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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 337 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FILM PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCLos AngelesCA$222k0
YALE UNIVERSITY DRAMATIC ASSOCIATION INCNew HavenCT$222k0
Quilters Guild of Dallas IncDallasTX$222k0
UNION OF NORTH AMERICAN VIETNAMESESTUDENT ASSOCIATIONSCovinaCA$222k0
Golden Road ArtsHillsboroOR$222k0
THE HOMEWOOD CEMETERY HISTORICAL FUNDPittsburghPA$222k0
NANTUCKET LIGHTSHIP BASKET MUSEUM INCNantucketMA$222k0
LATINX PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE INCMiddletownNY$222k6
WISDOM CIRCLES OCEANIAKaneoheHI$222k1
DANCE MASTERS OF NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER 5 INCLawrenceMA$222k3
THE MUSEUM OF POWER AND INDUSTRYBelvidereTN$222k0
MARYLAND STATE SOCIETY OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONBaltimoreMD$222k0
GERMAN CULTURAL SOCIETY OF ST LOUISSt LouisMO$222k0
WE ARE ALL MUSIC FOUNDATION INCBloomfieldNJ$222k1
THE SONA FOUNDATIONEncinoCA$222k0
ITALIAN HERITAGE CELEBRATION INCSan FranciscoCA$222k0
THE SQUARE FOOT THEATRE COMPANY INCWallingfordCT$222k2
BROWN GIRLS DOC MAFIA INCBronxNY$222k2
MONMOUTH CIVIC CHORUS INCRed BankNJ$222k0
IPSWICH MUSEUM INCIpswichMA$222k0
BUNKER PROJECTS INCPittsburghPA$222k1
NEW YORK CONCERT ARTISTS ASSOCIATES INCNew YorkNY$222k0
HAUSMANN QUARTET FOUNDATIONSan DiegoCA$222k2
TWIN CITIES CATALYST MUSIC INCBurnsvilleMN$222k1
Lobster Theater Project Killing My LobsterSan FranciscoCA$222k2
CHORAL ART SOCIETYPortlandME$222k0
BOCA GRANDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCBoca GrandeFL$222k0
RADIO 74 INTERNATIONALEDenverCO$222k0
Carolina Youth SymphonyGreenvilleSC$222k1
Island Breeze MinistriesKansas CityMO$222k0
Tucson Scottish Rite Cathedral FoundationTucsonAZ$222k0
UNITED CHINESE LEARNING CENTERHuntington BeachCA$222k2
Waco Cultural Arts FestWacoTX$222k0
WOMEN ON THE WORLD STAGE WOW INC CO SUZAN JOHNSONSag HarborNY$222k0
NORTH CAROLINA BAROQUE ORCHESTRADavidsonNC$222k0
BALTIMORE ROCK OPERA SOCIETY INCBaltimoreMD$222k2
Penn Theater Performance CompanyButlerPA$222k0
ROGER K WILLIAMS CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONTwinsburgOH$222k2
North Country Studio Workshops IncNorth HamptonNH$222k2
ELLEN SINOPOLI DANCE COMPANY INCTroyNY$222k1
HUMAN CONNECTIONSNorthfieldIL$221k1
EIGHTH MAINE REGIMENT MEMORIAL ASSOCIATIONPeaks IslandME$221k0
BRITISH ARCHITECTURAL LIBRARY TRUST INCNew YorkNY$221k0
DAKOTA PRAIRIE REGIONAL CENTER FOR THE ARTSNew RockfordND$221k0
THE CIRCUS AND AERIAL ACADEMY OF TUCSON INCTucsonAZ$221k1
HOLLYWOOD SCIENCE FICTION FOUNDATIONChatsworthCA$221k0
SOUTH BEND YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRASSouth BendIN$221k0
CCPC NY INCNew YorkNY$221k0
CONTRA COSTA CHINESE SCHOOLWalnut CreekCA$221k1
HARTFORD CHORALE INCHartfordCT$221k0