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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 34 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
HUDSON LIBRARY & HISTORICAL SOCIETYHudsonOH$5.1M2
ALCOHOL & DRUG ABUSE SERVICES INCPort AlleganyPA$5.1M3
VIJA CELMINS FOUNDATION INC C/0 VIJA CELMINSSag HarborNY$5.1M0
NEVADA PUBLIC RADIOLas VegasNV$5.1M3
JEWISH FOOD SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$5.1M2
STRAWBERY BANKE MUSEUMPortsmouthNH$5.1M1
VERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION INCVero BeachFL$5.1M0
MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCBaltimoreMD$5.1M2
A CONTEMPORARY THEATRE INCSeattleWA$5.1M4
THE LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INCLos AngelesCA$5.1M4
WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE INCWestportCT$5.1M4
SCHOOL OF ARTS AND CULTURE AT MHPSan JoseCA$5M5
MUSEUM OF GLASSTacomaWA$5M2
THE UNION FOR CONTEMPORARY ART INCOmahaNE$5M1
PUBLIC BROADCASTING FOUNDATION OF NORTHWEST OHIOToledoOH$5M3
PALM BEACH OPERA INCWest Palm BeachFL$5M3
SITAR ARTS CENTERWashingtonDC$5M2
North Texas Performing ArtsPlanoTX$5M0
Black Ensemble Theater CorporationChicagoIL$5M2
THE TAMPA THEATRE INC A/K/A TAMPA THEATRE FOUNDATIONTampaFL$5M1
FORWARD IMPACTLos AngelesCA$5M5
JOHN MICHAEL KOHLER ARTS CENTER INCSheboyganWI$5M5
ST GEORGE MUSICAL THEATERSt GeorgeUT$5M1
AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETYNew YorkNY$5M4
THE SEPHARDIC HERITAGE MUSEUM INCNew YorkNY$5M1
THOMAS EDISON & HENRY FORD WINTER ESTATES INCFort MyersFL$5M3
SAG HARBOR CINEMA ARTS CENTER INC CO SUSAN MEADSag HarborNY$5M4
CLAY CENTER FOR THE ARTS & SCIENCES OF WV INCCharlestonWV$5M3
YUNUS EMRE FOUNDATION INCWashingtonDC$5M1
EMMETT TILL & MAMIE TILL-MOBLEY INSTITUTESummitIL$5M1
GRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUMGrand RapidsMI$5M2
CHINESE CULTURE FOUNDATION OF SAN FRANCISCOSan FranciscoCA$5M1
PROMETHEUSWashingtonDC$5M0
OREGON CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEARNINGMedfordOR$5M1
WESTMORELAND MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARTGreensburgPA$5M3
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND MUSEUM OF ARTBainbridge IslandWA$5M4
CHARLES M SCHULZ MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTERSanta RosaCA$5M2
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company IncWashingtonDC$5M2
The Richard H Driehaus MuseumChicagoIL$5M4
ARTS CENTER OF COASTAL CAROLINAHilton Head IslandSC$5M1
VIRGINIA OPERA ASSOCIATION INCNorfolkVA$5M1
REPERTOIRE INTERNATIONAL DE LITTERATURE MUSICALE INCNew YorkNY$5M4
EVERSON MUSEUM OF ART OF SYRACUSE AND ONONDAGA COUNTYSyracuseNY$5M1
SOUTH TEXAS INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTSCorpus ChristiTX$5M0
RADIO MILWAUKEE INCMilwaukeeWI$5M5
LEBANON OPERA HOUSE IMPROVEMENT CORPLebanonNH$5M1
BERKELEY SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF TRADITIONAL MUSICBerkeleyCA$5M6
COALITION TO SALUTE AMERICA'S HEROES FOUNDATIONWilliamsburgVA$5M1
Westerly Museum of American Impressionism FoundationWesterlyRI$5M0
BERKSHIRE PULSE INCHousatonicMA$4.9M1