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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 36 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Princeton Ballet SocietyNew BrunswickNJ$4.6M3
BROADWAY THEATRE LEAGUE OF HUNTSVILLE INCHuntsvilleAL$4.6M0
EAST TENNESSEE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATIONKnoxvilleTN$4.6M1
MESERVE-KUNHARDT FOUNDATIONPleasantvilleNY$4.6M2
BIG EARS FESTIVALKnoxvilleTN$4.6M0
CHEYENNE FRONTIER DAYS OLD WEST MUSEUMCheyenneWY$4.6M2
STADIUM THEATRE FOUNDATIONWoonsocketRI$4.6M1
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY (LONDON) FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$4.6M0
JAYNE LARKIN WRIGHTSMAN IRR TRUST XXXXX7008ChicagoIL$4.6M1
BLACK ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS INCDallasTX$4.6M1
THE MARYLAND BOOK BANK INCBaltimoreMD$4.6M1
DANCERS GROUPSan FranciscoCA$4.6M1
A D PlayersHoustonTX$4.6M2
LA MAMA EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE CLUB INCNew YorkNY$4.6M2
MIAMI NEW DRAMAMiamiFL$4.6M2
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF TAMPA INCTampaFL$4.6M5
LOUISIANA CHILDRENS MUSEUMNew OrleansLA$4.6M5
TIBET HOUSE US INCNew YorkNY$4.6M0
AEGIS CHARITIESViennaVA$4.6M0
America's Public Television StationsArlingtonVA$4.6M10
THE WORKS - OHIO CENTER FOR HISTORY ART & TECHNOLOGYNewarkOH$4.6M1
The Owls Head Transportation MuseumOwls HeadME$4.5M1
MUSICIANS ON CALL INCNashvilleTN$4.5M6
HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGOChicagoIL$4.5M2
MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART INCMobileAL$4.5M0
NATIONAL URBAN INDIAN FAMILY COALITIONSeattleWA$4.5M2
OKLAHOMA CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER INCOklahoma CityOK$4.5M2
VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCWashingtonDC$4.5M10
UNITED STATES FOUNDATION FOR THE COMMEMORATION OF WORLD WARSWashingtonDC$4.5M1
PLAINS ART MUSEUMFargoND$4.5M4
COALITION TO SALUTE AMERICA'S HEROES FOUNDATIONWilliamsburgVA$4.5M1
ROBERT S & GRAYCE B KERR FOUNDATIONOklahoma CityOK$4.5M2
CENTRO CULTURAL MEXICANORedmondWA$4.5M2
ENTERTAINMENT REVUE HITS FOUNDATION INCTampaFL$4.5M0
COLLINGS FOUNDATION INCHudsonMA$4.5M3
MUSEIQUEPasadenaCA$4.5M5
City Report IncNew YorkNY$4.5M7
The Center for Holocaust and Humanity EducationCincinnatiOH$4.5M2
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES AND ALUMNIWashingtonDC$4.5M8
STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND & AEROSPACE MUSEUMAshlandNE$4.5M1
CHICAGO POLICE MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$4.5M1
SOCIAL AND PUBLIC ART RESOURCE CENTERVeniceCA$4.5M1
The David Hochstein Memorial Music School IncRochesterNY$4.5M1
United We PledgeSt GeorgeUT$4.5M2
HARRISBURG SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION INCHarrisburgPA$4.5M2
TOWN HALL THEATER INCMiddleburyVT$4.5M1
AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY INCBrooklynNY$4.5M3
MICHIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORPORATIONSouth BendIN$4.5M1
THE PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM INCNew YorkNY$4.5M4
SCHUBERT CLUB THESt PaulMN$4.5M3