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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 42 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
PENSACOLA RETIREMENT VILLAGE INCOrlandoFL$4M3
LAKE CITY CREATIVE ALLIANCELake CitySC$4M1
COMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER OF BOSTON INCBostonMA$4M2
OGDEN PIONEER DAYS FOUNDATIONOgdenUT$4M0
GOGGLE WORKSReadingPA$4M1
MARIELUISE HESSEL FOUNDATIONJupiterFL$4M0
EUGENE BALLET COMPANYEugeneOR$4M2
WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INCSt LouisMO$4M1
CONNECTICUT NEWS PROJECT INCHartfordCT$4M2
REUT USAWoodland HillsCA$3.9M3
kidSTREAMCamarilloCA$3.9M4
KIDSQUEST CHILDREN'S MUSEUMBellevueWA$3.9M4
GREATER PHILADELPHIA CULTURAL ALLIANCEPhiladelphiaPA$3.9M2
GRAYWOLF PRESSMinneapolisMN$3.9M2
PATCHOGUE VILLAGE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCPatchogueNY$3.9M1
THE COBY FOUNDATION LTDNew YorkNY$3.9M2
Children's Museum of RichmondRichmondVA$3.9M1
Da Camera Society of TexasHoustonTX$3.9M2
ALLENTOWN ART MUSEUMAllentownPA$3.9M1
Athenaeum Center for Thought & CultureChicagoIL$3.9M2
ANNA K MEREDITH ENDOWMENT TRUSTDes MoinesIA$3.9M1
NORTHERN VIRGINIA SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATIONFairfaxVA$3.9M1
ANNAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCAnnapolisMD$3.9M2
WCIJ INCMadisonWI$3.9M1
THE CHARLOU FOUNDATIONCherry Hills VillageCO$3.9M0
KEMPER MUSEUM OPERATING FOUNDATIONKansas CityMO$3.9M2
GOLDBELT HERITAGE FOUNDATIONJuneauAK$3.9M1
THE NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE WORKSHOPNew YorkNY$3.9M3
ARTS IN STARKCantonOH$3.9M2
LUCILLE LORTEL THEATRE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$3.9M1
COMMUNITY CAPITAL FUNDKansas CityMO$3.9M2
NEWS REVENUE HUB INCSan DiegoCA$3.9M8
FLUSHING COUNCIL ON CULTURE AND THE ARTSFlushingNY$3.9M1
THE ART LEAGUEAlexandriaVA$3.9M1
GREAT RIVER CHILDRENS MUSEUMSt CloudMN$3.9M1
CONGA KIDSLos AngelesCA$3.9M1
RIVERCENTER INCColumbusGA$3.9M2
Anchorage Concert Association IncAnchorageAK$3.9M1
LINCOLN MEDIA FOUNDATION INCIrvineCA$3.9M1
I CAN DREAM CENTERTinley ParkIL$3.9M1
FILMNORTHSt PaulMN$3.9M1
MUSEUM BOARD OF THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLEHuntsvilleAL$3.9M1
CCCP COMMUNITY TRUSTCharlotteNC$3.9M5
THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY PLAYHOUSE INCCrossvilleTN$3.9M1
Tulsa Childrens Museum IncTulsaOK$3.9M1
POETS AND WRITERS INCNew YorkNY$3.9M6
SHELL MUSEUM AND EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INCSanibelFL$3.9M1
MADEPalm SpringsCA$3.9M4
EUGENIO MARIA DE HOSTOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATIONBronxNY$3.9M4
CHILDSPLAY INCTempeAZ$3.9M2