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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 35 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MIZEL CENTER FOR ARTS AND CULTUREDenverCO$4.9M4
ARKANSAS EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK FOConwayAR$4.9M0
PEORIA RIVERFRONT MUSEUMPeoriaIL$4.9M2
BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ARTYoungstownOH$4.9M2
PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY OF ORANGE COUNTYIrvineCA$4.9M3
SHAREWELLSanta MonicaCA$4.9M5
VERMONT COUNCIL ON THE ARTS INCMontpelierVT$4.9M1
PITTSBURGH GLASS CENTER INCPittsburghPA$4.9M4
COMUNIDADES INDIGENAS EN LIDERAZGO CORPLos AngelesCA$4.9M3
MONTCLAIR FILM FESTIVAL INCMontclairNJ$4.9M3
CANTON PALACE THEATRE ASSOCIATIONCantonOH$4.9M1
MARYLAND HALL FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS INCAnnapolisMD$4.9M2
CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCSacramentoCA$4.9M3
THEATRE ASPENAspenCO$4.9M2
ROCKPORT MUSIC INCRockportMA$4.9M3
FRIENDS OF THE MOZARTINA MUSICAL ARTS CONSERVATORY INCTarrytownNY$4.9M6
EITELJORG MUSEUM OF AMERICAN INDIANS AND WESTERN ART INCIndianapolisIN$4.9M0
CITY ACCESS NEW YORK INCStaten IslandNY$4.9M1
ARTS COUNCIL OF INDIANAPOLIS INCIndianapolisIN$4.9M2
REVOLUTIONARY SPACES INCBostonMA$4.9M4
SWISS INSTITUTENew YorkNY$4.9M4
SEATTLE SYMPHONY FOUNDATIONSeattleWA$4.9M2
SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY INCLenoxMA$4.9M5
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S MEDIA FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$4.9M6
LATVIAN CENTER GAREZERSThree RiversMI$4.9M1
RIVERSIDE ART MUSEUMRiversideCA$4.9M3
LION GLOBAL FOUNDATIONGreenwood VillageCO$4.9M1
VINDEX MEDIAMeridianID$4.9M4
Creative ActionAustinTX$4.9M2
Burnon Inc dba Rubicon Theatre CompanyVenturaCA$4.9M1
TIBET HOUSE US INCNew YorkNY$4.9M0
DELAWARE COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGNWilmingtonDE$4.9M2
MUSEUM OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA (MOAD)San FranciscoCA$4.9M1
Crosstown ArtsMemphisTN$4.9M1
MEMPHIS FOURTH ESTATE INCMemphisTN$4.9M3
LUTHER F CARSON FOUR RIVERS CENTER INCPaducahKY$4.9M2
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIESWashingtonDC$4.9M6
NEW EARTH ORGANIZATIONLos AngelesCA$4.9M3
NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVALWashingtonDC$4.9M4
FIGGE ART MUSEUMDavenportIA$4.8M3
STEPAFRIKA USA INCWashingtonDC$4.8M2
MAHARASHTRA MANDAL - BAY AREAMilpitasCA$4.8M0
PROVIDENCE REVOLVING FUNDProvidenceRI$4.8M0
THE CAFE TEXAN HISTORY MUSEUM & LIBRARY INCHuntsvilleTX$4.8M0
GWINNETT CHAMPIONSHIP FOUNDATION INCDuluthGA$4.8M0
NATIONAL ITALIAN AMERICAN FOUNDATIONINCWashingtonDC$4.8M2
FLORIDA PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE INCSt PetersburgFL$4.8M3
VIRGINIA FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC MEDIARichmondVA$4.8M3
PHILADELPHIA FILM SOCIETYPhiladelphiaPA$4.8M2
NATIONAL ORNAMENTAL METAL MUSEUM INCMemphisTN$4.8M0