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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 489 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
TAOS CHAMBER MUSIC GROUPEl PradoNM$110k0
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDIAN AMERICAN ASSOC INCGermantownMD$110k0
MOTION INSTITUTESan RafaelCA$110k1
SAN DIEGO BONSAI CLUBSan DiegoCA$110k0
Historic Elmwood FoundationDetroitMI$109k0
ARTWISEGrand ForksND$109k0
Ballet MelangeDenverCO$109k0
MCALLEN PERFORMING AND CULTURAL ARTS FOUNDATIONMcAllenTX$109k0
GMCBA INCDecaturAL$109k1
BEER CULTURE CENTERChicagoIL$109k1
DESFILE HISPANO AMERICANO DEL ESTADO DE NEW JERSEYNorth BergenNJ$109k0
Taiwan Association of Greater SeattleWoodinvilleWA$109k0
PORTLAND JAZZ COMPOSERS ENSEMBLEPortlandOR$109k3
FORT KING HERITAGE FOUNDATION INCOcalaFL$109k0
TORAH LISHMAH INSTITUTE INCYonkersNY$109k2
START SOCOSanta RosaCA$109k0
MISSION FILMSSan FranciscoCA$109k1
SEBAGO LONG LAKE REGION CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL INCHarrisonME$109k1
NORTH GEORGIA CHAMBER SYMPHONY INCDahlonegaGA$109k0
KICKAPOO VALLEY ACOUSTIC MUSIC ASSOCIATION INCLa FargeWI$109k0
Waynesboro Community Theatre Project IncWaynesboroPA$109k1
BE ECCENTRICHPompano BeachFL$109k3
EBONY ROAD PLAYERSGrand RapidsMI$109k0
BARNESVILLE STATE THEATER COMPANYBarnesvilleOH$109k0
Sylvan Winds IncNew YorkNY$109k1
Art Works ProjectsChicagoIL$109k1
DETROIT DANCE COLLECTIVEFarmington HillsMI$109k0
VOICES AMPLIFIED INCLexingtonKY$109k1
SCOTIA-GLENVILLE PIPE BAND INCSchenectadyNY$109k3
CNY Rise Center IncSyracuseNY$109k0
HOLIDAY OBSERVERS INCAllendaleNJ$109k0
STRIVING FOR ALLDublinCA$109k0
DOWNTOWN CHAMBER SERIESPhoenixAZ$109k1
LUCIUS WOODS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCSolon SpringsWI$109k0
FRIENDS OF THE LINDBERGH FLYERETTESSaint LouisMO$109k0
GROVEWOOD BASEBALL MUSEUM INCMorristownTN$109k0
IRVINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETYIrvingtonNY$109k0
Ovations Dance Repertory CorpTampaFL$109k0
COLLAPSABLE GIRAFFE INCBrooklynNY$109k0
Monte Vista Friends of DanceDanvilleCA$109k0
CultureNow IncLong Island CityNY$109k0
SMALL SCHOOL INCRaleighNC$109k1
IDEMILI COMMUNITY UNION OF HOUSTON TEXASManvelTX$109k0
HARLINGEN CONCERT ASSOCIATIONHarlingenTX$109k0
ARTS EMPOWERING LIFE TRUSTOrleansMA$109k0
PERSEPHONE PRODUCTIONS INCFalls ChurchVA$109k1
Guyer Theatre Booster ClubDentonTX$109k0
People Made Visible IncWest ChicagoIL$109k3
THE MAKERY OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIAState CollegePA$109k0
SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONSProvidenceRI$109k0