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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 348 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Arts By The People IncMorristownNJ$209k1
METTLESOME THEATERDurhamNC$209k6
Targum Publishing CompanyNew BrunswickNJ$209k4
ALAMANCE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM INCBurlingtonNC$209k1
STORY THEATER COMPANYAmesIA$209k3
ENCANTO ARTSSeattleWA$209k0
Cousin Collective IncRiversideCA$209k0
NACOGDOCHES COUNTY HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONNacogdochesTX$209k0
INDIANA ENTERTAINMENT FOUNDATION INCIndianapolisIN$209k0
ORANGE COUNTY CURRENT AFFAIRS FORUM DBA OC FORUMOrangeCA$209k0
INLAND VALLEY CLASSICAL BALLET THEATERTemeculaCA$209k0
THEATRE ART FOR KIDSLincolnNE$209k1
MANCHESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCManchesterCT$209k0
ASBURY PARK THEATER COMPANYAsbury ParkNJ$209k2
American French Genealogical SocietyWoonsocketRI$209k0
LAKE GENEVA CHILDRENS MUSEUM INCLake GenevaWI$209k0
SOCIETY FOR CREATIVE ANACHRONISM - PA INCScotts ValleyCA$209k0
THE CONSERVATOIRE INC EUROPEAN SCHOOL OF MUSICAtlantaGA$209k2
RANDOM ACTS INCAcworthGA$209k0
INT'L ASSOC OF CLINICAL RESEARCH NURSESMullica HillNJ$209k0
LAMB ARTS LTDSioux CityIA$209k0
SENECA FALLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCSeneca FallsNY$209k0
CORAZON LATINOSanta MariaCA$209k0
BROWNSVILLE SOCIETY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSBrownsvilleTX$209k0
HUNTSVILLE COMMUNITY DRUMLINE INCHuntsvilleAL$209k0
GARDEN DISTRICT ASSOCIATIONNew OrleansLA$209k1
MARIN SOCIETY OF ARTISTSSan RafaelCA$209k0
LATINO PUBLIC RADIOCranstonRI$209k0
MATTHEWS LIVING HISTORY FARM FOUNDATIONGalaxVA$209k0
BRUCE LEE FOUNDATION INCLos AngelesCA$209k1
Irish Heritage Society of Milford IncMilfordCT$209k0
BOSTON SWING CENTRAL INCMaldenMA$209k0
TOCOI CREEK ARTS BOOSTERS INCSaint AugustineFL$209k0
ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS FOUNDATIONSacramentoCA$209k0
Irish Music School of ChicagoChicagoIL$209k1
Sanatana Yaksha Ranga Cultural Center IncSan JoseCA$208k0
OUR FABULOUS VARIETY SHOW INCHampton BaysNY$208k1
THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF NORTHERN NCarson CityNV$208k0
SHEFFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETYSheffieldMA$208k0
DELAWARE STATE POLICE MUSEUM INCDoverDE$208k0
Weston Community Association IncWestonVT$208k0
SITKA HISTORICAL SOCIETYSitkaAK$208k0
Orlando Metropolitan Ballet Academy IncOrlandoFL$208k0
AMHERST HISTORICAL SOCIETYAmherstOH$208k0
Blacksburg Museum And Cultural Foundation IncBlacksburgVA$208k0
Bluffton Youth TheatreOkatieSC$208k0
CORONA HERITAGE FOUNDATIONCoronaCA$208k0
MCDOWELL ARTS COUNCIL ASSOCIATIONMarionNC$208k0
PRINCETON BROADCASTING SERVICE INCPrincetonNJ$208k0
The Garden City Historical SocietyGarden CityNY$208k0