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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 312 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CARMEL DANCE FESTIVALCarmelCA$254k0
Dallas Center for PhotographyDallasTX$254k1
KAIROS ALIVEMinneapolisMN$254k1
HEATHER WAYNE DANCE COMPANYHoschtonGA$254k1
DREAMS OF HOPEPittsburghPA$254k3
INSTITUTE OF HISPANIC CULTUREHoustonTX$254k0
The Freedom ArchivesBerkeleyCA$254k2
CULTURAL CONNECTIONS INCHilliardOH$254k0
Belvedere SeriesRichmondVA$254k1
OCONEE CULTURAL ARTS FOUNDATION INCWatkinsvilleGA$254k1
MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANTWellesleyMA$254k0
CUNY TV FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$254k0
Delaware Chinese American AssociationHockessinDE$254k0
RISE UP SCHOOL OF DANCESalt Lake CityUT$254k1
ALEXANDER ACADEMY PERFORMING COMPANYKulaHI$254k1
ARAPAHOE PHILHARMONIC INCLittletonCO$254k3
Company Dance TraverseTraverse CityMI$254k0
LAKE WASHINGTON SYMPHONY ORCHESeattleWA$254k8
MAQUOKETA FINE ARTS CENTERMaquoketaIA$254k0
AGRITECH INSTITUTE FOR SMALL FARMS INCMontpelierVT$254k2
THE NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM INCLincoln CityOR$254k0
BRASARTE THE DAMASCENO BRAZILIAN CULTURAL EXCHANGEBerkeleyCA$254k2
Orange County Fire Services Assoc IncOrangeCA$254k0
PRIZM ENSEMBLE INCMemphisTN$254k1
HOAKA MANAKaunakakaiHI$254k0
OHIO OUTDOOR HISTORICAL DRAMA ASSOCIATION INCNew PhiladelphiaOH$254k0
MILWAUKEE BALLET ORCHESTRA INCMilwaukeeWI$254k2
ARTCORE INCCasperWY$254k1
PLAINS INDIANS AND PIONEERS HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONWoodwardOK$254k0
The Belle Theatre IncCape CoralFL$254k0
AMERICAN ARMORY MUSEUMFairfieldCA$253k1
LINCOLN CROSSROADS FESTIVALLincolnNE$253k2
VISHV UMIYA FOUNDATION USA INCMaconGA$253k0
THEATRE NOVAAnn ArborMI$253k3
CIRCO ZEROSan FranciscoCA$253k1
SCREAMFEST HORROR FILM FESTIVALBeverly HillsCA$253k2
CENTER FOR LAND USE INTERPRETATIONCulver CityCA$253k2
LYRIC OPERA OF THE NORTHDuluthMN$253k1
FRONT PORCH THEATRICALSSewickleyPA$253k0
COEUR D'ALENE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCoeur DaleneID$253k0
CENTRAL ARKANSAS DANCE ASSOCIATION INCLittle RockAR$253k0
JLF COLORADO dba JLF BOULDERBoulderCO$253k1
SCHAUMBURG ON STAGESchaumburgIL$253k1
COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF THE ARTSKnoxvilleTN$253k1
OKLAHOMANS FOR THE ARTS INCOklahoma CityOK$253k1
RUSSIAN CHRISTIAN RADIO INCEstes ParkCO$253k0
ARLINGTON ARTISTS ALLIANCEArlingtonVA$253k1
ANCHORAGE CONCERT CHORUSAnchorageAK$253k0
HOLOCAUST EDUCATION RESOURCE COUNCITallahasseeFL$253k0
CADILLAC LASALLE CLUB MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER INCFarmington HillsMI$253k0