Skip to main content
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 31 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUMWashingtonDC$5.6M3
DALLAS BLACK DANCE THEATRE INCDallasTX$5.6M3
INDEPENDENT FEATURE PROJECT INCBrooklynNY$5.6M4
THE INTERCEPT MEDIA INCNew YorkNY$5.6M11
STRAND-CAPITOL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCYorkPA$5.6M1
BOSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS INCBostonMA$5.6M3
Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps IncNorth CantonOH$5.6M3
EDUCATIONAL RADIO FOUNDATION OF EAST TEXASTylerTX$5.6M4
WINGS OVER THE ROCKIES AIR & SPACE MUSEUMDenverCO$5.6M5
MUSEUMS AT MITCHELGarden CityNY$5.6M7
MICHIGAN THEATER FOUNDATION INCAnn ArborMI$5.6M2
ROBERT AQQALUK NEWLIN SR MEMORIAL TRUSTKotzebueAK$5.6M10
COMMUNITY RADIO FOR NORTHERN COLORADOGreeleyCO$5.6M6
CHICKEN & EGG FILMS INCBrooklynNY$5.6M3
Black Innovation AllianceAtlantaGA$5.6M3
HALCYON HOUSEWashingtonDC$5.6M5
COLUMBIA MUSEUM OF ARTColumbiaSC$5.6M3
TURTLE BAY EXPLORATION PARKReddingCA$5.6M3
Miller Theatre Advisory Board IncHoustonTX$5.6M2
THE WILLIAM A FARNSWORTH LIBRARY AND ART MUSEUM INCRocklandME$5.6M5
Houston Ballet Guild IncHoustonTX$5.6M1
Honolulu Civil Beat IncHonoluluHI$5.6M7
LIGHTHOUSE SUPPORTAllentownPA$5.5M2
ARTS OF SOUTHERN KENTUCKY INCBowling GreenKY$5.5M3
THE ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM INCRidgefieldCT$5.5M4
AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUMNew YorkNY$5.5M5
WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FOUNDATIONINCWilliamstownMA$5.5M3
THE NAPLES PLAYERS INCNaplesFL$5.5M3
Greater Dayton Public Television dba Think TVDaytonOH$5.5M4
THE FOUNDATION FOR LINCOLN PUBLIC SCHOOLSLincolnNE$5.5M1
ALLIANCE FOR YOUNG ARTISTS AND WRITERS INCNew YorkNY$5.5M0
KALW PUBLIC MEDIA INCSan FranciscoCA$5.5M3
PORTLAND MAINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAPortlandME$5.5M2
MAHAIWE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCGreat BarringtonMA$5.5M3
DSM Management Group IncDallasTX$5.5M6
CHAHTA FOUNDATIONDurantOK$5.5M0
KANSAS CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTER INCTopekaKS$5.5M1
54 BELOW INCNew YorkNY$5.5M4
IMAGINE CHILDREN'S MUSEUMEverettWA$5.5M5
NATIONAL JUNETEENTH MUSEUMFort WorthTX$5.5M1
BUSINESS FORWARD FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$5.5M2
LOS ANGELES NOMADIC DIVISIONLos AngelesCA$5.5M1
MARTHA'S VINEYARD MUSEUM INCVineyard HavenMA$5.5M2
AMERICAN CHORAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATIONOklahoma CityOK$5.5M1
ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INCLittle RockAR$5.5M1
COLUMBUS CITIZENS FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$5.5M4
NORTHEAST ORGANIC FARMING ASSOCIATION OF VERMONTRichmondVT$5.5M2
VIRGINIA REPERTORY THEATRE D/B/A THEATRE IV D/B/A BARKSDALE THEATRERichmondVA$5.5M1
CORE FOUNDATIONPotomacMD$5.5M5
Park City PerformancesPark CityUT$5.4M1