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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 46 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
WILLIAM AND JOANNE MILLER CHARITABLE TRUSimi ValleyCA$3.6M3
BRUCEMORE INCCedar RapidsIA$3.6M1
SAN JOSE CHILDRENS MUSICAL THEATERSan JoseCA$3.6M3
ARTSNOW INCAtlantaGA$3.5M1
AMERICAS AUTOMOTIVE TRUSTTacomaWA$3.5M6
SARCOMA FOUNDATION OF AMERICADamascusMD$3.5M3
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
ASSOCIATION OF PERFORMING ARTS PROFESSIONALSWashingtonDC$3.5M3
MISSISSIPPI ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT CENTER INCMeridianMS$3.5M1
SEA TURTLE INCSouth Padre IslandTX$3.5M2
FORECAST PUBLIC ARTWORKSSt PaulMN$3.5M3
TRICYCLE FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$3.5M2
ST PAUL RODEO ASSOCIATIONSt PaulOR$3.5M1
AUSTIN ZOO INCAustinTX$3.5M0
BURLINGTON CITY ARTS FOUNDATION INCBurlingtonVT$3.5M0
NATIONAL CZECH & SLOVAK MUSEUM & LIBRARY INCCedar RapidsIA$3.5M1
NORTH DAKOTA MUSEUM OF ARTGrand ForksND$3.5M1
NATIONAL MUSUEM OF PUERTO RICAN ARTS AND CULTUREChicagoIL$3.5M0
CHARLESTON STAGE COMPANY INCCharlestonSC$3.5M3
ANGELA DULDULAO MCPHERSON FOUNDATIONOxnardCA$3.5M0
LATINO PUBLIC BROADCASTINGLos AngelesCA$3.5M1
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
OVER THE RAINBOW BUTTERFLY GARDEN INCFlagstaffAZ$3.5M3
CENTENNIAL PARK CONSERVANCYNashvilleTN$3.5M4
THE ARTS COMMISSION OF GREATER TOLEDO IToledoOH$3.5M1
CNY Arts IncSyracuseNY$3.5M1
AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTERStauntonVA$3.5M2
MASSACHUSETTS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS INCHolyokeMA$3.5M1
ECI FOUNDATIONBillingsMT$3.5M0
GALA CHORUSES I INCPittsburghPA$3.5M1
KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ARTKnoxvilleTN$3.5M1
INDIANAPOLIS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INCIndianapolisIN$3.5M1
ADVENTUROUS MINDS PRODUCE EXTRAORDINARY DREAMS INCLouisvilleKY$3.5M3
PHILADELPHIA THEATRE COMPANYPhiladelphiaPA$3.5M4
BRECKENRIDGE CREATIVE ARTSBreckenridgeCO$3.5M1
THE LIBERTY FOUNDATION INCMiamiFL$3.5M0
STRATFORD HALLStratfordVA$3.5M2
ART21 INCNew YorkNY$3.5M1
Arlington Museum of Art IncArlingtonTX$3.5M0
PATH WITH ARTSeattleWA$3.5M4
Boston Philharmonic Orchestra CorporationBostonMA$3.5M2
SAN DIEGO AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMSan DiegoCA$3.5M1
HARRIET U ALLYN TESTAMENTARY TRUSTNew LondonCT$3.5M1