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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 30 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FREE PRESSWashingtonDC$5.8M8
HAWAII THEATRE CENTERHonoluluHI$5.8M1
TRUSTEES OF THE BERKSHIRE MUSEUMPittsfieldMA$5.8M1
Maritime Museum Association of San DiegoSan DiegoCA$5.8M3
FLORIDA HOLOCAUST MUSEUM INCSt PetersburgFL$5.8M3
Camp Kinder RingHopewell JunctionNY$5.8M1
FRENCH QUARTER FESTIVALS INCNew OrleansLA$5.8M2
SOUTH FLORIDA ART CENTER INCMiami BeachFL$5.8M3
THE DAYTON ART INSTITUTEDaytonOH$5.8M5
FM KIRBY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSWilkesbarrePA$5.8M1
Partners AsiaOaklandCA$5.8M4
EDUCATION LEADERS OF COLOR INCLos AngelesCA$5.8M7
EPOCHTIMES PUBLIC MEDIA INCHoustonTX$5.8M0
BERKELEY MUSIC GROUPBerkeleyCA$5.8M1
Currier Gallery of ArtManchesterNH$5.8M5
THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE INCNew YorkNY$5.7M11
WHYHUNGER INCNew YorkNY$5.7M6
NEIGHBORHOOD MUSIC SCHOOL INCNew HavenCT$5.7M1
LIFE CHRISTIAN OUTREACH INCColumbiaMO$5.7M2
WESTCOAST BLACK THEATRE TROUPE OF FLORIDA INCSarasotaFL$5.7M0
JEFFERSON NATIONAL PARKS ASSOCIATIONSt LouisMO$5.7M4
HOWARD COUNTY CHILDREN'S CENTER INCNashvilleAR$5.7M1
THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION INCBethanyCT$5.7M1
THE FUTURO MEDIA GROUPNew YorkNY$5.7M3
THE HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDAION INCWashingtonDC$5.7M7
National Art Education AssociationAlexandriaVA$5.7M4
CENTER FOR CURATORIAL LEADERSHIP INCNew YorkNY$5.7M2
WORCESTER REGIONAL STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES FOUNDATIONWorcesterMA$5.7M3
WINNETKA COMMUNITY HOUSE INCWinnetkaIL$5.7M2
THE DUSABLE BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTERChicagoIL$5.7M4
BELLINGRATH-MORSE FOUNDATIONTheodoreAL$5.7M7
MEMPHIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCMemphisTN$5.7M3
NEWARK PERFORMING ARTS CORPORATIONNewarkNJ$5.7M0
MINORITY TELEVISION PROJECT INCSan MateoCA$5.7M4
MPT FOUNDATION INC C/O P FITZHUGHOwings MillsMD$5.7M0
ATCHISON AMELIA EARHART FOUNDATIONAtchisonKS$5.7M1
VANCOUVER NATIONAL HISTORIC RESERVE TRUSTVancouverWA$5.7M1
GREATER NEW ORLEANS EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION FOUNDATIONNew OrleansLA$5.7M3
DUPAGE CHILDREN'S MUSEUMNapervilleIL$5.7M4
NEW BRITAIN MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART INCNew BritainCT$5.7M1
TREMONT THEATRE INCBostonMA$5.7M10
Albertine FoundationNew YorkNY$5.6M1
BERKSHIRE THEATRE GROUP INCPittsfieldMA$5.6M3
HARTFORD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCHartfordCT$5.6M2
HUMANITY FIRST USASilver SpringMD$5.6M4
ART OPPORTUNITIES INCCincinnatiOH$5.6M1
ILLINOIS HUMANITIES COUNCIL INCChicagoIL$5.6M3
COLORADO PUBLIC TELEVISIONDenverCO$5.6M4
LITTLE MANILA RISINGStocktonCA$5.6M1
IOWA 80 TRUCKING MUSEUMWalcottIA$5.6M0