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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 4 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MINNESOTA MASTERPIECE HALLWinonaMN$45.9M1
CENTER THEATRE GROUP OF LOS ANGELESLos AngelesCA$45.6M10
SAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRASt LouisMO$45.2M9
HENNEPIN THEATRE TRUSTMinneapolisMN$45.1M5
THE SMITH CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSLas VegasNV$44.8M11
Kadist Collection Manager IncWilmingtonDE$44.7M1
THE WENDE MUSEUM OF THE COLD WAR INCCulver CityCA$44.5M3
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART INCMemphisTN$44.3M2
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER INCNew YorkNY$44M15
Cox Science Center and Aquarium IncWest Palm BeachFL$43.9M2
SJC CULTURAL EVENTS INCSt AugustineFL$43.6M2
TATE AMERICAS FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$43.5M3
MUSEUM OF CHINESE IN AMERICANew YorkNY$43.3M4
BOSTON BALLET INCBostonMA$43.1M9
BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATREBerkeleyCA$42.9M7
DIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCNew YorkNY$42.8M10
Sundance InstitutePark CityUT$42.1M18
DENVER ART MUSEUMDenverCO$42M8
BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCBaltimoreMD$41.7M11
CASCADE PUBLIC MEDIASeattleWA$41.7M9
HALE CENTRE THEATRESandyUT$41.6M10
DALLAS SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONDallasTX$41.6M14
FOX THEATRE INC F/K/A ATLANTA LANDMARKS INCAtlantaGA$41.4M10
JORGE M PEREZ ART MUSEUM OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY INCMiamiFL$41.3M6
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MUSEUMPhoenixAZ$41.1M5
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCDetroitMI$40.7M12
RAYMOND F KRAVIS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCWest Palm BeachFL$40.5M11
ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$40.3M1
LIBERTY SCIENCE CENTERJersey CityNJ$40.3M9
PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM INCSalemMA$40.1M9
WORCESTER ART MUSEUMWorcesterMA$39.9M3
FRACTURED ATLAS INCNew YorkNY$39.9M1
CLOSE UP FOUNDATIONArlingtonVA$39.9M12
USS MIDWAY MUSEUMSan DiegoCA$39.8M8
THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTELos AngelesCA$39.7M12
THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTEPhiladelphiaPA$39.6M14
AMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND INCLouisvilleKY$39.4M13
BOREALIS PHILANTHROPYMinneapolisMN$39.4M8
INTREPID MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$39.4M18
PUBLIC MEDIA GROUP OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIABurbankCA$39.2M16
WINDOW TO THE WORLD COMMUNICATIONS INCChicagoIL$39.1M7
HOUSTON BALLET FOUNDATIONHoustonTX$38.8M8
Houston Symphony SocietyHoustonTX$38.8M10
MINNESOTA ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATIONMinneapolisMN$38.7M8
NAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INCVirginia BeachVA$38.6M7
JUNIPERO SERRA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLSan Juan CapistranoCA$38.6M5
AMERICAN JOURNALISM PROJECT INCWashingtonDC$38.1M9
Broadway Dallas IncDallasTX$38M10
PORTLAND ART MUSEUMPortlandOR$37.7M8
Crosswater Canyon IncPetersburgKY$37.3M5