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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 49 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
URBANGLASS NEW YORK CONTEMPORARY GLASS CENTER INCBrooklynNY$3.3M0
THE CLASSICAL THEATRE OF HARLEM INCNew YorkNY$3.3M1
MUSEUM OF VENTURA COUNTYVenturaCA$3.3M2
BANG ON A CANBrooklynNY$3.3M3
THE MARTHA AND JOHN M RIVERS PERFORMANCE HALL FOUNDATIONCharlestonSC$3.3M3
WESTERN VIRGINIA FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS AND SCIENCESRoanokeVA$3.3M1
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM AND THEATRE OF MAINEPortlandME$3.3M1
MONUMENT LAB INCPhiladelphiaPA$3.3M2
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WATCH AND CLOCK COLLECTORS INCColumbiaPA$3.3M2
DISCOVERY GATEWAY CHILDREN'S MUSEUMSalt Lake CityUT$3.3M1
OGDEN MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN ARTNew OrleansLA$3.3M2
PUBLIC CORP FOR THE ARTS OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACHLong BeachCA$3.3M1
PENSACOLA LITTLE THEATRE INCPensacolaFL$3.3M0
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF GRAPHIC ARTSNew YorkNY$3.3M3
PROVIDENCE CHILDREN'S MUSEUMProvidenceRI$3.3M1
SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF MAN DBA MUSEUM OF USSan DiegoCA$3.3M3
PALOS VERDES PERFORMING ARTSRolling Hills EstatesCA$3.3M1
NEWBERRY OPERA HOUSE FOUNDATION INCNewberrySC$3.3M2
AVALON FOUNDATION INCEastonMD$3.3M1
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF RACING INCSaratoga SpringsNY$3.3M1
CB GODDARD CENTER FOR VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTSArdmoreOK$3.3M1
LAGUNA ART MUSEUMLaguna BeachCA$3.3M2
AURICLE COMMUNICATIONSJersey CityNJ$3.3M3
FORMAN ARTS INITIATIVE INCPhiladelphiaPA$3.3M2
CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG AFRO-AMERICAN CULTURAL AND SERVICE CENTER INCCharlotteNC$3.3M3
HUA XIA CHINESE SCHOOL INCHoustonTX$3.3M5
NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATIONLincolnNE$3.3M1
CHEMUNG COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS INC CLEMENS CENTERElmiraNY$3.3M1
SANDUSKY STATE THEATRE INCSanduskyOH$3.3M1
MAKE-A-WISH OF NEW HAMPSHIRE INCManchesterNH$3.3M2
COLLIER COUNTY AGRICULTURAL FAIR & EXPOSITION INCNaplesFL$3.3M0
SANTA BARBARA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONSanta BarbaraCA$3.3M4
CREATIVE ACTION INSTITUTE INCIpswichMA$3.2M1
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS & EDITORS INCColumbiaMO$3.2M1
TROUT MUSEUM OF ART INCAppletonWI$3.2M0
YANKEE AIR FORCE INCBellevilleMI$3.2M2
THE WILLA CATHER FOUNDATIONRed CloudNE$3.2M1
PORTLAND OVATIONSPortlandME$3.2M1
Maine Maritime MuseumBathME$3.2M1
MARATHON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYWausauWI$3.2M2
CENTRAL COAST PERFORMING ARTS CENTER COMMISSIONSan Luis ObispoCA$3.2M11
CENTER FOR THE ARTS OF BONITA SPRINGS INCBonita SpringsFL$3.2M1
COMMUNITY MEDIA ACCESS COLLABORATIVEFresnoCA$3.2M1
ILLINOIS RAILWAY MUSEUM INCUnionIL$3.2M1
NAPLES HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION INCNaplesFL$3.2M0
VISION MAKER MEDIALincolnNE$3.2M1
US MARSHALS MUSEUM INCFort SmithAR$3.2M4
EVANSVILLE MUSEUM OF ARTS HISTORY & SCIENCEEvansvilleIN$3.2M1
WEB Du Bois Museum FoundationNew YorkNY$3.2M1
NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK INCNew OrleansLA$3.2M1