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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 306 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
JAFFREY CIVIC CENTERJaffreyNH$264k1
ROANE COUNTY HERITAGE COMMISSIONKingstonTN$264k0
MOUNTAIN LAKE PARK HISTORICAL ASSOCMt Lake ParkMD$263k0
Oklahoma Catholic Broadcasting IncOklahoma CityOK$263k0
SCOTTISH HERITAGE USA INCPinehurstNC$263k0
Familia Communication Group IncOrlandoFL$263k0
Grants Pass Museum of ArtGrants PassOR$263k1
Gospel Tract Society IncIndependenceMO$263k1
BLUE MTN ANTIQUE GAS & STEAM ENGINE ASSNBangorPA$263k0
Umatilla County Historical SocietyPendletonOR$263k1
ALASKA MINING HALL OF FAME FOUNDATIONFairbanksAK$263k0
SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE SPECIAL PROJECTS HERITAGE FUNDIrvineCA$263k0
FORUM ON LIFE CULTURE & SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$263k0
CEDARBURG PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCCedarburgWI$263k0
Westmoreland Performing ArtsGreensburgPA$263k0
CLINTON AREA SHOWBOAT THEATRE INCClintonIA$263k0
CITY OF CLANTON ARTS COUNCILClantonAL$263k0
PANDORA PRODUCTIONS INCLouisvilleKY$263k1
Radiance MinistriesSan AntonioTX$263k2
Reconciliation An Intl Network of Churches andPittsburghPA$263k3
KUMU HULA ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN CALIFHaywardCA$263k0
Tamil Sangam MichiganSterling HeightsMI$263k0
NEWSOME BAND BOOSTERS INCLithiaFL$263k0
OLDE WORLD HISTORICAL COUNCIL INCSt GeorgeUT$263k0
Chinese Theatre Works IncJackson HeightsNY$263k2
SPRINGFIELD AREA PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISIONSpringfieldVT$263k1
NORTH TEXAS DANCE ARTSSouthlakeTX$263k0
TINKER SWISS COTTAGE INCRockfordIL$263k1
ARTS ETCJohns IslandSC$263k0
Southwest Music Education AssociationChino HillsCA$263k4
Hilltown Youth Performing Arts Program IncCharlemontMA$263k0
RENOVATION IN MUSIC EDUCATIONWashingtonDC$263k1
COOK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYGrand MaraisMN$262k0
RACING HISTORY PRESERVATION GROUP INCLoudonNH$262k1
VINTAGE FLYING MACHINES INCHuntingtonIN$262k0
Princeton Theater GroupPrincetonIL$262k0
ART CAMP 504New OrleansLA$262k1
MUSIC LEARNING FOUNDATIONRockwallTX$262k0
THE RALEIGH RINGERS INCRaleighNC$262k2
INNOVATION ARTS ACADEMY INCLexingtonKY$262k1
RHODE ISLAND COUNCIL ON PROBLEM GAMBLING RICPGCranstonRI$262k0
CINCINNATI FIRE MUSEUMCincinnatiOH$262k1
Black American West Museum & HeritDenverCO$262k0
Yale Alumni Chorus Foundation IncNew HavenCT$262k1
MOUNTAIN AIR MODERN DANCEBozemanMT$262k3
PANGER PRODUCTIONSPickeringtonOH$262k0
ARKANSAS CITY AREA ART COUNCIL INCArkansas CityKS$262k0
CONNECTICUT ARTS COUNCIL FOUNDATION INCHartfordCT$262k0
ORCHESTRA NEXTEugeneOR$262k0
ASHLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAAshlandOH$262k1