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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 44 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
INDIANA RAILWAY MUSEUM INCFrench LickIN$3.6M0
SAN JOSE CHILDRENS MUSICAL THEATERSan JoseCA$3.6M3
ARTSNOW INCAtlantaGA$3.5M1
AMERICAS AUTOMOTIVE TRUSTTacomaWA$3.5M6
SARCOMA FOUNDATION OF AMERICADamascusMD$3.5M3
LINDSAY WILDLIFE MUSEUMWalnut CreekCA$3.5M2
The City Theatre Company IncPittsburghPA$3.5M4
REV BIRMINGHAM INCBirminghamAL$3.5M3
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF YAGDIL TORAH INCLakewoodNJ$3.5M1
ADRIENNE ARSHT CENTER FOUNDATION INCMiamiFL$3.5M2
SESAME FLYERS INTERNATIONAL INCBrooklynNY$3.5M0
YOUNG CONCERT ARTISTS INCNew YorkNY$3.5M4
MISSISSIPPI ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT CENTER INCMeridianMS$3.5M1
SEA TURTLE INCSouth Padre IslandTX$3.5M2
WISCONSIN CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC INCMilwaukeeWI$3.5M2
TRICYCLE FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$3.5M2
AUSTIN ZOO INCAustinTX$3.5M0
BURLINGTON CITY ARTS FOUNDATION INCBurlingtonVT$3.5M0
TUCSON MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORIC BLOCK INCTucsonAZ$3.5M2
NATIONAL MUSUEM OF PUERTO RICAN ARTS AND CULTUREChicagoIL$3.5M0
CHARLESTON STAGE COMPANY INCCharlestonSC$3.5M3
ANGELA DULDULAO MCPHERSON FOUNDATIONOxnardCA$3.5M0
ENERGY INNOVATION CENTER INSTITUTE INCPittsburghPA$3.5M2
LATINO PUBLIC BROADCASTINGLos AngelesCA$3.5M1
PURELEMENTS AN EVOLUTION IN DANCE INCBrooklynNY$3.5M2
DISCOVERY CENTER OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYSyracuseNY$3.5M1
WHITE HOUSE ENDOWMENT AND ACQUISITION TRUSTWashingtonDC$3.5M1
DEEP ELLUM FOUNDATIONDallasTX$3.5M0
Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County IncSanta Rosa BeachFL$3.5M0
PlusOnePlusOnePlusOnePasadenaCA$3.5M0
OVER THE RAINBOW BUTTERFLY GARDEN INCFlagstaffAZ$3.5M3
CENTENNIAL PARK CONSERVANCYNashvilleTN$3.5M4
AMERICAN CHRISTIAN TELEVISION SERVI INCElidaOH$3.5M0
SOHO REPERTORY THEATRE INCNew YorkNY$3.5M3
CNY Arts IncSyracuseNY$3.5M1
AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTERStauntonVA$3.5M2
KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ARTKnoxvilleTN$3.5M1
FM KIRBY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSWilkesbarrePA$3.5M2
INDIANAPOLIS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INCIndianapolisIN$3.5M1
KSMQ PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA INCAustinMN$3.5M0
ADVENTUROUS MINDS PRODUCE EXTRAORDINARY DREAMS INCLouisvilleKY$3.5M3
PHILADELPHIA THEATRE COMPANYPhiladelphiaPA$3.5M4
THE LIBERTY FOUNDATION INCMiamiFL$3.5M0
ART21 INCNew YorkNY$3.5M1
Arlington Museum of Art IncArlingtonTX$3.5M0
ACTOR'S GANG INCLos AngelesCA$3.5M0
NATIONAL COMEDY CENTER OPERATOR INCJamestownNY$3.5M1
PATH WITH ARTSeattleWA$3.5M4
Boston Philharmonic Orchestra CorporationBostonMA$3.5M2
WAUKESHA CIVIC THEATRE INCWaukeshaWI$3.5M1