR$274k0
The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of ILChicagoIL$274k0
Kid Pan AlleyWashingtonVA$274k2
Lee's Summit Symphony OrchestraLees SummitMO$274k0
EVN NEWS FOUNDATIONTarzanaCA$274k0
Southern Forest Hertiage MuseumLongleafLA$274k0
WILL AND DENI MCINTYRE FOUNDATIONHendersonvilleNC$274k0
Commissioner Miami CorpMiami BeachFL$274k0
RIVER WEST THEATRE INCIndianapolisIN$274k1
NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUMFort WorthTX$274k0
THE GRACE FOUNDATIONRochesterMN$273k0
KERALA ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEYPlainsboroNJ$273k0
Project Sycamore A Nfp CorporationAustinTX$273k1
BERWICK HISTORICAL SOCIETYBerwickPA$273k2
JOHN CICCONE PLAYHOUSE CHARITIES INSwedesboroNJ$273k0
CABARET 313 INCSouthfieldMI$273k0
Maine Irish Heritage CenterPortlandME$273k1