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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 319 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Schoharie County Historical SocietySchoharieNY$245k2
GIG HARBOR NOWGig HarborWA$245k0
OYE PALAVER HUT INCWashingtonDC$245k1
NOTCH THEATRE COMPANYNew YorkNY$245k1
SOUND ART INC DBA IN THE BANDSanta MonicaCA$245k0
BELLPORT-BROOKHAVEN HISTORICAL SOCIETYBellportNY$245k0
FURRYDELPHIA INCNorristownPA$245k0
FRIENDS OF HOKULEA AND HAWAIILOAKailuaHI$245k0
FOR THE LOVE OF VERMONT THE LYMAN ORTON COLLECTION INCManchester CenterVT$245k0
DFW SUDANESE COMMUNITYFort WorthTX$245k0
CANTATA COLLECTIVE INCOaklandCA$245k0
WEST FLORIDA DANCE COMPANY BOOSTER CLUB INCLargoFL$245k4
Teatro Audaz San AntonioSan AntonioTX$245k0
FTC QALICB INCJacksonMS$245k2
ZBIGNIEW HERBERT POLISH SUPPLEMENTARY SCHOOL OF LI INCLindenhurstNY$245k21
Canvas InstituteStaten IslandNY$245k2
SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS PRESS LTDNew YorkNY$245k0
The Member Corporation of the Polish Community of West Utica IncUticaNY$245k0
GRANITE BENCH CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONPenningtonNJ$245k0
ASOCIACION SUZUKI DE PUERTO RICO INCSan JuanPR$245k1
HEUVELTON HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONHeuveltonNY$245k0
FRIENDS OF THE CENTER FOR THE ARTSVancouverWA$245k0
KASHMIRI GROUP OF NORTH AMERICA INCHerndonVA$245k0
DENTON DAY OF THE DEAD FESTIVALDentonTX$245k1
THE MICHIGAN JEWISH SPORTS HALL OF FAME INCBloomfield HillsMI$245k0
GARRISON PLAYERS INCDoverNH$245k3
Players on AirMount AiryMD$245k0
COMPASS ARTS CREATIVITY PROJECT INCBeaconNY$245k1
WOODWARD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONMount VernonOH$245k0
CITY LIT THEATRE COMPANYChicagoIL$245k2
CARTER FAMILY MEMORIAL MUSIC CENTERHiltonsVA$245k0
HOPEWELL VALLEY CHILDREN'S THEATRE INCPenningtonNJ$245k3
AUTUMN HOUSE PRESSPittsburghPA$245k1
Transcendent Media IncReddingCA$244k1
Merrick Theatre and Center for the ArtsMerrickNY$244k0
SMOCKING ARTS GUILD OF AMERICAChattanoogaTN$244k0
AMERICAN DANCE AND MUSIC INCSanta BarbaraCA$244k0
NEW YORK STATE THEATRE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION INCSyracuseNY$244k0
AMERICAN CHINESE SCHOOL OF GREATER DETROITTroyMI$244k0
ROBERT'S COVE GERMANFEST ASSOCIATIONRayneLA$244k0
THEATRE CONSORTIUM OF SILVER SPRINGSilver SpringMD$244k1
1901 CHURCH INCJohnstownPA$244k0
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts FoundationSkokieIL$244k0
PASADENA MASTER CHORALE ASSN dba Pasadena ChoralePasadenaCA$244k0
NEW YORK CENTER FOR ART AND AWARENESS INCSan DiegoCA$244k0
MARGARET ACHESON STUART SOCIETY INCSt PetersburgFL$244k0
LIBERTY HISTORIC RAILWAYBerkeley HeightsNJ$244k0
BEAUFORT PRESERVATION TRUST INCBeaufortSC$244k0
High Technology Crime Investigation AssnWestfordMA$244k0
SKABOB HOUSESkokomish NationWA$244k1