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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 37 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
PERFORMING ARTS CONSULTANTS INCBrickNJ$4.6M2
THE COLLECTION ON PALMETTO FOUNDATION INCClearwaterFL$4.6M0
Logan County Historical SocietyGuthrieOK$4.6M1
FRIENDS OF HILDENE INCManchesterVT$4.6M0
SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL CORPORATIONTulsaOK$4.6M3
Riviera Theatre And Organ Preservation SNorth TonawandaNY$4.6M1
Smuin BalletSan FranciscoCA$4.6M4
THE CALLANWOLDE FOUNDATION INCAtlantaGA$4.6M1
FREE TO CHOOSE NETWORK INCEriePA$4.6M1
THE NEW PRESS INCNew YorkNY$4.6M7
ROLLING HILLS ZOO FOUNDATIONSalinaKS$4.6M1
AMERICAN OPINION FOUNDATION INCAppletonWI$4.6M5
LAHC - LEADERS ADVANCING AND HELPING COMMUNITIESDearbornMI$4.6M1
AMIGOS DEL MUSEO DEL BARRIO INC EL MUSEO DEL BARRIONew YorkNY$4.6M5
NATIVE RENEWABLES INCFlagstaffAZ$4.6M2
Princeton Ballet SocietyNew BrunswickNJ$4.6M3
BROADWAY THEATRE LEAGUE OF HUNTSVILLE INCHuntsvilleAL$4.6M0
MESERVE-KUNHARDT FOUNDATIONPleasantvilleNY$4.6M2
STADIUM THEATRE FOUNDATIONWoonsocketRI$4.6M1
FLORIDA CULTURAL GROUP INCBradentonFL$4.6M1
JAYNE LARKIN WRIGHTSMAN IRR TRUST XXXXX7008ChicagoIL$4.6M1
BLACK ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS INCDallasTX$4.6M1
DANCERS GROUPSan FranciscoCA$4.6M1
A D PlayersHoustonTX$4.6M2
MAGAZZINO ITALIAN ART FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$4.6M0
MERRY-GO-ROUND PLAYHOUSE INCAuburnNY$4.6M1
LOS ANGELES BALLET INCLos AngelesCA$4.6M1
LA MAMA EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE CLUB INCNew YorkNY$4.6M2
MIAMI NEW DRAMAMiamiFL$4.6M2
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF TAMPA INCTampaFL$4.6M5
WALLOWA RESOURCES INCEnterpriseOR$4.6M1
LOUISIANA CHILDRENS MUSEUMNew OrleansLA$4.6M5
CIVIC INITIATIVES FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$4.6M0
THE PALACE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCAlbanyNY$4.6M3
CENTER FOR PUPPETRY ARTSINCAtlantaGA$4.6M2
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
Wild Earth Society IncorporatedSalt Lake CityUT$4.5M4
The David Hochstein Memorial Music School IncRochesterNY$4.5M2
MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART INCMobileAL$4.5M0
PLAZA DE LA RAZA INCLos AngelesCA$4.5M2
OKLAHOMA CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER INCOklahoma CityOK$4.5M2
RICK C & BELINDA G FOUNDATIONFayettevilleAR$4.5M0
VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCWashingtonDC$4.5M10
NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER INCCincinnatiOH$4.5M4
UNITED STATES FOUNDATION FOR THE COMMEMORATION OF WORLD WARSWashingtonDC$4.5M1
PLAINS ART MUSEUMFargoND$4.5M4