Skip to main content
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 341 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FRIENDS OF HEARTHSTONE INCAppletonWI$217k0
MARLOW GUITAR INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATEDRockvilleMD$217k1
DAUPHIN RESTORATION SOCIETY INCMobileAL$217k0
THREE AKSHAPhiladelphiaPA$217k4
MARIGNOLI DI MONTECORONA FOUNDATIONINC DUCCIO K MARIGNOLI PRESIDENTHonoluluHI$217k0
SAUK PRAIRIE MUSIC ASSOCIATION INCPrairie Du SacWI$217k0
ELITE NAACH ACADEMYCorte MaderaCA$217k1
CAPE CHARLES ROSENWALD SCHOOL RESTORATION INITIATIVE INCCape CharlesVA$217k0
FOLUKE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER INCClevelandOH$217k2
Klamath County Museum FoundationKlamath FallsOR$217k0
LUOMALA CHARITABLE TRUSTHonoluluHI$217k1
THE ENCHANTED CIRCLE INCHolyokeMA$217k0
PROVIDENCE PLACE V INCSouthern PinesNC$217k0
SLEEPER TRUSTIolaKS$217k0
The Jazz Bakery Performance SpaceBeverly HillsCA$217k1
SCALEHOUSEBendOR$217k1
SHULLSBURG 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATIONShullsburgWI$217k0
DON AND SARA ARMEN FOUNDATION INCCantonOH$217k0
BOWMAN COUNTY HISTORICAL & GENEOLOGICAL SOCIETYBowmanND$217k1
URASENKE FOUNDATION OF CALIFORNIASan FranciscoCA$217k2
KERN RIVER VALLEY ART ASSOCIATWofford HeightsCA$217k2
PACK DANCESaint LouisMO$217k1
HICKORY MUSIC FACTORY INCHickoryNC$217k0
INDEPENDENT FILM SOCIETY OF BOSTON INCCambridgeMA$217k1
ARKANSAS CENTER FOR NURSING INCLittle RockAR$217k1
BLOCK ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETYBlock IslandRI$217k0
BLACK LABEL MOVEMENTMinneapolisMN$217k1
SICC INCStaten IslandNY$217k2
HIGHLANDS NATURE FRIENDS INCRingwoodNJ$217k0
Ferndale Repertory TheatreFerndaleCA$217k0
ITALIAN AMERICAN FORUM INCBronxvilleNY$217k0
NEVADA THEATRE COMMISSIONNevada CityCA$217k0
THE LIGHTHOUSE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INCNew YorkNY$217k1
RUCKUSROOTS INCLos AngelesCA$217k1
FRANK HAMILTON SCHOOL INCDecaturGA$217k5
YOEMEM TEKIA FOUNDATIONTucsonAZ$216k0
BERKANA INSTITUTEProvo CanyonUT$216k0
CULTURAL ARTS CENTER INCDothanAL$216k0
JOHN PAUL STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL BAND BOOSTERS INCSan AntonioTX$216k0
CLUES REAL ESTATE HOLDING COMPANYSt PaulMN$216k2
THE LIRA ENSEMBLEChicagoIL$216k1
SAN FRANCISCO INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVALSan FranciscoCA$216k1
Spencer-Penn School Preservation Organization IncSpencerVA$216k1
MICHIGAN MUSEUMS ASSOCIATIONCheboyganMI$216k0
ORANGE COUNTY ARTS ALLIANCEHillsboroughNC$216k0
SINGING SENSATIONS YOUTH CHOIR INCRandallstownMD$216k0
BARENBOIM-SAID FOUNDATION (USA)New YorkNY$216k1
LAWNDALE POP-UP SPOTChicagoIL$216k2
Red Line Service InstituteChicagoIL$216k0
JON LEHRER DANCE INCAstoriaNY$216k1