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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 328 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CHOPIN THEATRE PRODUCTIONS NFPChicagoIL$233k0
URBAN ARCHIVE INCBrooklynNY$233k1
FRIENDS OF COTTONWOOD RANCH INCHoxieKS$233k0
TENNESSEE HISTORY FOR KIDSNashvilleTN$233k1
PALETTE MASQUE AND LYRE INCAntiochIL$233k0
FRIENDS OF NAVAL ACADEMY MUSIC INCCroftonMD$233k0
National Basketry Organization IncGloucesterMA$233k2
RESILIENCE DANCE COMPANY STLSt LouisMO$233k1
ARTREACH ST CROIXStillwaterMN$233k1
IMABRIGHTKID FOUNDATIONKaneoheHI$233k0
Society for Presrv & Encrgmnt Barbershop The Vocal Majority ChorusCoppellTX$232k0
Elower-Sicilia Productions Performing CompanyThurmontMD$232k0
Wordcrafters in EugeneEugeneOR$232k1
JUBILEE TRADING COMPANYLawrenceburgTN$232k0
ITALIAN CULTURAL SOCIETYSacramentoCA$232k0
SEATTLE SWING DANCE CLUBSeattleWA$232k0
VERO HERITAGE INCVero BeachFL$232k0
THREE OAKS SPOKES BICYCLE CLUBThree OaksMI$232k2
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF INTL EXCHANGEIrvineCA$232k0
RADA COLLABORATIVE INCBrooklynNY$232k0
STONE SOUP THEATERSeattleWA$232k3
TAMPA CITY BALLET INCTampaFL$232k0
PATRONS OF THE CENTRE INCNewnanGA$232k0
SUDAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION PROJECT SBCFalls ChurchVA$232k0
ORPHEUS MALE CHORUS OF PHOENIXPhoenixAZ$232k2
SUMNER COUNTY MUSEUMGallatinTN$232k0
Fraser Valley ArtsFraserCO$232k0
TOWLE PERFORMING ARTS COMPANYHammondIN$232k1
HISTORICAL SOCIETY DAUPHIN COUNTYHarrisburgPA$232k0
BLUE 13 DANCE COMPANY INCLos AngelesCA$232k2
COLUMBIA BASIN ALLIED ARTSMoses LakeWA$232k1
HISTORIC RITTENHOUSETOWN INCPhiladelphiaPA$232k1
SOUTH PARK THEATRE INCSouth ParkPA$232k1
ARETE LIVING ARTS FOUNDATIONLong Island CityNY$232k1
THE MID-OHIO VALLEY SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCViennaWV$232k0
HEARTLAND YOUTH CHOIRDes MoinesIA$232k2
ASHBURNHAM WESTMINSTER COMMUNITY ACCESS CORPORATIONAshburnhamMA$232k0
DANCE AUGUSTA INCAugustaGA$232k6
VERMONT MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY INCWest MarlboroVT$232k1
BRANDYWINE BAROQUE INCGreenvilleDE$232k0
FRANKENMUTH AUTO FEST INCFrankenmuthMI$232k0
ARCADIA PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATIONArcadiaCA$232k0
AMERICAN DANCE INSTITUTENew YorkNY$232k3
Medway Cable Access CorporationMedwayMA$232k0
SOCIETY FOR MAKERS ARTISTS RESEARCHERS AND TECHNOLOGISTSAuburnWA$232k0
NORTHWEST RANKIN HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL MUSIC BOOSTER CLUBBrandonMS$231k0
CONTINUUM ARTS COLLECTIVENorth BerwickME$231k1
EXPERIMENTAL CHINESE SCHOOLChantillyVA$231k3
MARK MAKINGChattanoogaTN$231k0
SPRINGFIELD REGIONAL OPERA INCSpringfieldMO$231k0