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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 492 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SUGAR CREEK PLAYERS INCCrawfordsvilleIN$108k0
VINE GROVE BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL INCVine GroveKY$108k0
MOUSE RIVER PLAYERSMinotND$108k0
MINT HILL ARTSMint HillNC$108k0
ARIZONA YOUTH BALLETGilbertAZ$108k0
NATIONAL FENTON GLASS SOCIETY INCMariettaOH$108k0
HENNING LANDMARK CENTER INCHenningMN$108k1
International Keyboard Odyssiad and Festival IncFort CollinsCO$108k0
WEST STOCKBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETYWest StockbridgeMA$108k0
KALAMAZOO CHILDREN'S CHORUSKalamazooMI$108k0
OVERBROOK HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUMOverbrookKS$108k0
MAINE MUSIC SOCIETYLewistonME$108k0
HELEN L FOX GOSPEL MUSIC CENTERPortageMI$108k0
MUSIC FOR AUTISMSan FranciscoCA$108k1
BLOOMINGTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCBloomingtonIN$108k5
MPAACTChicagoIL$108k0
HUNTINGTON AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM INCHuntingtonNY$108k1
Cycropia Aerial Dance Inc co Nataraj HauserMadisonWI$108k0
PATRONS OF THE ARTS FOUNDATIONCarlsbadCA$108k0
HONOLULU CHAMBER MUSIC SERIESHonoluluHI$108k0
BENGALI CULTURAL SOCIETYSolonOH$108k0
COLONEL DRAKE CULTURAL ALLIANCEOil CityPA$108k0
DRAGONFLY AERIAL AND CIRCUS ARTS STUDIOKnoxvilleTN$108k0
SOLOMON AND GILLESPIE FUND INCBrooklynNY$108k0
FULLERTON MANSION CENTER FOR CULTURE AND HISTORY INCNewburghNY$108k0
Prizer Arts and LettersAustinTX$108k2
PEANUT GALLERY PLAYERSRochesterMI$108k0
TURKISH ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER OF QUEENS INCSunnysideNY$108k0
INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS OF THE NATURAL HISTORYBethesdaMD$108k0
TWINHEAD THEATRE INC dba ATLANTA FRINGE FESTIVALAtlantaGA$108k1
FIRELIGHT THEATRE WORKSHOPPeterboroughNH$108k0
ASIAN AMERICAN COHESION INCFlushingNY$108k0
FRIENDS OF THE PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL INCPonte Vedra BeachFL$108k0
Performing Arts Social Society IncWest SacramentoCA$108k0
Upper Valley Historical SocietyLeavenworthWA$108k0
FDL CT INCFond Du LacWI$108k0
SIKH HERITAGE EDUCATION AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA INCTracyCA$108k0
MOUNTAIN LAUREL AUTOHARP GATHERING INCFranklinWI$108k0
AMADEUS CONCERT ENSEMBLEKnoxvilleTN$108k0
SOCIETY OF ST JOSEPH OF BETHLEHEMBethlehemPA$108k0
A MOTHERS ARMS INCDunedinFL$108k0
Armed Forces Heritage House IncBurlingtonNJ$108k0
LAKEVIEW ORCHESTRA INCChicagoIL$108k0
SEATTLE COLLABORATIVE ORCHESTRASeattleWA$108k1
THE ASHLEY BRYAN CENTERIslesfordME$108k0
KUNTA KINTE CELEBRATIONS INCAnnapolisMD$108k0
GHHS CHORUS BOOSTER CLUBCaryNC$108k0
The Alternatives FoundationAustinTX$108k1
COMMITTEE FOR A BETTER NEW ORLEANSNew OrleansLA$108k1
LIS MUSIC SOCIETY INCCliftonVA$108k1