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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 346 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
VENTURA AUDUBON SOCIETYVenturaCA$212k2
LUX CHORAL SOCIETYDraperUT$212k0
TEATRO DE LA LUNAWashingtonDC$212k2
FRIENDS OF NEWPORT THEATRE ARTS CENTERNewport BeachCA$211k0
BEAUFORT ART ASSOCIATIONBeaufortSC$211k0
Humboldt Historical Society DBA Humboldt County Historical SocietyEurekaCA$211k0
SOUNDCORPS INCChattanoogaTN$211k2
RIVER RAISIN RAGTIME REVUETecumsehMI$211k0
Utah Blues SocietyWest JordanUT$211k0
ARMENIAN FAIRYTALES INCGlendaleCA$211k0
ARTSOUTH A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATIONSouth MiamiFL$211k0
NORTHWEST DANCE NETWORKSeattleWA$211k0
MILLER CONNELL H MEMORIAL TRUSTPittsburghPA$211k1
RECREATIONAL ARTS INCMartinsvilleNJ$211k2
HMONG MUSEUM OF MINNESOTASt PaulMN$211k1
EXPERIMENTS IN OPERABrooklynNY$211k3
INSIGHT FOR THE BLIND INCFort LauderdaleFL$211k1
THE WOMAN'S CLUB OF COCONUT GROVEMiamiFL$211k0
AWC COMMUNITY EVENTS INCTulsaOK$211k0
KERR ARTS & CULTURAL CENTER INCKerrvilleTX$211k0
The Henry Kapono FoundationHonoluluHI$211k1
FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS INCSanta BarbaraCA$211k0
PERFORMING ARTS FOR LIFE AND EDUCATION FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$211k0
LAKE GENEVA HERITAGE CENTERLake GenevaWI$211k0
Santa Clarita Valley Historical SocietyNewhallCA$211k0
BOHEMIAREGoldenCO$211k0
THE MANOR CLUBPelham ManorNY$211k0
JACKSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYIndependenceMO$211k0
PORT ANGELES CITY BALLETPort AngelesWA$211k1
HOLT-SMITHSON FOUNDATIONSanta FeNM$211k2
BLUE MOUNTAINS PROJECTS INCNew YorkNY$211k1
MASSACHUSETTS CENTER FOR NATIVE AMERICAN AWARENESS INCSaugusMA$211k1
STAGES OF FREEDOMProvidenceRI$211k0
FREEDMAN ARTS DISTRICT INCBeaufortSC$211k1
Carolina Master Chorale IncMyrtle BeachSC$211k1
INDIA AMERICAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION INCSmyrnaGA$211k0
LAKECITIES BALLET THEATRELewisvilleTX$211k2
JAMES WHITES FORTKnoxvilleTN$211k1
SACO RIVER COMMUNITY TELEVISIONHollisME$211k2
FREEDOM ARTS AND EDUCATION CENTERSaint LouisMO$211k3
SOUTHERN PLAIN PRODUCTIONSEdmondOK$211k1
OJAI MAESTROOjaiCA$211k0
PALM DESERT HIGH SCHOOL BAND BOOSTERS INCPalm DesertCA$211k0
MINNESOTA FISHING MUSEUM & HALL OF FAMELittle FallsMN$211k1
Charles County Arts Alliance IncWhite PlainsMD$211k4
THREE DOLLAR BILL CINEMASeattleWA$211k0
SAMPLE-MCDOUGALD HOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCPompano BeachFL$211k1
BEAR PAWS CULTURAL ARTHinckleyMN$210k2
PERSIAN NEW YEAR FESTIVAL INCScottsdaleAZ$210k0
POPLAR GROVE AVIATION EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONPoplar GroveIL$210k0