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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 339 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FIREHOUSE PROJECTSOaklandCA$220k1
SIERRA SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTSRenoNV$220k0
NoMuNoMu Too IncBaltimoreMD$220k1
ABILENE PERFORMING ARTS COMPANY INCAbileneTX$220k1
COPPER COIN BALLET COMPANYSpringfieldIL$220k0
HISPANIC WOMEN OF SPRINGFIELDSpringfieldIL$220k3
PHILADELPHIA MUSIC ALLIANCE DBA PMA MUSIC FUNDBala CynwydPA$220k0
COEUR DALENE COMMUNITY THEATRE AND ACADEMY INCCoeur D AleneID$220k0
HOMESTEAD YOUTH ARTS CENTER INCHomesteadFL$220k2
HOCKER PRODUCTIONSPalm SpringsCA$220k0
NEW AMERICANS MUSEUM INCSan DiegoCA$220k1
SEATTLE OUT AND PROUD INCSeattleWA$220k1
FREETOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCAssonetMA$220k0
BUCKS COUNTY CHORAL SOCIETYNew BritainPA$220k3
THE AMERICAN PATRONS OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY AND GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND INCMontclairNJ$220k0
THE NEWBERRY MUSEUMNewberrySC$220k1
Lecompton Historical Society IncLecomptonKS$220k0
GREATER ANDERSON MUSICAL ARTS CONSORTIUMAndersonSC$220k0
SPENCER CABLE ACCESS CORPORATIONSpencerMA$220k1
SYMPHONY OPERA AND BALLET EMPLOYERS ELECTRONIC MEDIA ASSOCIATIONChicagoIL$220k0
BALLET THEATRE SAN LUIS OBISPOSan Luis ObispoCA$220k1
BROWN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYNashvilleIN$220k0
Portland PlayersSouth PortlandME$220k0
RANDOLPH ARTS GUILD INCAsheboroNC$219k1
CHINESE CENTER ON LONG ISLAND INCWest HempsteadNY$219k2
INDIAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF PABensalemPA$219k0
TALONS OUT HONOR FLIGHT INCPortageMI$219k0
SPRINGFIELD YOUTH PERFORMANCE GROUP INCSpringfieldIL$219k0
5P SOCIETYLakewoodCA$219k1
ALOHA KUAMO'O' AINAKamuelaHI$219k1
CHELSEA COMMUNITY CABLE TELEVISION INCChelseaMA$219k4
CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY INCNorwalkCT$219k1
PUBLIC ASSISTANTS INCBrooklynNY$219k0
SAAB HERITAGE MUSEUM USASturgisSD$219k0
Alpine Heritage Preservation IncThomasWV$219k0
JEFFERSON COUNTY FESTIVAL CHARITIESDandridgeTN$219k2
NEW MEXICO ADVOCATES FOR THE ARTS INCLas CrucesNM$219k1
Artlink IncFort WayneIN$219k2
MEDIA TALK 101Mount CarrollIL$219k0
CHIOS SOCIETY OF THE GREATER WASHINGTON AREABethesdaMD$219k0
STRAWBERRY HILL ETHNIC CULTURAL SOCIETYKansas CityKS$219k0
ALBANY LIVE INCAlbanyTX$219k0
ARTISTS IMAGE RESOURCE INCPittsburghPA$219k1
The Avenue BlackBox IncRochesterNY$219k1
FRIENDS OF EBEYS LANDING NATIONAL HISTORICAL RESERVECoupevilleWA$219k0
The Generations Project IncNew YorkNY$219k2
CHICAGO KOREAN DANCE COMPANYRolling MeadowsIL$219k1
LA FESTA ITALIANA INCLiverpoolNY$219k0
ARTRAIN INCAnn ArborMI$219k1
SEIFERT SHORT RUSSELL FOLK ART DOLL MUSEUM LEARNING CENTERSarasotaFL$219k0