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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 380 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Crystal TheatreCrystal FallsMI$180k0
JION ACADEMYEmeryvilleCA$180k1
GASPARD&DANCERS INCDurhamNC$180k1
SEATTLE FLOW ARTS COLLECTIVESeattleWA$180k1
CENTER FOR MODERN DANCE EDUCATION INCHackensackNJ$180k2
CARL CHERRY FOUNDATIONCarmelCA$180k2
ZION ART SOCIETY INCSalt Lake CityUT$180k0
Stamford Grand Theatre DBA Grand TheatreStamfordTX$180k1
HISTIOCYTE SOCIETYPitmanNJ$180k0
NORTHWEST CARRIAGE MUSEUMRaymondWA$180k2
PENINSULA WOMENS CHORUSPalo AltoCA$180k0
SOUTHWEST ROOTS MUSIC INCSanta FeNM$180k1
PORTLAND AREA THEATRE ALLIANCEPortlandOR$180k0
FOCUS ON LYME FOUNDATIONParadise ValleyAZ$180k1
PENNSYLVANIA SINFONIA ORCHESTRAAllentownPA$180k1
STATE THEATRE COMPANYAustinTX$180k2
GRETNA HISTORICAL SOCIETYGretnaLA$180k3
THIBODAUX PLAYHOUSE INCThibodauxLA$180k0
FROZEN RIVER FILM FESTIVALWinonaMN$180k1
RB PRODUCTIONSConcordNH$180k0
YOUNG AUDIENCES OF EASTERN PA INCPrincetonNJ$180k0
FRIENDS OF THE NEVADA SOUTHERN RAILWAY INCBoulder CityNV$180k0
AGOMONISan RamonCA$180k0
MARTIN COUNTY PRESERVATION ASSOCIATIONFairmontMN$180k0
NYC STREET PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTIVE INCBrooklynNY$180k0
INK MIAMI ART FAIR INCLantanaFL$180k0
EVERETT MUSEUM OF HISTORYEverettWA$180k1
PACIFIC GROVE ART CENTER ASSOCIATES INCPacific GroveCA$180k0
NEW HAVEN OHIO HISTORY LEAGUE INCNew HavenOH$180k0
San Mateo Nippon GakuyenSan MateoCA$180k0
NUEVO MEXICO PROFUNDOChamisalNM$180k0
FRIENDS OF WABEK PUBLIC SCHOOLPlazaND$180k0
VIBRA EN ALTA FOUNDATION INCWestonFL$180k0
WEST VIRGINIA COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM INCFairmontWV$180k0
SOUTH DAKOTA BROADCASTERS FOUNDATIONPierreSD$179k0
Smithfield Little TheatreSmithfieldVA$179k0
WOODSTOCK HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INC C/O JENNIFER SCHUESSLERIndianapolisIN$179k0
BALLET ETUDESHuntington BeachCA$179k0
STAR ACADEMY BOSTON SCHOOL INCWatertownMA$179k0
MINNESOTA INTERNATIONAL CHINESMinneapolisMN$179k5
WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYSalemIN$179k0
PORTLAND'5 CENTERS FOR THE ARTS FOUNDATIONPortlandOR$179k0
NEW YORK STATE BALLET CORPPittsfordNY$179k0
TRISTATE MARCHING ARTSCincinnatiOH$179k5
Refuge Art School IncTyngsboroMA$179k1
ALBRECHT-KEMPER MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATIONSaint JosephMO$179k0
NAMBA PERFORMING ARTS SPACE INCVenturaCA$179k0
RAINBOW SENIORS ROC INCRochesterNY$179k0
SOUTH END HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCBostonMA$179k0
THE LOCALS INCStillwaterMN$179k5