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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 305 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FIO MONDO INCStone MountainGA$265k0
THE HAYWOOD HALL COMMITTEERaleighNC$265k0
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOLSGranada HillsCA$265k0
STAR REPERTORY THEATREEscondidoCA$265k0
ASCEND PERFORMING ARTS INCAuroraCO$265k1
NEW ORLEANS ARTS & CULTURAL HOST COMMITTEENew OrleansLA$265k1
AMERICAN FLIGHT MUSEUM INCTopekaKS$265k0
WASHINGTON ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEYMorristownNJ$265k0
RALLYSOUND INCChelseaMA$265k0
LABORATORY THEATER OF FLORIDA INCFort MyersFL$265k1
Vietbay IncPalo AltoCA$265k0
NIA CENTREGrand RapidsMI$265k1
EMERALD COAST HONORS ORCHESTRA FOUNDATION INCPensacolaFL$265k1
AMERICAN FARM HERITAGE NFPGreenvilleIL$265k0
TIFTON COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS INCTiftonGA$265k0
KNOXVILLE HISTORY PROJECTKnoxvilleTN$265k0
FRIENDS OF THE PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOLPhiladelphiaPA$265k0
VIRGINIA CENTER FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS ABROAD INCAmherstVA$265k0
MJE BROADCASTING INCCollege GroveTN$265k1
COVELLITE PRESENTSButteMT$264k0
Interact Story Theatre Education Association IncWheatonMD$264k1
THEODICY JAZZ COLLECTIVEAtlantaGA$264k0
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE TOWN OF BOLTONBolton LandingNY$264k0
CARNEGIE VISUAL ARTS CENTER INCDecaturAL$264k1
SHAPE CLEVELANDLyndhurstOH$264k0
Azores Band Of EscalonEscalonCA$264k0
TRADE POP-UPProvidenceRI$264k0
ENCORE PERFORMING ARTSWashingtonUT$264k3
European American Musical Alliance IncNew YorkNY$264k2
THEATRE PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$264k2
GLENS FALLS-QUEENSBURY HISTORICAL ASSOC INCGlens FallsNY$264k0
PAUL & JEAN HARRIS HOME FOUNDATIONBrookfieldIL$264k0
MADISON ARTS ALLIANCE INCMadisonIN$264k0
Mount Vernon Virtuosi IncBaltimoreMD$264k0
LIBERTY PLACE INCFrederiksted$264k4
SAFE HAVEN BALLETSomersworthNH$264k2
ROXBOROUGH ARTS COUNCILLittletonCO$264k0
WAYNE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM INCRichmondIN$264k1
ARENA DANCES INCCrystalMN$264k1
COUTTS MEMORIAL MUSEUM OF ART INCEl DoradoKS$264k1
Wayword IncSan DiegoCA$264k3
MARAT DAUKAYEV BALLET THEATRE INCLos AngelesCA$264k0
The Digs ChicagoChicagoIL$264k2
RAYE'S MUSTARD MILL MUSEUMEastportME$264k0
SPOKANE CHILDRENS THEATRE INCSpokaneWA$264k1
CITY SEWING ROOM OF ST LOUISSaint LouisMO$264k0
The Bremen Textile and Railroad Museum IncBremenGA$264k0
Delaware Aviation Museum Foundation CO Larry KelleyMardela SpringsMD$264k0
ANONYMOUS PRESS INCChicagoIL$264k2
RHODE ISLAND BLACK STORYTELLERSProvidenceRI$264k1