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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 364 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
WILLIAMS LEWELLIN FAMILY FOUNDATIONJennerCA$194k2
SEVEN WEST FORTY THIRD STREET FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$194k0
OPERATUNITY THEATREStillwaterMN$194k2
Oxford Arts Alliance IncOxfordPA$194k0
AllArtWorks FoundationGrand RapidsMI$194k0
THE BERNARD AND SHIRLEY KINSEY FOUNDATION FOR ARTS AND EDUCATIONPacific PalisadesCA$194k1
WISCONSIN EDUCATIONAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION INCMadisonWI$194k0
NORTH CAROLINA SUBMARINE FOUNDATIONDurhamNC$194k0
FOUR SEASONS ARTS INCBerkeleyCA$194k0
RetakeRemake IncorporatedCortland ManorNY$194k0
FC & CW NICHOLS CHARITY FDBostonMA$194k1
Galan Cultural Center Inc A Non-profit CorporationJurupa ValleyCA$194k2
THE MEMORY PROJECT PRODUCTIONS INCNew YorkNY$194k0
MUSICALS AT RICHTER INCDanburyCT$194k0
ARTS DAVIDSON COUNTY INCLexingtonNC$194k1
CHINESE AMERICAN ARTS COUNCIL INCORPORATEDNew YorkNY$194k1
VALLEY VISIONCenter ConwayNH$193k2
Fall for the Book IncFairfaxVA$193k0
THE OUTER LOOP THEATER EXPERIENCE INCFairportNY$193k1
SHENANDOAH COUNCIL OF THE ARTSHarrisonburgVA$193k0
CHINESE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INCLos AngelesCA$193k0
ULSTER COUNTY ITALIAN AMERICAN FOUNDATION INCRed HookNY$193k0
Friends of the Graveyard of the Atlantic MuseumHatterasNC$193k0
TASTE OF TALENTOaklandCA$193k1
DARIEN HISTORICAL SOCIETYDarienCT$193k0
CONCRETE TEMPLE THEATRENew YorkNY$193k0
FENIMORE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INCCooperstownNY$193k2
THE GIFT OF GRATITUDE MCDERMOTT FOUNDATIONHendersonNV$193k0
CORNING-PAINTED POST CIVIC MUSIC ASSOCIATION INCCorningNY$193k0
PARDEE HISTORIC HOME MUSEUM INCOaklandCA$193k0
DISTRIKTRenoNV$193k0
ASIAN AMERICA FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$193k0
RISE RISLEY INCWaverlyGA$193k0
Laredo Center for the Arts IncLaredoTX$193k0
TRANSFORMATIVE ARTSLos AngelesCA$193k0
PORTLAND YOUTH THEATER dba STAGES Youth TheaterPortlandME$193k2
BUNDY MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND ARTBinghamtonNY$193k4
ALLIANCE FOR METAL CLAY ARTS WORLDWIDE INCAmeliaOH$193k1
ON THE ROAD PRODUCTIONS INCNew YorkNY$193k0
Out on a Limb Dance CompanyFalcon HeightsMN$193k1
CAMBRIDGE HISTORIC SCHOOL FOUNDATIOCambridgeWI$193k0
WHIDBEY ISLAND DANCE THEATRELangleyWA$193k0
JOHNSTON PRESERVATION TR 51BrooklynOH$193k1
BRIGHTWORK NEWMUSICPasadenaCA$193k3
MONTANA STATE OLD-TIME FIDDLERSDentonMT$193k0
CYRUS E DALLIN ART MUSEUM INCArlingtonMA$193k1
PAINE CASTLE FOUNDATION INCTroyNY$193k0
BLUE GRASS AND COUNTRY MUSIC MAKERS ASSOCIATIONDarringtonWA$193k0
IRISH RESTORATION ASSOCIATION INCMunroe FallsOH$193k0
HOT JAZZ JUBILEE INCCarmichaelCA$193k0