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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 357 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ORLANDO GAY CHORUS INCOrlandoFL$199k1
SAWNEE BALLET THEATRE INCCummingGA$199k0
Buffalo Chamber Music SocietyBuffaloNY$199k0
PAHOA LAVA ZONE MUSEUMPahoaHI$199k0
LAKE COUNTY WINE ALLIANCEKelseyvilleCA$199k0
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE & LANGUAGE CTR OF PROVIDENCEProvidenceRI$199k1
Abounding Grace RadioLyndenWA$199k1
INTERNATIONAL HORN SOCIETYHuntington BeachCA$199k1
Bas Bleu Theater CompanyFort CollinsCO$199k0
Black Image CenterLos AngelesCA$199k3
PLANT CITY PHOTO ARCHIVES INCPlant CityFL$199k0
STAR CENTER CHILDRENS THEATRE INCGainesvilleFL$199k0
ALL ARE STARS PRODUCTIONSSeattleWA$199k6
GOLD COAST NEIGHBORS ASSOCIATIONChicagoIL$199k0
ELM FOUNDATION INCBrooklynNY$199k0
THE GOOD LISTENING PROJECTWashingtonDC$199k0
BRAVO THEATRENorthbrookIL$199k0
MUSE 360 INCORPORATEDBaltimoreMD$199k1
ORPHEUM THEATRE OF GALESBURG IL NFP INCGalesburgIL$199k0
Victor Band Boosters IncVictorNY$199k0
PARADOSI CHRISTIAN BALLETTacomaWA$199k1
SAN LUIS REY MISSION INDIAN FOUNDATIONVistaCA$199k0
MODEST FLY ART STUDIO GALLERY INCTujungaCA$199k1
GODS GRACE MINISTRYElbertWV$199k1
FLORA MACDONALD EDU FOUNDATION INCRed SpringsNC$199k0
INDIAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF HOWARD COUNTY INCEllicott CityMD$199k1
OXYGEN THEATER CORPScarsdaleNY$199k0
ARTS & HUMANITIES RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE ELDERLYCincinnatiOH$199k0
Ingersoll Gender CenterSeattleWA$199k1
HOWARD & CAROLEE WHITE FOUNDATIONMenlo ParkCA$199k0
New Orleans Mardi Gras IndianNew OrleansLA$199k0
THE DEFIANCE COMMUNITY CULTURAL COUNCIL INCDefianceOH$199k2
ROME SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCRomeGA$199k0
TOUCHET VALLEY ARTS COUNCILDaytonWA$199k0
CALAVERAS COUNTY ARTS COUNCILSan AndreasCA$199k0
MIAMIBLOCO INCMiamiFL$199k2
CLASSICALLY CONNECTED INCNew YorkNY$199k0
DANISH FESTIVAL INCGreenvilleMI$199k0
THE ALPHA DELTA PHI FOUNDATION INCPalatineIL$199k0
AL HAMID ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF SANFORDSanfordNC$199k0
FINE ARTS CHAMBER PLAYERSDallasTX$199k1
GLENDALE ARTSGlendaleCA$199k1
ENSEMBLE ALTERAJohnstonRI$199k4
IQHUBSt JohnsMI$199k0
WHAT A DO THEATREBattle CreekMI$199k1
DIMENSIONS VARIABLE (DV)MiamiFL$199k1
LONG ISLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC INCAlbertsonNY$199k0
LUTYENS TRUST AMERICA INCSugar HillGA$199k1
PEEKSKILL HERALD INCPeekskillNY$199k0
PLAYWRIGHTS ARENALos AngelesCA$199k1