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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 48 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE DISTRICT THEATRE INCIndianapolisIN$3.4M1
National Association of Tribal Historic Officers IncWashingtonDC$3.4M2
THE JOHN & MABLE RINGLING MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION INCORPORATEDSarasotaFL$3.4M2
INDIANA DINOSAUR MUSEUM INCSouth BendIN$3.4M0
LITTLE ITALY ASSOCIATION OF SAN DIEGOSan DiegoCA$3.4M1
SHADOART PRODUCTIONS INCColumbusOH$3.4M4
LOPUD FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$3.4M0
RedlineDenverCO$3.4M1
READER INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM INCChicagoIL$3.4M2
PUERTO RICAN ARTS ALLIANCEChicagoIL$3.4M1
WORLD CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATIONFranklinTN$3.4M3
SPRUILL CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCDunwoodyGA$3.4M1
MARINERS MUSEUM TRUST NO 2 XXXXX2009ChicagoIL$3.4M1
NEW JERSEY BALLET COMPANY INCFlorham ParkNJ$3.4M2
BLUE RIDGE PUBLIC TELEVISION INCRoanokeVA$3.4M1
THOUSAND OAKS ALLIANCE FOR THE ARTSThousand OaksCA$3.4M0
BLITHEWOLD INCBristolRI$3.4M1
LUNDSTRUM CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS DBA LUNDSTRUM PERFORMING ARTSMinneapolisMN$3.4M3
Tacoma Art MuseumTacomaWA$3.4M2
THE GEORGE WASHINGTON FOUNDATIONFredericksburgVA$3.4M1
ENERGY INNOVATION CENTER INSTITUTE INCPittsburghPA$3.3M2
REDLANDS HISTORICAL MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCRedlandsCA$3.3M0
AMERICAN EVALUATION ASSOCIATIONWashingtonDC$3.3M0
COMMITTEE OF 100 INCNew YorkNY$3.3M6
THE LEGACY SENIOR COMMUNITIES INCDallasTX$3.3M12
THE NASDAQ ENTREPRENEURIAL CENTER INCSan FranciscoCA$3.3M5
SHORASHIM INCHighland ParkIL$3.3M1
UTAH HERITAGE HIGHWAY 89 ALLIANCEMount PleasantUT$3.3M0
JACK VAN IMPE MINISTRIESRochester HillsMI$3.3M2
PARTNERS FOR SACRED PLACES INCPhiladelphiaPA$3.3M3
PUBLIC BROADCASTING OF NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA INCEriePA$3.3M1
LAMBS PLAYERS THEATRECoronadoCA$3.3M6
QUEENS THEATRE IN THE PARK INCQueensNY$3.3M1
INDIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SERVICESBellevueWA$3.3M2
Center for Transportation and CommerceGalvestonTX$3.3M1
CYGNET THEATRE COMPANYSan DiegoCA$3.3M2
HINDU AMERICAN FOUNDATION INCPhiladelphiaPA$3.3M3
FLORENCE GRISWOLD MUSEUM INCOld LymeCT$3.3M3
WESTERN N CAROLINA PUBLIC RADIOAshevilleNC$3.3M1
BOSTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCBostonMA$3.3M2
THE PAID IN FULL FOUNDATIONLas VegasNV$3.3M1
KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATIONKnoxvilleTN$3.3M0
World Radio Network IncMcAllenTX$3.3M3
DISCOVERY CENTER OF SPRINGFIELD INCSpringfieldMO$3.3M1
MIDLAND COMMUNITY THEATRE INCMidlandTX$3.3M2
METROPOLITAN SCHOOL OF THE ARTS INCAlexandriaVA$3.3M1
NEW YORK POPS INCNew YorkNY$3.3M2
THE BARNUM MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCBridgeportCT$3.3M2
Indigo Arts AlliancePortlandME$3.3M1
US Biennial IncNew OrleansLA$3.3M0