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 379 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AYODELE DRUM AND DANCE NFPChicagoIL$181k0
Carmel International Arts Festival IncCarmelIN$181k0
BROWN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCHiawathaKS$181k0
LOST RAILWAY MUSEUMGrass LakeMI$181k0
MOUNT JACKSON MUSEUM FOUNDATIONNew CastlePA$181k0
NEW VINTAGE BAROQUE INC DBA MUSICA SIERRALoyaltonCA$181k1
ALABAMA JUNE JAM INCFort PayneAL$181k1
Main Street ArtsSaxtons RiverVT$181k1
SAN FRANCISCO DANCE COMPANYMilpitasCA$181k0
THE CODEX FOUNDATIONBerkeleyCA$181k3
THE DANCERS ALCHEMY INCBoynton BeachFL$181k0
CURTAIN CALL COMMUNITY THEATREMokenaIL$181k0
BUSH FAMILY HOME FOUNDATION FKA GEORGE W BUSH CHILDHOOD HOME INCMidlandTX$181k1
WASHBURN-NORLANDS FOUNDATION INC WASHBURN-NORLANDS LIVING HISTORY CENTERLivermoreME$181k0
UKRAINIAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF PHILADELPHIAFeastervillePA$181k0
SANKOFA VILLAGEPittsburghPA$181k0
MORTON RANCH HIGH SCHOOL BAND BOOSTER ORGANIZATIONKatyTX$181k0
AMERICAN KARACHAI KAVKAZ BENEV ASSOPatersonNJ$181k0
San Francisco Filipino Cultural CenterSan FranciscoCA$181k0
COLORADO MAHLERFESTBoulderCO$181k0
EDUCATIONAL BROADBAND CORPZionsvilleIN$181k1
Ancient Burying Ground Association IncHartfordCT$181k0
STANLEY FILM CENTEREstes ParkCO$180k0
LIARS & BELIEVERS INCCambridgeMA$180k0
CHAMELEON ARTS ENSEMBLE OF BOSTON INCBostonMA$180k1
EMBER CHORAL ARTS INCJersey CityNJ$180k0
WHITE PINE PUBLIC MUSEUMElyNV$180k0
THE MALCOLM AND DOROTHY WARNER MCEACHRENPo Box ChicagoIL$180k1
RAINTREE ARTS COUNCIL INCClarksvilleMO$180k0
PUEBLO PERFORMING ARTS GUILD INCPuebloCO$180k0
THIS STUFF MATTERSPowder SpringsGA$180k0
The Biz Theatrical Productions IncAvonIN$180k1
SEATTLE FOLKLORE SOCIETY INCSeattleWA$180k0
HELENA TOURISM ALLIANCEHelenaMT$180k1
Royal Theater Academy IncDublinCA$180k1
FREDMAN FAMILY FOUNDATIONSan DiegoCA$180k1
The Aitken Bible Historical Foundation IncFranklinTN$180k0
CAMBODIAN ETHNIC CHINESE ASSOCIATIONMonterey ParkCA$180k0
IRON COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM SOCIETYCaspianMI$180k0
BATAVIA ACCESS TELEVISION AN ILLINOIS NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATIONBataviaIL$180k0
YOUNG VICTORIAN THEATRE COMPANYOwings MillsMD$180k1
ALAN D & WENDY R WILSON FOUNDATIONFairfieldNJ$180k0
WORTHINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCWorthingtonOH$180k1
MORNING BISHOP THEATRE PLAYHOUGaryIN$180k1
THEATRE OFF JACKSONSeattleWA$180k2
SAG HARBOR PARTNERSHIP INCSag HarborNY$180k0
Zoar Historical Preservation SocietWaubaySD$180k0
THE COMMUNITY CENTER FOR THE ARTS & TECHFresnoCA$180k0
KENNEDY MINE FOUNDATIONJacksonCA$180k0
EMERALD GUILD SOCIETY C/O ZAPKEN & LOEBWoodburyNY$180k0