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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 358 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
WHITESIDE THEATRE FOUNDATIONCorvallisOR$199k0
California Hazara CommunityNorth HighlandsCA$199k0
TRUE BLUE JAZZ INCLewesDE$199k0
FORUM86PortlandOR$199k0
ROYAL MUSIC & ARTS CENTERGlensidePA$199k0
Missouri River Valley Steam Engine AssociationBoonvilleMO$199k0
ASIAN-AMERICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE INC ASIAN-AMERICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEEDorchesterMA$199k0
CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF SOUTHERN INDIANA INCEvansvilleIN$199k2
FORT MIFFLIN ON THE DELAWAREPhiladelphiaPA$199k1
NANTUCKET TIPPING POINT INCNantucketMA$199k0
TRIBAL MINDS INCSparksNV$199k0
TIBETAN ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGSeattleWA$199k0
Empact IncBrentwoodNY$199k2
VIRGIN VALLEY ARTISTS' ASSOCIATIONMesquiteNV$199k0
FALLS PATIO PLAYERS INCMenomonee FallsWI$199k0
IMPULSE YOUTH ARTS ORGANIZATIOBuena ParkCA$199k0
ENDANGERED SPECIES THEATRE PROJECTFrederickMD$199k3
LYNNVILLE AREA ARTS ASSOCIATION INCPulaskiTN$199k1
WEST HARLEM ARTS ALLIANCE INCNew YorkNY$199k1
LUMINA YOUTH CHOIRS INCTampaFL$199k1
Sacramento Jazz Education FoundationSacramentoCA$199k1
ART FACTORY HOUSTON INCHoustonTX$199k0
COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION COLLECTIVEChicagoIL$199k0
WALNUT GROVE CULTURAL CENTER INCWest CovinaCA$199k0
Torito Arts NfpChicagoIL$198k1
ALLIE'S DREAM INCWoodbridgeCT$198k0
PHAROS THE INTERNATIONAL PHOTO ARCHIVES ASSOCIATIONBrooklynNY$198k1
COMMUNITY RADIO PARTNERSLebanonIN$198k0
THE GREATER SOUTHERN JERSEY PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY INCMoorestownNJ$198k0
INSTITUTE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC AND ARTMilwaukeeWI$198k0
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE COCALICO VALLEYEphrataPA$198k0
ARTISTS WEST ASSOCIATION INCWalthamMA$198k1
ROYAL RIVER COMMUNITY PLAYERSYarmouthME$198k1
PAN AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAWashingtonDC$198k0
Natchez Opera Festival IncNatchezMS$198k0
TEXAS THROUGH TIME INCHillsboroTX$198k0
ORIGIN THEATRE COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$198k1
ALCORTA'S FOLKLORICO DIAMANTE INCCorpus ChristiTX$198k1
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF ST GEORGES & DESCENDANTS OF THE KNIGHTSGlenviewKY$198k0
ARTIST CONNECTION THEATRE INCJacksonvilleFL$198k0
Mish Moves Dance Company IncRoanokeVA$198k2
CRYSTAL CITY PILGRIMAGE COMMITTEEOaklandCA$198k0
CENTRAL WASHINGTON AGRICULTURAL MUSEUMUnion GapWA$198k0
The Nordic Press Estonian-American Publisher IncNew YorkNY$198k2
NEW ARAB AMERICAN THEATER WORKSMinneapolisMN$198k1
KANSAS CITY RAINDROP FOUNDATIONKansas CityKS$198k2
THE HAMPTON HISTORY MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCHamptonVA$198k1
YOUTH CHORALE OF CENTRAL MINNESOTASt CloudMN$198k1
FIGLEAF EDUCATIONAL FESTIVALSFresnoCA$198k0
PORT ALLEN EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING FOUNDATIONZacharyLA$198k0