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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 343 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
JACKSON AREA FESTIVALS & EVENTSJacksonOH$215k0
AlborzLos AngelesCA$215k0
KINGSMEN SHAKESPEARE COMPANYThousand OaksCA$215k0
SACRED WAYS FOUNDATION LTDStaatsburgNY$215k0
El Cerrito Band AssociationEl CerritoCA$215k1
FRIENDS OF THE CORONADORockfordIL$215k1
JOHN F PETO STUDIO MUSEUM INCIsland HeightsNJ$215k0
Swaida American SocietyWashingtonDC$215k0
Gurdjieff Society of Massachusetts IncCambridgeMA$215k0
NATIONAL PARKS ARTS FOUNDATION C/O TANYA ORTEGASanta FeNM$215k1
Bay Area Omni Foundation forEl GranadaCA$214k2
SOO LOCKS CHILDRENS MUSEUMSault Sainte MarieMI$214k0
Laughing Horse Arts FoundationEllensburgWA$214k0
OSWEGO HERITAGE COUNCIL INCLake OswegoOR$214k0
SanarteSeattleWA$214k0
LOTUS TAO CULTURE ASSOCIATIONSan FranciscoCA$214k0
Meridian Art AssociationMeridianMS$214k0
FRIENDS OF THE PARADISE THEATERPaoniaCO$214k0
PocoapocoMinneapolisMN$214k2
Winchester Little Theatre IncWinchesterVA$214k0
Boerne Community Theatre IncBoerneTX$214k0
Youth Orchestras of CharlotteCharlotteNC$214k2
Hero Theatre IncLos AngelesCA$214k0
INDEPENDENT JEWISH WORLD CINEMA INCWalnut CreekCA$214k1
ARTS CENTER OF SAINT PETER INCSaint PeterMN$214k0
TEXAS BARNSTORMING MUSEUMHallettsvilleTX$214k0
TAIWANESE HERITAGE SOCIETY OF HOUSTONHoustonTX$214k0
RANDOLPH HERITAGE CONSERVANCY INCFranklinvilleNC$214k0
CARSON COUNTY SQUARE HOUSE MUSEUMPanhandleTX$214k0
AL-NAHDA CENTERNFPWorthIL$214k0
TEN FIFTEEN PRODUCTIONSAstoriaOR$214k1
VISTA 360JacksonWY$214k0
GEORGIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY INCAtlantaGA$214k0
THE BEST PRODUCTION COMPANY INCNorwichCT$214k1
THE PRINCESS AND THE PLATYPUS FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$214k0
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE SALZBURG EASTER FESTIVALNew YorkNY$214k0
BIGFORK CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION LTDBigforkMT$214k0
METROPLEX TAMIL SANGAMCoppellTX$214k0
SAINT LOUIS NIHONGO KYOSHITSU INC C/O WEBSTER UNIVERSITYSaint LouisMO$214k1
RICHARDS INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION RESEARCHNapaCA$214k1
Joseph Avenue Arts and Culture Alliance IncRochesterNY$214k2
PONES INCHighland HeightsKY$214k1
OKANOGAN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCOkanoganWA$214k0
The Boston Camerata IncBostonMA$214k0
EAST SIDE ARTS COUNCILSt PaulMN$214k2
barn studio of Art IncMillvilleNJ$214k0
Hawkeye Indian Cultural Center IncShannonNC$214k5
Sessions at McPike Park IncMadisonWI$214k0
COMPLEX WEAVERSBoiseID$214k0
Papageno Society IncNew YorkNY$214k1