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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 370 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MUSIC ART PUPPET SOUND INCNew YorkNY$189k2
POCONO CINEMA & CULTURAL CENTER INCEast StroudsburgPA$189k0
Theatre 55Saint PaulMN$189k0
RICHARDSON THEATRE CENTRE INCRichardsonTX$189k0
PACIFIC PROWLER NONPROFIT GREATEST GENERATION AIRCRAFTFort WorthTX$189k0
SIDNEY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONSidneyNY$189k0
Cohasset Historical SocietyCohassetMA$189k0
NORTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS YOUTH ORCHESTRAS INCIpswichMA$189k0
Noorani DanceMenlo ParkCA$189k1
The Election Fairness InstitutePhoenixAZ$189k0
GARFIELD JAZZ FOUNDATIONSeattleWA$189k0
SPOTLIGHT THEATRE STATEN ISLAND INCStaten IslandNY$189k0
LILAC PRESERVATION PROJECTStaten IslandNY$189k1
UNDER THE VOLCANO INTERNATIONAL INCNew YorkNY$188k1
PRAIRIE PRESERVATION GUILD LTDFowlerIN$188k0
Muskegon Polish Festival IncMuskegonMI$188k0
City of Erie Cable TV Access CorpEriePA$188k2
THEATRE OF THE PERFORMING ARTS IN SHREVEPORTShreveportLA$188k0
SUSTAINABLE MEDIA CENTERNew YorkNY$188k0
FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSICBryanTX$188k0
THE AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE LUDWIG FOUNDATION OF CUBANew YorkNY$188k0
KENNESAW MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCKennesawGA$188k0
THE FALLON POSTFallonNV$188k0
KIT CARSON HOUSE INCTaosNM$188k0
PIMERIA ALTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUMNogalesAZ$188k0
AMERICAN CROSSROADS THEATRECedar CityUT$188k0
National Montford Point MarineJacksonvilleNC$188k0
BUFFALO OPERA UNLIMITED INCORPORATEDBuffaloNY$188k0
EAST BROAD TOP PRESERVATION ASSOCIATIONDuBoisPA$188k0
ARTS & CRAFTS ASSOCIATION OF MERIDENMeridenCT$188k1
FILM FLORIDA INCKissimmeeFL$188k1
OSWEGO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYOswegoNY$188k0
THE TRIAL LAWYER HALL OF FAME INCDothanAL$188k0
LITTLE ITALY SAN JOSE FOUNDATIONSo San FranciscoCA$188k1
CREARTE LATINO CULTURAL CENTER CORPSarasotaFL$188k1
SONOMA CHILDRENS CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTSSonomaCA$188k0
WHITE POOL HOUSE FRIENDSOdessaTX$188k1
MOUNT MANSFIELD COMMUNITY TELEVISIONRichmondVT$188k1
NUSANTARA ARTS INCBuffaloNY$188k0
PHOTOWORKS INCGlen EchoMD$188k3
NEW VICTORY THEATREBurbankCA$188k0
21TEN THEATRE INCPortlandOR$188k1
Capital City SymphonyWashingtonDC$188k1
FRONTLINE ARTS A New Jersey Non-Profit CorporationBranchburgNJ$188k2
Friends of HART IncHillsboroOR$188k3
GHOST ARMY LEGACY PROJECT INC % MR RICK BEYERLexingtonMA$188k1
FRANK K SPAIN FOUNDATION INCTupeloMS$188k1
HEIGHTS PLAYERS INCBrooklynNY$188k0
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE TODI ARTS STUDIO INCPrincetonNJ$188k0
CHAMBER CHOIR OF SAN ANTONIOSan AntonioTX$188k3