Skip to main content
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 369 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Friday After 5 IncOwensboroKY$189k0
CREATIVE ARTS COUNCIL OF WELLS COUNTYBlufftonIN$189k1
KINETIC TAPESTRY PHYSICAL THEATRE INCMaryland HeightsMO$189k2
MECHANICSBURG ART CENTERMechanicsburgPA$189k0
WELLBORN MUSCLE CAR MUSEUMAlexander CityAL$189k0
TURKISH-AMERICAN CULTURAL ALLIANCEChicagoIL$189k0
KITHARA PROJECT INCBostonMA$189k2
COLONNADES THEATRE LAB INCNashvilleTN$189k0
Sandisfield Arts & Restoration Committee IncSandisfieldMA$189k0
BCT Institute for Media Productions IncBurlingameCA$189k0
Last RoomVirginia BeachVA$189k0
VALLEY RIVER ARTS GUILD INCMurphyNC$189k0
MENTORS INSPIRING BOYS & GIRLS INCRochesterNY$189k1
Trust for Architectural EasementsWashingtonDC$189k1
THE LITTLE THEATER OF GASTONIA INCGastoniaNC$189k0
SCOLAMc ClellandIA$189k3
NORTH CANTON PLAYHOUSENorth CantonOH$189k3
RADIO PORT TOWNSENDPort TownsendWA$189k0
NAREGATSI ART INSTITUTE INCEnglewoodNJ$189k0
Taos Opera InstituteTaosNM$189k1
ARARAT-ESKIJIAN MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTMission HillsCA$189k0
ELMAHABA CENTERNashvilleTN$189k1
Heritage Lands CollectiveEvergreenCO$189k0
LE MONDOBaltimoreMD$189k1
ARCKLos AngelesCA$189k1
STEAMBOAT ERA MUSEUM INCIrvingtonVA$189k1
Washington Symphonic Orchestra IncWashingtonPA$189k0
Mivos Quartet Performing Arts IncBrooklynNY$189k1
Northland Cathedral School of MusicKansas CityMO$189k1
Rough House Puppet ArtsChicagoIL$189k2
ON THIS SPOT NYC STORIES OF PIONEERING WOMEN ARTISTS INCNew YorkNY$189k0
MAIN STREET COWBOYSPendletonOR$189k0
NATIONAL OPERA ASSOCIATION INCAnn ArborMI$189k1
FLORIDA PUERTO RICAN PARADE INCOrlandoFL$189k0
Design Bay AreaSan FranciscoCA$189k1
THE REHEARSAL CLUBNew YorkNY$189k0
LIGHT OF THE WORLD MINISTRIES INCSolvayNY$189k0
TOP OF THE LAKE SNOWMOBILE MUSEUMNaubinwayMI$189k0
WESTERN STATES COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATIONWichitaKS$189k1
GEMINI THEATER COMPANYMc Kees RocksPA$189k4
NORTHWEST MICHIGAN ARTS & CULTURE NETWORKTraverse CityMI$189k1
Joy of GivingWashingtonDC$189k0
BIRD & BECKETT CULTURAL LEGACY PROJECTSan FranciscoCA$189k2
YOUTH THEATRE INTERACTIONS INCYonkersNY$189k1
MUWEKMA OHLONE PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONSan JoseCA$189k0
NEXT EDGE ARTS INCNew YorkNY$189k2
FREED PERFORMING ARTS INCOrmond BeachFL$189k1
CultureWorksSeattleWA$189k1
LOVELAND OPERA THEATRELovelandCO$189k0
INSTABALLETEugeneOR$189k2