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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 476 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Untitled Theatre Company No 61 LtdNew YorkNY$116k2
THE TRUMBULL NEW THEATRE INCNilesOH$116k0
WAKE FOREST COMMUNITY YOUTH ORCHESTRAWake ForestNC$116k20
WALPOLE FOOTLIGHTERS INCWalpoleMA$116k0
Center for Visual MusicLos AngelesCA$116k1
FIA MAJOR EXHIBITIONS TRUST FUNDPenningtonNJ$116k1
AT HIS FEET MINISTRIESReddingCA$116k0
BROKEN ARROW HISTORICAL SOCIETY INBroken ArrowOK$116k0
TULSA SPOTLIGHTERS INCTulsaOK$116k0
LATAH COUNTY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INCMoscowID$116k0
Youth Empowerment Through Arts & HumanitiesNashvilleTN$116k2
FRIENDS OF PAWNEE BILL RANCH ASSOCIATIONPawneeOK$116k0
MUSEUM OF NEW JERSEY MARITIME HISTORYBeach HavenNJ$116k0
TAIWANESE AMERICAN ARTS COUNCIL CORPFlushingNY$116k1
Crawford County Recreation & Tourism Board IncEnglishIN$116k0
CONYERS-ROCKDALE COUNCIL FORTHE ARTConyersGA$116k1
AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL OF SAG HARBOR INCSag HarborNY$116k0
Straus Historical SocietySmithtownNY$116k1
VALLEY OPERA AND PERFORMING ARTSResedaCA$116k0
EVOLUTION THEATRE INC Evolution Theatre CompanyDublinOH$116k0
CRYSTAL MTN CTR FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSWestcliffeCO$116k0
FILMPROJECTSSahuaritaAZ$116k0
ODAIKO NEW ENGLAND INCSomervilleMA$116k1
ELIZABETHTOWN AREA HIGH SCHOOL BAND MUSIC CLUBElizabethtownPA$116k0
Art of Living IncFort WorthTX$116k0
AQUILA THEATRE COMPANYKatonahNY$116k1
Space Coast Ballet CompanyMelbourneFL$116k0
TAMIZDAT PROJECT INCAstoriaNY$116k0
FESTIVAL ON THE AVENUESumterSC$116k0
CREATE Newberry IncNewberrySC$116k0
Ensemble Monterey Chamber OrchestraMontereyCA$116k3
Native American Womens Conference IncGlendaleAZ$116k0
RETIRED UNITED AIRLINES EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATIONDenverCO$116k0
NORTHERN COLORADO INTERTRIBAL POW-WOW ASSOCIATIONFort CollinsCO$116k0
ALISON COOK BEATTY DANCE INCNew YorkNY$116k0
FIRST NIGHT HARTFORD INCHartfordCT$116k0
RANGER AIRFIELD FOUNDATIONRangerTX$116k0
BAHT WOR CHARITY FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$116k0
LOVEGRASS MUSIC FESTIVAL ASSOCATIONHaysKS$115k0
TOLEDO INTEGRATED MEDIA EDUCATION INCToledoOH$115k0
ST CHARLES ARTS COUNCILSt CharlesIL$115k0
Travelers Rest Preservation & Heritage AssocLoloMT$115k1
PHILADELPHIA VOICES OF PRIDE INCPhiladelphiaPA$115k1
GORDON CENTRAL PERFORMING ARTS ALLIANCE INCCalhounGA$115k0
BERKS YOUTH CHORUS INCReadingPA$115k0
IOWA QUILT MUSEUMWintersetIA$115k2
SAN FRANCISCO-SEOUL SISTER CITY COMMITTEE INCSan FranciscoCA$115k0
MAJESTIC THEATER ASSOCIATIONPottsvillePA$115k0
TAKE IT FROM THE TOP INCNew YorkNY$115k1
ALLEGHANY ARTS & CRAFTSpartaNC$115k0