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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 477 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
PARAGON RAGTIME ORCHESTRALewisburgPA$115k0
DELAWARE MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATIONDowningtownPA$115k0
ELIN PELIN FOUNDATIONSpringTX$115k1
DAVID HARSH MINISTRIESMarysvilleWA$115k1
PORTLAND CHILD ART STUDIOPortlandOR$115k2
SPRINGFIELD TO BOSTON EDUCATION FOUNDATION TRUSTHampdenMA$115k0
THE GOLANDSKY INSTITUTE INCNew YorkNY$115k4
PUBLIC ART RESTONRestonVA$115k0
Places Productions IncQueen CreekAZ$115k1
CONNECTICUT AEROSPACE HALL OF FAME & MUSStratfordCT$115k0
SARASA INCCambridgeMA$115k2
MCCALL ARTS AND HUMANITIES COUNCIL INCMcCallID$115k0
MINNESOTA MINGHUA CHINESE SCHOOLSaint PaulMN$115k0
THE OBSIDIAN COLLECTION ARCHIVESChicagoIL$115k0
VIDYARANYA KANNADA KUTAHawthorn WdsIL$115k0
THE CLEMSON LITTLE THEATREClemsonSC$115k0
GREAT GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY INCRosemeadCA$115k0
CENTER FOR AUSTIN INDEPENDENT JOURNALISMAustinTX$115k2
ARTS ACCESS SOUTH CAROLINAColumbiaSC$115k1
NATIONAL INSULATOR ASSOCIATIONColusaCA$115k0
George Flynn Classical Concerts IncClintonCT$115k0
AUSTIN JEWISH FILM FESTIVALAustinTX$115k0
RIVENDELL SPIRITUAL CENTER INCSewaneeTN$115k0
American First Day Cover Society IncAnnapolis JctMD$115k0
MAKE VISIBLEHonoluluHI$115k0
CREATE PEACE PROJECTRichmondCA$115k0
HIGHLAND AREA PARTNERSHIP INCShreveportLA$115k1
SYRACUSE-WAWASEE HISTORICAL MUSEUM INCSyracuseIN$115k0
END THE RACESausalitoCA$115k0
FRIENDSHIP & HERITAGE FOUNDATIONBelle MeadNJ$115k0
REVERSE TAINT FOUNDATIONBuffaloWY$115k0
THE ART OF MINDFULNESS FOUNDATION CORPCambridgeMA$115k0
CARLOS LEZAMA ARCHIVES AND CARIBBEAN CULTURAL CENTERDouglastonNY$115k0
FILMQUEST INTERNATIONAL FILM & ARTS FESTIVALProvoUT$115k0
CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT DANCERS INCAnnandaleVA$115k1
COLLINGSWOOD ATHLETIC HALL OF FAMECollingswoodNJ$115k0
GUJARATI CULTURAL ASSOC OF PIEDMONTGreensboroNC$115k0
WESTERN PLAINS ARTS ASSOCIATIONOakleyKS$115k0
Rose Valley Chorus and OrchestraMediaPA$115k0
East ContraCosta Historical SocietyBrentwoodCA$115k0
AKHIL ANJANA ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICABartlettIL$115k0
KOOYRIGS INCWest BloomfieldMI$115k1
ARC SALON FOUNDATION INCPort ReadingNJ$115k0
Dillard Center for the Arts Foundation IncFort LauderdaleFL$115k0
ABQ CORO LUXAlbuquerqueNM$115k1
MARITIME INDUSTRY MUSEUM AT FORT SCHULYERBronxNY$115k0
ORFEO MUSIC FESTIVALHoustonTX$115k0
NEW ENGLAND DANCE THEATER INCNew CannanCT$115k0
Argyle Free Library AssociationArgyleNY$115k3
HOUSTON MASTERWORKS CHORUS INCHoustonTX$115k1