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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 372 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
DEBUT THEATER COMPANYFort CollinsCO$187k0
MAGNUM CHORUMMinneapolisMN$187k3
LOUDOUN BALLET PERFORMING ARTS COMPANY INCLeesburgVA$187k0
Marin Community Music SchoolSan AnselmoCA$187k0
National Cello InstituteLos AngelesCA$187k0
MISSOURI CITY JUNETEETH CELEBRATIONMissouri CityTX$187k0
PRESERVE CHATTANOOGA INC FORMERLY CORNERSTONES INCChattanoogaTN$187k1
TEMPLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRATempleTX$187k0
MASQUERS PLAYHOUSE INCRichmondCA$187k0
DI GOLDENE KEYT THE GOLDEN CHAIN LTDNew YorkNY$187k0
Celebrate Milwaukie IncMilwaukieOR$187k0
MOWER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYAustinMN$187k1
SAN DIEGO CHINESE ACADEMYSan DiegoCA$187k0
LITTLE THEATRE OF JAMESTOWN INCJamestownNY$187k0
HEART OF CATSKILL ASSOCIATION INCCatskillNY$187k0
NORTH DAKOTA NEWS COOPERATIVEBismarckND$187k0
OPERA ITHACA INCORPORATEDIthacaNY$187k3
METROPOLITAN BALLET COMPANYJenkintownPA$187k0
CITY BALLET OF HOUSTONHoustonTX$187k0
BRAZILIAN VOICES INCFort LauderdaleFL$187k0
CHOOSE LIFE RADIO NETWORKCantonOH$187k0
OBERLIN CHORISTERSOberlinOH$187k3
CHEZA NAMI FOUNDATION INCPleasantonCA$187k0
GARRETT LAKES ARTS FESTIVAL INCMcHenryMD$187k0
ZAMIR CHORALE OF BOSTON INCNewtonMA$187k0
ROSE MONT RESTORATION FOUNDATION INCGallatinTN$187k0
WESTERN JUSTICEHermistonOR$186k1
SMITH COUNTY LIVING INCCarthageTN$186k0
ARAM SOBA RAANANA INCSanfordNC$186k0
GRACEWAY CHINESE-ENGLISH CHRISTIAN ACADEMYSaint PaulMN$186k0
CENTRAL WIS EDUCATIONAL THEATER ALLIANCEWausauWI$186k1
Creation Science Institute IncAdairOK$186k0
DAYTON INTERNATIONAL PEACE MUSEUM INCDaytonOH$186k1
SOUTHBOROUGH ACCESS MEDIA INCSouthboroughMA$186k0
AN OPERA THEATREMinneapolisMN$186k0
HOLOCAUST RESOURCE FOUNDATIONShort HillsNJ$186k0
COSTAS ARTS FOUNDATION INCJacksonville BeachFL$186k0
BE FRANK FOUNDATIONBayfieldCO$186k1
LONG BEACH FIREMENS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCLong BeachCA$186k0
NEW ENGLAND SUZUKI INSTITUTEPortlandME$186k4
ALLEGRO THE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF LANCASTERLancasterPA$186k4
ESPANOLA VALLEY FIBER ARTS CENTEREspanolaNM$186k3
Songs on the Frio IncRio FrioTX$186k0
HAVEN THEATRE COMPANY NFPKildeerIL$186k0
CRUSHING COLONIALISM INCWashingtonDC$186k2
COLORFUL CREATIVESGrand LakeCO$186k1
VIENNESE OPERA BALLNew YorkNY$186k0
CONVERSATION PRODUCTIONS INCNew YorkNY$186k0
Evanston MadeEvanstonIL$186k2
FRIENDS OF THE KENNEDY-MARTIN-STELLE FARMSTEAD INCBasking RidgeNJ$186k0