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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 40 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
HANCOCK COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTERFindlayOH$4.3M2
NATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS INCBostonMA$4.3M3
THE HEIGHTS LAND COMPANY INCFt MyersFL$4.3M2
THE PALM BEACH SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCWest Palm BeachFL$4.3M2
GAY CITY HEALTH PROJECTSeattleWA$4.3M1
LEMAY-AMERICAS CAR MUSEUMTacomaWA$4.3M6
ART OMI PAVILIONS AT CHATHAM INCNew YorkNY$4.3M0
EVERGREEN AVIATION AND SPACE MUSEUMMcMinnvilleOR$4.3M3
Millennial MusicQueen CreekAZ$4.3M6
THE VICTOR ASSOCIATION OF CULTURAL AND PERFORMING ARTS AKA COBBLESTONE ARTS CTRFarmingtonNY$4.2M2
RENO PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION INCRenoNV$4.2M1
BLACK MUSIC ACTION COALITION INCWest HollywoodCA$4.2M0
BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME FOUNDATIONTheodoreAL$4.2M3
ALLIANCE OF RESIDENT THEATRES NEW YORK INCNew YorkNY$4.2M2
BARDAVON 1869 OPERA HOUSEPoughkeepsieNY$4.2M2
Andreas H Bechtler Arts FoundationCharlotteNC$4.2M4
WINDTREE FOUNDATIONWest CovinaCA$4.2M0
BIG EARS FESTIVALKnoxvilleTN$4.2M1
COMMON THREADSAustinTX$4.2M1
EMBASSY THEATRE FOUNDATIONINCFort WayneIN$4.2M2
America's Freedom Festival IncProvoUT$4.2M2
Paramount Theatre of the Arts IncOaklandCA$4.2M1
THE WOODEN FLOOR FOR YOUTH MOVEMENTSanta AnaCA$4.2M4
GEORGIA MOUNTAIN FAIR INCHiawasseeGA$4.2M0
FOTOFOCUS CINCINNATICincinnatiOH$4.2M1
FLORIDA REPERTORY COMPANY INCFort MyersFL$4.2M2
FLORENTINE OPERA COMPANY INCMilwaukeeWI$4.2M2
Independence Seaport MuseumPhiladelphiaPA$4.2M4
PAIDEIA INSTITUTE FOR HUMANISTIC STUDYNew YorkNY$4.2M3
Frontier Texas IncAbileneTX$4.2M1
KNOPH FAMILY FOUNDATIONGreeleyCO$4.2M0
The Childrens Theatre of Charlotte IncCharlotteNC$4.2M2
Art into AcresFairfaxCA$4.2M4
CINCINNATI MUSICAL FESTIVAL ASSOCIATIONCincinnatiOH$4.2M5
PROJECT RECOVER INCBendOR$4.2M3
HOFF-BARTHELSON MUSIC SCHOOLScarsdaleNY$4.2M3
AURORA THEATRE INCLawrencevilleGA$4.2M1
WOMAN'S EXCHANGE INC OF SARASOTASarasotaFL$4.2M1
UNITED STATES EVENTING ASSOCIATIONLeesburgVA$4.2M1
AIR LEGENDS FOUNDATIONSan AntonioTX$4.2M0
BIRMINGHAM LANDMARKS INCBirminghamAL$4.1M1
A Noise WithinPasadenaCA$4.1M4
EVERYMAN THEATRE INCBaltimoreMD$4.1M2
BOARDSOURCEWashingtonDC$4.1M7
DISCOVERY MUSEUM INCActonMA$4.1M4
AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM IN PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$4.1M1
The Center for Creative EducationWest Palm BeachFL$4.1M1
CHRISTINA CULTURAL ARTS CENTER INCWilmingtonDE$4.1M2
ACTORS' PLAYHOUSE PRODUCTIONS INCCoral GablesFL$4.1M2
INNOVATIVE OPTICAL AND WIRELESS NETWORK GLOBAL FORUM INCWakefieldMA$4.1M0