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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 385 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
IMPERIAL THEATRE MOHAWK ALLIANCECincinnatiOH$176k0
WOODLAND HILLS COMMUNITY THEATERWoodland HillsCA$176k1
SOUTH MILWAUKEE PERFORMING ARTS COUNCILSouth MilwaukeeWI$176k0
YA'LL FEST CHARLESTONCharlestonSC$176k0
The Cambodian Vintage Music Archive IncClearwaterFL$176k3
YEISER ART CENTER INCPaducahKY$176k1
LIBERTY WARBIRD ASSOCIATIONLititzPA$176k0
GLOUCESTER WRITERS CENTER INCGloucesterMA$176k0
CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS DANCE STUDIO INCFlintMI$176k0
STREET WISE ARTSBoulderCO$176k1
PACIFIC ISLANDERS CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONPacificaCA$176k0
NORTHWEST ARTS CENTERDuvallWA$176k1
O P E R A INCEllendaleND$176k0
ACME PERFORM GRP DBA MOV'G ARTSLos AngelesCA$176k0
NORTH MANCHESTER CIVIC SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCNorth ManchesterIN$176k0
WORCESTER CULTURAL COALTIONINCWorcesterMA$176k0
NEW HARMONY ARTISTS' GUILD INCNew HarmonyIN$176k0
LOS INDIOS DE SAN GABRIEL INC dba GABRIELENO BAND OF MISSION INDIANSCovinaCA$176k0
California Arts AdvocatesSacramentoCA$176k1
HARRITON ASSOCIATIONBryn MawrPA$176k1
SPF Rotary Frazee House IncFanwoodNJ$176k0
Lute Society of America IncNatickMA$176k4
COASTAL ISLANDS THEATER INCSt Simons IslandGA$176k0
MONTOUR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYDanvillePA$176k0
KIRKLAND DANCE CENTERKirklandWA$176k1
DETROIT WINDSOR DANCE ACADEMY INCDetroitMI$176k0
NORTH CAROLINA WHIRLIGIG FESTIVALWilsonNC$176k1
HILL COUNTRY ATELIERKerrvilleTX$176k0
CREATIVE AMMO INCNew YorkNY$176k0
HUAYUAN CHINESE ACADEMY INCGermantownMD$176k3
VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS THEATER INCOrdNE$176k0
COLUMBUS CULTURAL HERITAGE FOUNDATIONColumbusMS$176k1
THOUSAND OAKS PHILHARMONICCamarilloCA$176k0
RED CANARY MAGAZINE INCMinneapolisMN$175k0
WIOXRoxburyNY$175k0
PUNJABI CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF NORTH TEXASFort WorthTX$175k0
THE MUSIC COMPANY TMCSan DiegoCA$175k0
ELIZABETHTOWN PRESERVATION ASSOCIATES INCElizabethtownPA$175k1
MAIN STAGE COMMUNITY THEATREBlufftonSC$175k0
ACADEMY OF STRINGSJohnson CityTN$175k3
The Childrens Museum at the Paso Robles Volunteer Fire HousePaso RoblesCA$175k0
FRIENDS OF KRYTYKASomersetNJ$175k0
American Swing Music and Dance Association IncFairfaxVA$175k0
Museum of the Kansas National Guard IncTopekaKS$175k0
RUSSELL COUNTY HISTORICAL COMM INCPhenix CityAL$175k0
AHISKA TURKS COMMUNITY CENTER OF KY INCLouisvilleKY$175k0
COASTAL CONCERTS INCLewesDE$175k1
AMERICAN THEATRE COMPANYTulsaOK$175k0
MASON HOLDINGS THEATRE INC C/O TRACY WELLERNew YorkNY$175k1
HEALDSBURG CENTER FOR THE ARTSHealdsburgCA$175k0