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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 373 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FRIENDS OF THACKER MOUNTAINOxfordMS$186k0
Rhode Island Music Educators AssociationE ProvidenceRI$186k0
PRESIDIO PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$186k1
SPOKANE LANGUAGE HOUSESpokaneWA$186k1
MAGNUM OPUS INCMadisonWI$186k0
PALESTINE FOUNDATION INCPalos Verdes PeninsulaCA$186k0
Woodie Guthrie Coalition IncOkemahOK$186k0
GIVING VOICE INITIATIVEEdinaMN$186k1
GLENBROOK HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCGlenbrookNV$186k0
Roswell High School Band Boosters AssociationRoswellGA$186k0
ANIKAYA AKHRA INCSomervilleMA$186k1
WOMEN IN MUSIC INCNew YorkNY$186k2
Arizona Citizens for the ArtsPhoenixAZ$186k1
LA River Public Art ProjectMalibuCA$186k1
APPALACHIAN CHILDREN'S CHORUS INCCharlestonWV$186k3
T R C HALL OF FAME & ASSOCIATES INCSan AngeloTX$186k0
THE PLAYERSProvidenceRI$186k0
JACQUES MARCHAIS MUSEUM OF TIBETAN ARTStaten IslandNY$186k1
FAMILY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPHazletNJ$186k0
MUSEUM ASSN OF THE AMERICAN FRONTIERChadronNE$186k1
ROWAN ARTS COUNCIL INCSalisburyNC$186k0
MATTHEW WESTERBY DANCE COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$186k1
BALLET HARTFORD INCHartfordCT$186k0
MUSIC TO THE EARS FOUNDATIONMarina Del ReyCA$186k0
FOR THE LOVE OF THE ARTS INCLake StationIN$186k1
NORTHWEST STONE SCULPTORS ASSOCIATIONSeattleWA$186k0
PIEDRAS BLANCAS LIGHT STATION ASSOCIATION INCSan SimeonCA$186k0
AMERICA REMEMBERS FUNDBethesdaMD$186k0
CITYVIEW NEWS FUNDFayettevilleNC$186k0
THE CRANFORD DRAMATIC CLUBCranfordNJ$186k0
ALL BEACHES EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE INCAtlantic BeachFL$186k1
LAKE GEORGE MUSIC FESTIVALQueensburyNY$186k3
BANDIT THEATERSeattleWA$186k1
JOHN BROWN LIVES INCWestportNY$186k0
Old Methodist Episcopal Church of Berlin Inc dba 19 CarterBerlinMA$186k0
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE MASONIC TEMPLESaint LouisMO$185k0
Dorothy Molter Memorial FoundationElyMN$185k0
SINGING WINDS INCBrooklynNY$185k0
ENTER STAGE RIGHT INCMarysvilleMI$185k0
BUCHANAN ARTS INCNashvilleTN$185k1
Menominee Range Historical FoundationIron MountainMI$185k0
BURIEN ACTORS THEATREBurienWA$185k1
TELLING QUEER HISTORYMinneapolisMN$185k3
CALIDANZA DANCE COMPANYSacramentoCA$185k1
Schenectady Civic Players IncSchenectadyNY$185k0
FRIENDS OF ZOAR INCOdessaDE$185k0
HILL COUNTRY YOUTH ORCHESTRAS INCKerrvilleTX$185k1
SEATTLE CHINESE SCHOOLBellevueWA$185k0
HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATIONHoustonTX$185k0
SOUTH BOSTON-HALIFAX COUNTY MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS AND HISTORYSouth BostonVA$185k0