Skip to main content
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 45 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
The LeonardoSalt Lake CityUT$3.7M1
BECK CENTER FOR THE ARTSLakewoodOH$3.6M2
THE AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM INCBaltimoreMD$3.6M2
THE TAPROOT THEATRESeattleWA$3.6M2
NATIONAL SPRINT CAR HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCKnoxvilleIA$3.6M1
NORTHWEST CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION FOR THE ARTS INCTorringtonCT$3.6M1
BIRMINGHAM MUSUEM OF ART ENDOWMENT TRUSTBirminghamAL$3.6M7
McALLEN INTERNATIONAL MUSEUMMcAllenTX$3.6M3
PlusOnePlusOnePlusOnePasadenaCA$3.6M0
DILLER-QUAILE SCHOOL OF MUSIC INCNew YorkNY$3.6M3
CAPITAL & MAINLos AngelesCA$3.6M6
THE ATLAS SOCIETY LTDLodiCA$3.6M2
THE HENRY GALLERY ASSOCIATION INCSeattleWA$3.6M4
BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$3.6M5
Great Lakes Center for the ArtsBay HarborMI$3.6M2
GREENVILLE SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONGreenvilleSC$3.6M1
THE SCULPTURE CENTER INCLong Island CityNY$3.6M2
BRONZEVILLE CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCMilwaukeeWI$3.6M0
ROGAL ART FOUNDATIONLong Island CityNY$3.6M0
BOHEMIAN OPERATING FOUNDATIONFort CollinsCO$3.6M2
THE JOEL HOLSINGER FAMILY FOUNDATION INCMabletonGA$3.6M0
THE BRANT FOUNDATION INCGreenwichCT$3.6M0
The Bay Area Video Coalition IncorporatedSan FranciscoCA$3.6M3
PANHANDLE-PLAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETYCanyonTX$3.6M0
GLOBAL PRESS INSTITUTEWashingtonDC$3.6M6
PS 21 INCChathamNY$3.6M0
QUINTESSENCE THEATRE GROUP INCPhiladelphiaPA$3.6M2
SOCIETY FOR CREATIVE ANACHRONISM INCScotts ValleyCA$3.6M3
THE DAILY SIGNAL INSTITUTEWashingtonDC$3.6M10
Carriage Town MinistriesFlintMI$3.6M3
THE SEWARD JOHNSON ATELIER INCHamiltonNJ$3.6M1
EMERSON UMBRELLA INCConcordMA$3.6M1
CROOKED TREE ARTS COUNCIL INCPetoskeyMI$3.6M2
MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL INCPhoenixAZ$3.6M0
WAIOLI CORPORATIONLihueHI$3.6M0
SAVANNAH MUSIC FESTIVALINCSavannahGA$3.6M3
Long Beach Symphony AssociationLong BeachCA$3.6M3
ARTSCONNECTION INCNew YorkNY$3.6M1
SAN LUIS OBISPO REPERTORY THEATRESan Luis ObispoCA$3.6M1
AFRICAN CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF NORTH AMERICAPhiladelphiaPA$3.6M2
DES MOINES SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONDes MoinesIA$3.6M3
GRAND TETON ASSOCIATIONMooseWY$3.6M2
MUSEUM OF LATIN AMERICAN ARTLong BeachCA$3.6M7
HUNTSVILLE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCHuntsvilleAL$3.6M0
FUNDACION PUERTORRIQUEA DE LAS HUMANIDADES INCSan JuanPR$3.6M1
ILLINOIS VALLEY PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATIONPeoriaIL$3.6M1
MONTGOMERY COMMUNITY TELEVISIONRockvilleMD$3.6M2
HISTORICORPSMorrisonCO$3.6M0
PILCHUCK GLASS SCHOOLSeattleWA$3.6M8
NATIONAL COMEDY CENTER INCJamestownNY$3.6M1