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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 302 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CHAMBER MUSIC PITTSBURGHPittsburghPA$269k0
CENTER FOR VISUAL ARTISTS GREENSBORO INCGreensboroNC$269k1
THE ARTIST BOOK FOUNDATIONNorth AdamsMA$269k1
AURORA MUSIC FOUNDATION INC DBA CANDY JERNIGAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTSNew YorkNY$269k0
Wasatch Sunshine Terrace Support FoundationLoganUT$269k0
OPERA LEAGUE OF LOS ANGELESLos AngelesCA$269k0
MANY FOLD FOUNDATIONPalmettoGA$269k0
NANTUCKET DANCE THEATERNantucketMA$269k0
THE LAKE TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETYUniontownOH$269k0
BIRDS OF VERMONT MUSEUM INCHuntingtonVT$269k1
SUZUKI MUSIC COLUMBUS INCColumbusOH$269k0
OUTCRY THEATRE INCPlanoTX$269k1
OXNARD DOWNTOWNERS FOUNDATION INCOxnardCA$269k1
4 COMMUNITY THEATREMaple PlainMN$269k4
MATH CULTURAL CENTER OF CHICAGOChicagoIL$269k0
NITTANY ANTIQUE MACHINERY ASSOCIATIONCentre HallPA$269k2
CAN FOUNDATIONNewport NewsVA$268k1
FRIENDS OF THE ALBAN ARTS & CONFERENCE CENTERSt AlbansWV$268k0
SUMMERTRIOS INC C/O DENNIS DUNNMoorestownNJ$268k6
PAPER WHALE ARTS SPCBellinghamWA$268k0
THE GERMAN SCHOOL OF ATLANTA INCStockbridgeGA$268k2
UIL REGION 20 MUSICPlanoTX$268k0
ACTORS INCAmesIA$268k0
Berkeley City BalletBerkeleyCA$268k0
MENTONE ARTS AND CULTURE CENTER INMentoneAL$268k0
LOVE BLDG INCORPORATEDDetroitMI$268k8
CHICAGO MAHOGANY FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$268k0
COLISEUM MUSEUM OF ART ANTIQUES AND AMERICANA FOUNDATIONOregonIL$268k1
USA ZEN CULTURAL CENTERRosemeadCA$268k0
Telluride Blues SocietyTellurideCO$268k0
Zionsville Showchoirs IncZionsvilleIN$268k2
BEHIND THE SCENE INTERNATIONALSaint LouisMO$268k0
OPERA CAROLINA ENDOWMENTCharlotteNC$268k0
Okemo Valley TV CorpLudlowVT$268k1
STAGE LEFT PRODUCTIONS INCGlendaleAZ$268k0
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SANTA BARBARASanta BarbaraCA$268k1
DEBES CREER EN TIIrvingTX$268k0
New Hampshire Telephone MuseumWarnerNH$268k2
EnvelopOaklandCA$268k2
UNIFICATION OF KOREA ACADEMIC RESEALos AngelesCA$268k0
SHENANDOAH VALLEY ART CENTER INCWaynesboroVA$268k0
SANTA CLARITA BALLET COMPANY INCSanta ClaritaCA$268k1
EVERGREEN MEMORIAL HISTORIC CEMETERRiversideCA$268k0
One Symphony Circle IncBuffaloNY$268k0
KINGS COUNTY ART CENTER FOUNDATION INCHanfordCA$268k0
HOLLY PRIDE COMMITTEEHollyCO$268k0
Split This Rock IncWashingtonDC$268k2
SECOND STREET GALLERY INCCharlottesvilleVA$268k0
Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center IncEnidOK$268k0
COLUMBIA FOUNDATION FOR VISUAL ARTS CHARITABLE TRUSTSt LouisMO$268k0