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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 336 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
PIER ONE THEATRE INCHomerAK$223k0
FRIENDS OF THE MARINE SCIENCE CENTER INCPonce InletFL$223k0
THE ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN NEW YORK INCPotsdamNY$223k0
SHENANDOAH VALLEY BLACK HERITAGE PROJECTHarrisonburgVA$223k1
Resonance WorksPittsburghPA$223k1
The Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace FoundationWythevilleVA$223k0
CENTER FOR SHARED CIVILIZATIONAL VALUESWinston SalemNC$223k0
MEXICAN CULTURAL INSTITUTEWashingtonDC$223k0
CONNECTICUT HURRICANES DRUM & BUGLE CORPS INCSeymourCT$223k0
MILTON CHORAL ASSOCIATION INCMiltonGA$223k0
COLORADO JAZZ INCLone TreeCO$223k0
MARBLEHEAD FESTIVAL OF ARTS INCMarbleheadMA$223k0
RICHARD E WILDISH COMMUNITY THEATERSpringfieldOR$223k0
ROYAL SCHOOL OF CHURCH MUSICDurhamNC$223k0
PONDEROSA CENTERMcCallID$223k0
SIOUX CITY LEWIS & CLARK ASSOCIATIONSergeant BluffIA$223k0
COOPERSVILLE FARM MUSEUMCoopersvilleMI$223k0
ICEBREAKER MACKINAW MARITIME MUSEUMMacKinaw CityMI$223k0
SPIRITOOak BrookIL$223k0
ITALIAN AMERICAN CIVIC LEAGUESalt Lake CityUT$223k0
AULIYA COUNCIL OF NORTH AMERICA A NJ NONPROFIT CORPORATIONBronxNY$223k0
VENTURA HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC BOOSTERSVenturaCA$223k0
SITES AND INSIGHTSAuroraCO$223k0
BOWERBIRD INCPhiladelphiaPA$223k0
Jiao and Duan Family FoundationCupertinoCA$223k0
METHUEN FESTIVAL OF TREES INCMethuenMA$223k0
LEHIGH VALLEY JUSTICE INSTITUTEAllentownPA$223k1
Chesapeake Crossroads Heritage Area IncAnnapolisMD$223k0
Just Communities of Arkansas IncNorth Little RockAR$223k1
LEXINGTON MINUTE MEN INCLexingtonMA$223k0
FUNDACION POR LA ARQUITECTURA INCSan JuanPR$223k0
BALLET AND BEYOND NYC INCNew YorkNY$223k2
MILWAUKEE ROAD HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONIxoniaWI$223k0
MONARCH MUSIC & ARTS COMMUNITYLouisvilleKY$223k2
WAUPACA COMMUNITY ARTS BOARD INCWaupacaWI$223k0
MUSIC THEATRE KANSAS CITY INCOlatheKS$223k0
Finding Our RootsHoumaLA$223k0
Robbins House IncConcordMA$223k2
HILLMAN GRAD FOUNDATION INC C/O NEUMAN ASSOCIATESEncinoCA$223k0
PW LITCHFIELD HERITAGE CENTERLitchfield ParkAZ$223k0
SILETZ BAY MUSIC FESTIVALLincoln CityOR$223k3
ELLSWORTH COMMUNITY MUSIC INSTITUTEEllsworthME$223k1
Piano SpheresLos AngelesCA$223k4
ARIZONA TAMIL SANGAMGlendaleAZ$223k0
triangle productionsPortlandOR$223k0
Teens of Color Abroad IncBrooklynNY$223k0
VALLEY EYE RADIO INCSpringfieldMA$223k1
Durango Film InstituteDurangoCO$223k0
APA HERITAGE FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$222k0
Creative WashtenawAnn ArborMI$222k0