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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 47 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
INTERNATIONAL FOOD INFORMATION COUNCILWashingtonDC$3.5M7
NORSK HOSTFEST ASSOCIATIONMinotND$3.5M0
AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCILMinneapolisMN$3.5M2
INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC MUSEUMOwensboroKY$3.5M0
MUSEUM OF THE SOUTHERN JEWISH EXPERIENCENew OrleansLA$3.5M2
LAWRENCE ARTS CENTER INCLawrenceKS$3.5M1
ORLANDO FAMILY STAGE INCOrlandoFL$3.5M2
THE GRETCHEN C VALADE ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTSGrosse Pointe FarmsMI$3.5M0
AMARILLO SYMPHONY INCAmarilloTX$3.5M1
TULSA AIR & SPACE MUSEUM INCTulsaOK$3.5M0
THE LIBRARY FOUNDATIONPortlandOR$3.5M1
MIND BUILDERS CREATIVE ARTS INCBronxNY$3.5M4
HISTORIC ELSINORE THEATRE INCSalemOR$3.5M0
THE ROYAL OAK FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$3.4M2
ARTS COUNCIL OF OKLAHOMA CITYOklahoma CityOK$3.4M1
THE DECORATIVE ARTS TRUSTMediaPA$3.4M0
MARK ARTS INCWichitaKS$3.4M1
GRAND RAPIDS BALLETGrand RapidsMI$3.4M2
EFFORTS OF GRACE INCNew OrleansLA$3.4M1
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA YOUTH BALLETCarlislePA$3.4M2
SPANISH THEATRE REPERTORY COMPANY LTDNew YorkNY$3.4M2
MinnPostMinneapolisMN$3.4M2
DAYS OF 47 RODEO SALT LAKESalt Lake CityUT$3.4M0
Star of Hope IncRocklandME$3.4M0
THE MUSIC CONSERVATORY OF WESTCHESTER INCWhite PlainsNY$3.4M2
PUBLIC MEDIA COMPANYBoulderCO$3.4M5
MICA GROUP INCBaltimoreMD$3.4M2
CALIFORNIA HUMANITIESOaklandCA$3.4M5
Museum of Northern Arizona IncFlagstaffAZ$3.4M0
SAM GILLIAM FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$3.4M1
ASSOCIATION OF CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS INCArlingtonVA$3.4M1
AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA INCNew YorkNY$3.4M4
OKLAHOMA CITY NATIONAL MEMORIAL FOUNDATI FOUNDATIONOklahoma CityOK$3.4M7
COLLEGE ART ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA INCNew YorkNY$3.4M3
COMMUNITY ENTERPRISES CORPORATION INCFreeholdNJ$3.4M0
HONESTREPORTINGCOM INCNew YorkNY$3.4M2
GLOBAL NOMADS GROUP INCNew YorkNY$3.4M4
AMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL INCDurhamNC$3.4M1
FALUN DAFA ASSOCIATION OF ATLANTADuluthGA$3.4M0
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE PARIS OPERA AND BALLET INCNew YorkNY$3.4M1
HILLER AVIATION INSTITUTESan CarlosCA$3.4M2
WILLIAM KING MUSEUM OF ARTAbingdonVA$3.4M1
HAMPTONS COMMUNITY OUTREACH INCWater MillNY$3.4M1
Paramount Hudson Valley Arts IncPeekskillNY$3.4M0
JOURNALISM FOR CHANGE INCArlingtonVA$3.4M1
FOOTHILLS ART CENTER INCGoldenCO$3.4M1
MANCHESTER CRAFTSMEN'S GUILDPittsburghPA$3.4M4
TRIGG - C M RUSSELL FOUNDATION INCGreat FallsMT$3.4M3
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART JACKSONVILLE INCJacksonvilleFL$3.4M5
Brooklyn Music School IncBrooklynNY$3.4M1