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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 36 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
HANDS ON CHILDREN'S MUSEUMOlympiaWA$4.8M2
OPERA OMAHA INCOmahaNE$4.8M1
American Friends of Israel Philharmonic OrchestraNew YorkNY$4.8M2
THE BOOK ARTS PRESS INCCharlottesvilleVA$4.8M3
CHIPPEWA AREA HISTORY CENTER INCChippewa FallsWI$4.8M0
THE LAGUNA PLAYHOUSELaguna BeachCA$4.8M5
MISSISSIPPI CHILDREN'S MUSEUMJacksonMS$4.8M2
MILKWEED EDITIONS INCMinneapolisMN$4.8M4
MID-ATLANTIC CENTER FOR THE ARTSCape MayNJ$4.8M4
JEROME ROBBINS FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$4.8M3
THE MARYLAND BOOK BANK INCBaltimoreMD$4.8M1
UNIVERSITYRESIDENT THEATRE ASSOCIATIONNew YorkNY$4.8M1
ANN ARBOR HANDS-ON MUSEUMAnn ArborMI$4.8M1
BALTIMORE OFFICE OF PROMOTION AND THE ARTS INCBaltimoreMD$4.8M1
SUN VALLEY SUMMER SYMPHONY INCSun ValleyID$4.8M1
INDIAN PUEBLO CULTURAL CENTERAlbuquerqueNM$4.8M6
REYNOLDA HOUSE INCWinstonsalemNC$4.7M4
SUN VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS INCKetchumID$4.7M2
THE AMERICAN WRITERS MUSEUMChicagoIL$4.7M1
The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center IncOld SaybrookCT$4.7M1
DISCOVERY CENTER MUSEUM OF ROCKFORD INCRockfordIL$4.7M1
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences FoundationNorth HollywoodCA$4.7M6
SCIENCENTER DISCOVERY MUSEUMIthacaNY$4.7M2
RENAISSANCE THEATRE COMPANY INCOrlandoFL$4.7M4
VINEYARD THEATRE AND WORKSHOP CENTER INCNew YorkNY$4.7M2
WISCONSIN CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC INCMilwaukeeWI$4.7M2
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DENVERDenverCO$4.7M7
OCEAN REEF CULTURAL CENTER INCKey LargoFL$4.7M1
THE PARRISH ART MUSEUM INCWater MillNY$4.7M7
HUNTINGTON MUSEUM OF ART INCHuntingtonWV$4.7M1
Carolina Theatre of Durham IncDurhamNC$4.7M2
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF SONOMA COUNTYSanta RosaCA$4.7M3
QUEENS PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATIONFlushingNY$4.7M3
Planes of Fame Air MuseumChinoCA$4.7M1
Shraman FoundationDallasTX$4.7M0
VESTERHEIM NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN MUSEUMDecorahIA$4.7M2
GOLDEN GATE PERFORMING ARTS INCSan FranciscoCA$4.7M2
St Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime MuseumSaint AugustineFL$4.7M3
Native Roots Network IncBella VistaCA$4.7M1
SOCIETY OF MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION ENGINEERS INCWhite PlainsNY$4.7M3
APPALSHOP INCWhitesburgKY$4.7M6
DULUTH-SUPERIOR AREA EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION CORPORATIONDuluthMN$4.7M1
STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND & AEROSPACE MUSEUMAshlandNE$4.7M1
CITY BUREAU NFPChicagoIL$4.7M0
THE ACADEMY OF VOCAL ARTSPhiladelphiaPA$4.7M4
PROVINCETOWN ART ASSOCIATION AND MUSEUM INCProvincetownMA$4.7M1
CENTER OF SOUTHWEST CULTURE INCAlbuquerqueNM$4.6M5
3 DOG GARAGE C/O TERESA HASSONSkippackPA$4.6M0
HUMANITIES TEXASAustinTX$4.6M2
THE MONTCLAIR ART MUSEUMMontclairNJ$4.6M1