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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 32 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
PORTLAND OPERA ASSOCIATION INCPortlandOR$5.4M1
WOODSTOCK COURTHOUSE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND INCWoodstockIL$5.4M0
NATIONAL CENTER ON SEXUAL EXPLOITATIONWashingtonDC$5.4M11
Independent Arts & MediaSan FranciscoCA$5.4M7
Youngbaum Foundation IncCocoaFL$5.4M1
OMAHA THEATER COMPANYOmahaNE$5.4M3
FORT WORTH ART ASSOCIATION ENDOWMENT FOUNDATIONFort WorthTX$5.4M0
Foundation for Art and Preservation in EmbassiesWashingtonDC$5.4M2
SKOWHEGAN SCHOOL OF PAINTING AND SCULPTURE INCNew YorkNY$5.4M3
SANTA ROSA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONSanta RosaCA$5.4M5
THE COMMUNITY THEATRE OF CEDAR RAPIDS INCCedar RapidsIA$5.4M1
BOXCAR THEATRE INCSan FranciscoCA$5.4M2
BAY STREET THEATRE FESTIVAL INCSag HarborNY$5.4M3
TUCSON MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORIC BLOCK INCTucsonAZ$5.4M3
Creative Discovery MuseumChattanoogaTN$5.4M1
OKLAHOMA PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY INCOklahoma CityOK$5.4M2
SILICON ANDHRAMilpitasCA$5.4M0
COMMUNITY COMMUNICATIONS INCOrlandoFL$5.4M3
MILWAUKEE FILM INCMilwaukeeWI$5.4M2
AMATEUR RADIO DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONSSan DiegoCA$5.4M1
IYRS SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY & TRADES SCHOOL INCNewportRI$5.4M3
Friends of South Dakota Public BroadcastingSioux FallsSD$5.4M3
GRUB STREET INCBostonMA$5.4M3
GENERAL SOCIETY OF MAYFLOWER DESCENDANTSPlymouthMA$5.4M3
PHOENIX ART MUSEUM ENDOWMENT FUND INCPhoenixAZ$5.4M2
CITYSERVE INTERNATIONALSpringfieldMO$5.4M3
FARGO-MOORHEAD SCIENCE MUSEUMFargoND$5.4M1
NORTH FORK ARTS CENTER INCGreenportNY$5.4M0
The Center for Holocaust and Humanity EducationCincinnatiOH$5.4M2
MARTHA'S VINEYARD PRESERVATION TRUST INCEdgartownMA$5.3M1
MONTPELIER FOUNDATIONOrangeVA$5.3M3
CENTER FOR NEW MUSIC SAN FRANCISCO INCSan FranciscoCA$5.3M4
FANTASY THEATRE FACTORY INCMiamiFL$5.3M1
San Francisco PlayhouseSan FranciscoCA$5.3M2
ACADEMY CENTER OF THE ARTS INCLynchburgVA$5.3M1
CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETYSan FranciscoCA$5.3M1
PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION TRUSTPittsburghPA$5.3M1
Mansfield Reformatory Preservation SocietyMansfieldOH$5.3M2
STEM FROM DANCE INCBrooklynNY$5.3M1
GENESEE COUNTRY MUSEUMMumfordNY$5.3M3
THE CLEVELAND MUSIC SCHOOL SETTLEMENTClevelandOH$5.3M3
THE LYNNWOOD FOUNDATIONCharlotteNC$5.3M5
CITYSIDE JOURNALISM INITIATIVEOaklandCA$5.3M10
KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATEDKnoxvilleTN$5.3M4
LYRIC THEATRE OF OKLAHOMA INCOklahoma CityOK$5.3M2
THE GHETTO FILM SCHOOL INCBronxNY$5.3M5
CAROLINA ART ASSOCIATION DBA GIBBES MUSEUM OF ARTCharlestonSC$5.3M4
AVON THEATRE FILM CENTER INCStamfordCT$5.3M1
NORTHEASTERN EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION OF OHIO INCKentOH$5.3M1
JOLIET AREA HISTORICAL MUSEUMJolietIL$5.3M0