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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 318 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ARTS OF SOUTHERN KENTUCKY FOUNDATION INCBowling GreenKY$247k0
SHARONVILLE FINE ARTS COUNCIL INC 75SharonvilleOH$247k0
BAR HARBOR FESTIVAL CORPORATIONNew YorkNY$246k0
EMBRACING OUR DIFFERENCES SE MICHIGAN INCAnn ArborMI$246k0
ITALINGUA INSTITUTESan FranciscoCA$246k1
FIREWEED COMMUNITY WOODSHOPMinneapolisMN$246k4
THE SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI OF MARYLAND INCMount VictoriaMD$246k0
THE SUNSHINE CENTER INCPort Jefferson StatiNY$246k1
MISSISSIPPI OPERA ASSOCIATION INCJacksonMS$246k0
FRIDAY MORNING MUSIC CLUB FOUNDATION INCWashingtonDC$246k0
WANG MO-JEN AND WANG CHOU AN-YI WORLDSan FranciscoCA$246k0
Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad MuseumRochesterNY$246k0
FARGO MOORHEAD BALLETFargoND$246k0
THE OAK GROVE HIGH SCHOOL BAND BOOSTERSan JoseCA$246k0
CAMPBELL LEARNING CENTER INCHoustonTX$246k1
THE INSECT ASYLUM IncChicagoIL$246k1
ISLAND ARTS COUNCILGreenbankWA$246k0
BREAD & ROSES MISSOURISaint LouisMO$246k0
UDAAN INCWilmingtonDE$246k0
BLACK HILLS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETYRapid CitySD$246k1
AD RELIEF OF GREATER LOS ANGELESLos AngelesCA$246k1
Bach Society HoustonHoustonTX$246k0
The Catamounts NFPBoulderCO$246k2
LOUISIANA AMERICANA AND FOLK SOCIETYBaton RougeLA$246k0
GOOD NEWS ARTSHigh SpringsFL$246k0
CLAYART GUILD OF THE HAMPTONS INCWatermillNY$246k3
BERKSHIRE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYPittsfieldMA$246k0
BOXFORD CABLE ACCESS TELEVISION CORPORATION INCBoxfordMA$246k0
DEDHAM SCHOOL OF MUSIC INCORPORATEDDedhamMA$246k1
COMPASS ROSE THEATER INCAnnapolisMD$246k1
BACH ARIA SOLOISTS INCKansas CityMO$246k1
SWART-WILCOX HOUSE MUSEUM C/O HELEN KB REESOneontaNY$246k0
RIDGEFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCRidgefieldCT$246k0
COLORADO BACH ENSEMBLECherry Hills VillageCO$246k0
Cultural Arts Coalition IncGainesvilleFL$246k1
SRO FUND-QUINCY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAQuincyIL$246k0
Segundo Barrio Childrens ChorusHoustonTX$246k0
ARTS ON SITE NYC INCNew YorkNY$246k1
KEEPERS OF THE QUAICH USA CHAPTER INCDoverDE$246k0
MUSIC HEALS INTERNATIONALMill ValleyCA$246k2
RI Slave History MedallionsNewportRI$246k1
SACRAMENTO MAHAPERIYAVAA MANDALIGold RiverCA$246k0
Terpsicorps Theatre of DanceAshevilleNC$246k0
CHISHOLM TRAIL HERITAGE CENTER ASSOCIATIONDuncanOK$246k0
PSALM 91 MINISTRIES LLCGalvestonTX$246k0
CITE DES ARTSLafayetteLA$245k1
Massachusetts State Police Museum and Learning Center IncWhitinsvilleMA$245k0
The Beat Berkeley Performing Arts IncBerkeleyCA$245k1
Overtone IndustriesLos AngelesCA$245k0
PINE HILLS CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER INCRustonLA$245k0