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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 308 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ETM-MASSACHUSETTS INCCambridgeMA$260k1
EAST BAY CENTER FOR THEPRESERVATION OOF CULTURAL ARTSHaywardCA$260k3
Lisbon Area Historical SocietyLisbonNH$260k0
ALLIES OF HISPANIC CULTURE EDUCATION AND SCIENCE FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$260k0
Brite ClevelandClevelandOH$260k0
ELKHART CIVIC THEATRE INCBristolIN$260k1
EMERSON BAND BOOSTER CLUBMcKinneyTX$260k0
ARTS CENTER AT DUCK CREEK INCEast HamptonNY$260k1
Wide Rainbow CorporationNew YorkNY$260k3
THE CLIFTON COMMUNITY PLAYERS INCCincinnatiOH$260k0
THE PULPMissoulaMT$260k2
BETTER PUBLIC EDUCATIONSalemOR$260k0
THE MERGE SUMMITPorter RanchCA$260k0
LATINUS THEATER EXPERIENCE COMPANYClevelandOH$260k1
Russian Cultural Center IncAustinTX$260k0
THE PASTEL SOCIETY OF AMERICA INCNew YorkNY$260k0
WOMEN HELPING WOMEN FUND TRI-CITIESRichlandWA$260k0
SUN HOUSE GUILD CORPORATIONUkiahCA$260k0
ALEXANDER & BALDWIN SUGAR MUSEUMPuuneneHI$260k1
JAH KENTE INTERNATIONAL INCWashingtonDC$260k0
HART CHOIR BOOSTER CLUBNewhallCA$260k0
TLONHoustonTX$260k1
120 East StateTrentonNJ$260k1
HISTORIC RAILROAD SQUARE ASSOCIATIONSanta RosaCA$260k2
Friends of River Oaks Theatre IncHoustonTX$260k0
PUSHPUSH ARTS COMPANYDecaturGA$260k2
ORMACO INCHomervilleOH$260k0
BATTLE OF RHODE ISLAND ASSOCIATIONPortsmouthRI$260k0
LOUISIANA FUR AND WILDLIFE FESTIVAL INCCameronLA$260k0
Sacred Sites Research IncAlbuquerqueNM$260k0
ASSOCIATION OF MIDWEST MUSEUMSFishersIN$260k0
HAYWARD LA HONDA MUSIC CAMPUnion CityCA$260k0
A PUBLIC FIT CORPORATIONLas VegasNV$259k0
FRONT ROW CENTER INCSan DiegoCA$259k0
City Hall Carillon Committee IncMinnetonkaMN$259k0
WAR EAGLES AIR MUSEUMSanta TeresaNM$259k0
CHAGRIN FOUNDATION FOR ARTS & CULTUREChagrin FallsOH$259k1
WOMEN'S ALLIANCE FOR THEOLOGY ETHICS AND RITUAL INCSilver SpringMD$259k2
ROCK CENTRAL INCLake GenevaWI$259k1
THE SHEILA REICHER FINE FOUNDATION C/O FFC CAPITAL CORPORATIONPittsburghPA$259k0
FREMONT CHINESE SCHOOLFremontCA$259k0
WHITE PINE COMMUNITY CHOIRElyNV$259k0
THEATRE ARTS OF WEST VIRGINIA INCBeckleyWV$259k0
Historic Mesquite IncMesquiteTX$259k0
ACSENSION COMMUNITY THEATRE INCGonzalesLA$259k0
AHAHUI SIWILA HAWAIIHonoluluHI$259k0
DREAM SEEDING INCCaseyvilleIL$259k0
Chico Air MuseumChicoCA$259k0
MAYFLOWER SOCIETY HOUSE ENDOWMENT FUNDPlymouthMA$259k0
HERITAGE WORKS INCDubuqueIA$259k1