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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 389 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
BORDER BELT REPORTING INCWhitevilleNC$172k1
DAWSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYLexingtonNE$172k0
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE ASSOCIATION INCFayettvilleAR$172k1
NVAK INCSanta MonicaCA$172k0
NATIONAL TRUST FOR NONPROFITS C/O CIVICA MANAGEMENTCentennialCO$172k0
CAYOMinneapolisMN$172k1
BANGLADESHI AMERICAN POLICE ASSOCIATIONWestburyNY$172k0
The Carnegie Center of Columbia TusculumCincinnatiOH$172k0
KOREAN SOCIETY OF DALLASDallasTX$172k0
VOICES OF KENTUCKIANA INCLouisvilleKY$172k0
RAZORCAKE GORSKY PRESS INCLos AngelesCA$172k2
MADISON HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCMadisonCT$172k0
BLUSEED STUDIOS INCSaranac LakeNY$172k0
OSCEOLA HERITAGE MUSIC FESTIVAL INCOsceolaAR$172k0
DANCE WISCONSIN INCMadisonWI$172k2
KENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL FOUNDATIONLouisvilleKY$172k2
CASTLE THEATRE INCManchesterIA$172k0
SYMPHONY OF THE REDWOODSFort BraggCA$172k8
The Shining Stars Project IncModestoCA$172k2
Phoenix Chinese WeekPhoenixAZ$172k0
NOOHRA FOUNDATIONSmyrnaGA$172k0
COUNCIL OF AMERICAN JEWISH MUSEUMS INCJacksonMS$172k0
CARPINTERIA VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETYCarpinteriaCA$172k1
GRIFFIN BALLET THEATRE INCGriffinGA$172k0
Culpeper Air Fest Foundation IncBrandy StationVA$172k0
GOODYEAR ARTS INCCharlotteNC$172k0
CRYSTAL BEACH COMMUNITY ENRICHMENTINCCrystal BeachFL$172k0
Open SpacePortlandOR$172k0
TCC CREATES INC D/B/A TAOS CERAMICS CENTERRanchos De TaosNM$172k2
ART COMMUNITY BUILDERSAustinTX$172k0
LEWISVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETYLewisvilleNC$172k0
HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM FOUNDATIONLittle RockAR$172k0
ALAMOSA CHAMBER OF COMMERCEAlamosaCO$172k1
CAPITOL THEATRE OF GREENEVILLEGreenevilleTN$172k0
GUJARATI SAMAJ INCTuckerGA$172k0
UNION COUNTY GIFT FOUNDATIONEl DoradoAR$172k0
Radio Harbor CountrySawyerMI$172k0
ALL-STARS COMMUNITY THEATRE INCCartersvilleGA$172k0
ORANGE COUNTY WOMEN'S CHORUSLaguna HillsCA$172k0
KOREAN TRADITIONAL DANCE INSTITUTE OF CALIFORNIALos AngelesCA$172k0
FRIENDS OF BERLIN PERFORMING ARTSDelawareOH$172k0
OAK HILL FOUNDATION INCRochesterNY$172k0
FOFO'ANGA SEATTLE COMMUNITYPuyallupWA$172k0
Traverse City Dance ProjectTraverse CityMI$172k0
88 International CorpNew YorkNY$172k1
Westlake Choir Parents IncAustinTX$172k0
CENTER FOR INITIATIVES IN ART & CULTURE INCNew YorkNY$172k0
BOYLSTON PLACE FOUNDATION INCBostonMA$172k0
San Francisco Philharmonic OrchestraSan FranciscoCA$172k1
CLASSICAL MUSIC FESTIVALNormanOK$172k0