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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 388 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FRIENDS OF KILMER MANSIONBinghamtonNY$173k0
MOUNTAIN VIEW BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATIONMountain ViewAR$173k0
MICHAEL J QUILL IRISH CULTURAL AND SPORTS CENTRE INCEast DurhamNY$173k0
LINCOLN COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONWiscassetME$173k0
BOULDER POTTERS GUILDBoulderCO$173k0
YUMA LIBRARY FOUNDATIONYumaAZ$173k0
DILLMAN'S CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION INCLac Du FlambeauWI$173k0
SHASTA LIBRARY FOUNDATIONReddingCA$173k0
PARA MAR DANCEChicagoIL$173k0
FIRST HUNGARIAN LITERARY SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$173k0
QUARTER CENTURY WIRELESS ASSOCIATION INCApopkaFL$173k0
SMITHVILLE FIDDLER'S JAMBOREESmithvilleTN$173k0
HUTCHINSON ART ASSOCIATION INCHutchinsonKS$173k2
BERLIN HERITAGE FOUNDATION INCBerlinMD$173k1
BUG PERFORMANCE AND MEDIA ART CENTERDenverCO$173k2
FRIAS FAMILY FOUNDATIONHudsonMA$173k0
INDIGO HIPPO INCCincinnatiOH$173k0
HERITAGE HALL MUSEUM & ARCHIVESFreemanSD$173k0
BATESVILLE AREA ARTS COUNCIL INCBatesvilleAR$173k1
SOUTHWEST OHIO PHILHARMONIC INCDaytonOH$173k1
THEATREWORKS NEW MILFORDNew MilfordCT$173k0
BEACH TO BAY HERITAGE AREA INCBerlinMD$173k1
JUBILEE COMMUNITY ARTS INCKnoxvilleTN$173k1
MANDELSTAM THEATRE CORPORATIONMiamiFL$173k0
FORT EDWARD HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONFort EdwardNY$173k0
STRETTO YOUTH CHAMBER ORCHESTRAPrincetonNJ$173k2
CINEMATIQUE OF DAYTONA INCDaytona BeachFL$173k0
CAKECUTTER INSTITUTEComptonCA$173k0
Grand Theatre of Oelwein IncOelweinIA$173k0
Eryc Taylor Dance IncorporatedNew YorkNY$173k3
PROJECT BLANKSan DiegoCA$173k0
LUBOVITCH DANCE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$173k2
Red River Community House IncRed RiverNM$173k0
EL PASO SCOTTISH RITE HISTORICAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM FOUNDATIONEl PasoTX$173k0
ALT SPACE CHICAGOChicagoIL$173k0
MAD RIVER VALLEY ARTS INCWaitsfieldVT$173k2
PLACITAS ARTISTS SERIES INCPlacitasNM$173k0
ALL THAT DANCE STUDIOBridgetonNJ$173k0
YARD THEATER INCLos AngelesCA$173k2
HUM SUB INCCaryNC$173k0
CANNON BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETYCannon BeachOR$173k0
Aqua String Band New Years AssociationPhiladelphiaPA$173k0
DYERSBURG ARMY AIRBASE MEMORIAL ASOHallsTN$173k0
EMPTY SPACE PRODUCTIONSBakersfieldCA$173k0
QIZHJEH HERITAGE INSTITUTEAnchorageAK$173k0
THE IBMA FOUNDATION INCBurlingtonNC$173k1
PRESERVE BLACK ATLANTAAtlantaGA$173k0
CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUNITY NEWS INCOrlandoFL$173k1
Better Bennington CorporationBenningtonVT$173k1
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF THE SHOALS INCFlorenceAL$173k0