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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 44 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
VMTS EDUCATION INCBrooklynNY$3.8M4
FRIENDS OF THE DAYTON ARCADEBaltimoreMD$3.8M0
The Charleston MuseumCharlestonSC$3.8M1
SACRAMENTO BALLET ASSOCIATIONSacramentoCA$3.8M1
THE PARAMOUNT THEATER OF CHARLOTTESVILLE INCCharlottesvilleVA$3.7M2
LATIN GRAMMY CULTURAL FOUNDATIONDoralFL$3.7M6
JAMESTOWN-YORKTOWN FOUNDATION INCWilliamsburgVA$3.7M0
SAMUEL S FLEISHER ART MEMORIAL INCPhiladelphiaPA$3.7M1
PORTLAND COMMUNITY MEDIAPortlandOR$3.7M7
Town Hall AssociationSeattleWA$3.7M3
AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$3.7M1
SUMTER MUSEUMSumterSC$3.7M0
ASHLEY FOR THE ARTSArcadiaWI$3.7M0
Mexican American Catholic College IncSan AntonioTX$3.7M0
CatchLightSan FranciscoCA$3.7M5
ENZIAN THEATER INCMaitlandFL$3.7M0
CHANDLER CULTURAL FOUNDATIONChandlerAZ$3.7M2
THE WILDENSTEIN PLATTNER INSTITUTE INCNew YorkNY$3.7M1
ALLIANCE FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE INCWashingtonDC$3.7M2
MUSIC SHOWCASE FESTIVALS INCReadingPA$3.7M0
CINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANYCincinnatiOH$3.7M1
BELCOURT THEATRE INCNashvilleTN$3.7M1
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN VOICESSan FranciscoCA$3.7M4
SARASOTA FILM SOCIETY INCLakewood RanchFL$3.7M3
ARS NOVA THEATER I INCNew YorkNY$3.7M3
The Maltz Museum of Jewish HeritageBeachwoodOH$3.7M4
Arts Council of New OrleansNew OrleansLA$3.7M0
Notes For Notes IncNashvilleTN$3.7M1
AUBURN AUTOMOTIVE HERITAGE INCAuburnIN$3.7M1
AMERICAN THEATRE WING INCNew YorkNY$3.7M3
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERSHollywoodCA$3.7M1
THE MARTHA GRAHAM CENTER OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE INCNew YorkNY$3.7M4
WASHINGTON COUNTY MUSEUM OF FINE ARTSHagerstownMD$3.7M1
The Washington Center for the Performing ArtsOlympiaWA$3.7M1
BLACKSTAR PROJECTS INCPhiladelphiaPA$3.7M6
LIVERMORE VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTERLivermoreCA$3.7M3
The Clemons Family FoundationNewport BeachCA$3.7M0
SEATTLE ARTS AND LECTURESSeattleWA$3.7M1
Chicago Humanities FestivalChicagoIL$3.7M3
ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINEVeniceCA$3.7M1
YOUNG MUSICIANS UNITE INCMiamiFL$3.7M2
The Arts Club of ChicagoChicagoIL$3.7M1
THE DRAWING CENTER INCNew YorkNY$3.7M3
WESTERN CENTER COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONHemetCA$3.7M0
LAKE TAHOE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVALIncline VillageNV$3.7M0
THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF ATLANTA INCAtlantaGA$3.7M3
HUGUENOT HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEW PALTZ NYNew PaltzNY$3.7M1
PENDLETON ROUND-UP FOUNDATION AND PENDLETON ROUND-UP HOLDINGS LLCPendletonOR$3.7M0
THE AMERICAN CRAFTSMAN MUSEUM INCSt PetersburgFL$3.7M1
COLLEGIATE NETWORK INCWilmingtonDE$3.7M1