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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 309 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE GUM TREE MUSEUM INCTupeloMS$259k0
MONTANA CENTER FOR THE ARTSBozemanMT$259k0
COMMUNITAS ARCHIVE INCNew YorkNY$259k0
HULL HOUSE FOUNDATIONLancasterNY$259k0
Focus On The Masters IncVenturaCA$259k0
GIVING ART TO MISSOULAMissoulaMT$259k2
Ballet Theatre of Lexington IncLexingtonKY$259k3
SOBRATO MURPHY MUSIC ASSOCIATIONMorgan HillCA$259k0
HAVANA MAINSTREET INCHavanaFL$259k0
Sacred Lands ConservancyBellinghamWA$259k2
SCHENECTADY PIPE BAND LTDDuanesburgNY$259k0
LEXICON OF SUSTAINABILITY INCPetalumaCA$259k1
GAELIC AMERICAN ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION OF BUFFALO NEW YORK INCBuffaloNY$259k0
FRIEDA C FOX FAMILY FOUNDATIONStudio CityCA$259k2
CENTER AGAINST RACISM AND TRAUMA INCMoreno ValleyCA$259k1
PALM COAST MUSIC FESTIVAL INCPalm CoastFL$258k0
Music in PlaceSonomaCA$258k1
RUSSIAN CENTER OF SAN FRANCISCOSan FranciscoCA$258k0
HEDWIG DANCES INCChicagoIL$258k1
FINNISH CENTER ASSOCIATIONFarmington HillsMI$258k1
EVECE Foundation IncAtlantaGA$258k0
MAD ABOUT ARTDenverCO$258k0
Friends of Childrens Museum of the Galilee IncLas VegasNV$258k0
GINGER BROWN'S ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTTunnel HillGA$258k1
AURORA PICTURE SHOWHoustonTX$258k1
CAUSABILITYRichardsonTX$258k0
City of Fairfax Theater CompanyFairfaxVA$258k0
NORTH MANITOU LIGHT KEEPERS INCBrightonMI$258k0
FARMINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATIONCharlottesvilleVA$258k0
THE DALLES ART ASSOCIATIONThe DallesOR$258k0
BALTIMORE CHILDRENS CHOIR INCBaltimoreMD$258k3
CHORAL SOCIETY OF DURHAM INCDurhamNC$258k0
Lynn Music Foundation IncLynnMA$258k2
MIANO ACADEMY OF ART INCSarasotaFL$258k1
ARTISTS IN MOTION BAY AREADaly CityCA$258k0
CUNNEEN HACKETT CULTURAL CENTER INCPoughkeepsieNY$258k1
TALKING BANDNew YorkNY$258k0
PIONEER FLORIDA MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCORPORATEDDade CityFL$258k0
RICHMOND MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCRichmondCA$258k1
COLORADO NEW STYLE FOUNDATIONDenverCO$258k0
PAN AM MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCGarden CityNY$258k0
SOUTH COUNTY FOOTBALL LEAGUESpringTX$258k0
CRAIG FARM HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONLancasterSC$258k0
DEERTREES THEATRE LIMITEDHarrisonME$258k2
WHIDBEY PLAYHOUSE ASSOCIATIONOak HarborWA$258k0
DETROIT ARTISTS MARKETDetroitMI$257k1
PENINSULA CANTARE A CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT BENEFIT CORPORATIONPalo AltoCA$257k3
NEW IBERIA MUSEUM FOUNDATIONNew IberiaLA$257k0
NEW ORCHESTRA OF WASHINGTON INCBethesdaMD$257k1
THE PROGRESSIVE FORUMHoustonTX$257k2