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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 338 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Corrib TheatrePortlandOR$221k1
Ke Kai Ala FoundationKailua KonaHI$221k0
VILLA SINFONIA FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$221k4
WISEBLOOD BOOKS INCMenomonee FallsWI$221k0
WIDEMAN DAVIS DANCE OF NEW YORK INCColumbiaSC$221k0
FILMMAKERS UNITEDBurbankCA$221k1
VIETNAMESE AMERICAN ORGANIZATION - VAOSan JoseCA$221k1
WORLD POETRY BOOKSNew YorkNY$221k0
Allegro Community Music SchoolWarrentonVA$221k0
MT BLUE COMMUNITY ACCESS TV INCFarmingtonME$221k0
MACIR IncBostonMA$221k0
HISTORIC GEORGETOWN INCGeorgetownCO$221k1
Arts Center Task ForceRichlandWA$221k2
THE KENTUCKY LOCAL ISSUES CONFERENCE INCFrankfortKY$221k0
Firelight Creative ProductionsGrandviewMO$221k0
Reston Historic TrustRestonVA$221k0
Santa Fe Concert Foundation dba Performance Santa Fe FoundationSanta FeNM$221k0
MONROE PUBLIC ACCESS CABLE TELEVISION INC MPACT 40 18MonroeMI$221k0
STORRIER STEARNS GARDEN FKA STORRIER STEARNS JAPANESE GARDENPasadenaCA$221k0
BASE ACADEMY OF MUSICKansas CityMO$221k1
COLUMBUS JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETYColumbusOH$221k1
THE BARN THEATREMontvilleNJ$221k0
JAZZ ARTS PROJECT INCRed BankNJ$221k0
THE VANPORT MOSAICPortlandOR$221k1
The Marble Institute of Colorado IncDenverCO$221k0
ISSAQUAH DANCE THEATRE ENSEMBLEIssaquahWA$221k2
BUFFALO BILL DAM VISITOR CENTERCodyWY$221k1
Roger Shapiro Fund for New MusicMount VernonNY$221k1
RPM FOUNDATIONTacomaWA$221k3
CHAMBER MUSIC AMICIEugeneOR$221k0
THE FESTIVAL OPERA ASSOCIATION INCWalnut CreekCA$221k0
Westville Village Renaissance Alliance IncNew HavenCT$221k0
ART ALLIANCE OF GREENSBORO INCGreensboroNC$220k0
Mount Desert Festival of Chamber MusicMount DesertME$220k1
MORNING STAR KOREAN CULTURAL CENTERLynnwoodWA$220k0
ESS COMMUNITY PROJECTS INCBrooklynNY$220k0
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA DANCE COLLECTIVEBerkeleyCA$220k1
HELPING OUR PEOPLE EVOLVE INCORPORATEDNew YorkNY$220k1
CHATHAM MARCONI MARITIME CENTER INCN ChathamMA$220k0
HARLEM NEEDLE ARTS INCNew YorkNY$220k0
COMMUNITY PLAYERS INCBeatriceNE$220k1
CARSON HUGHES FOUNDATION INCMilanIN$220k0
CONNECTION FIRST INCTallahasseeFL$220k0
FREDERICK BOOK ARTS CENTER INCFrederickMD$220k0
Angelica Center for Arts and MusicLos AngelesCA$220k6
Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival Inc formerly Friends of Mill Valley FallMill ValleyCA$220k0
GENERAL BAKER INSTITUTEHighland ParkMI$220k1
CREATIVE CHINA CENTER INCPort WashingtonNY$220k1
CONSERVATORY OF DANCE INCGrangerIN$220k1
KEARNEY COMMUNITY THEATREKearneyNE$220k0