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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 495 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
WARREN COUNTY SUMMER MUSIC SCHOOL INC C/O MICHELLE BELLEAUWarrenPA$107k0
CURTIS LEGACY FOUNDATIONBuena VistaCO$107k0
Adaland Mansion Development IncPhilippiWV$107k0
MENARE FOUNDATION INCGermantownMD$107k0
HARTLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETYHartlandME$107k0
MONTANA PRO RODEO HALL AND WALL OF FAMEBillingsMT$107k0
ALPENKAMMERMUSIKNew YorkNY$107k3
Allatoona High School Orchestra Boosters IncAcworthGA$107k0
WALLOWA HISTORY CENTER INCWallowaOR$107k0
CELEBRATE NASHVILLE INCORPORATEDMount JulietTN$107k0
WILSON CZECH OPERA HOUSE CORPORATIONWilsonKS$107k0
FUTUREPOEM INCNew YorkNY$107k0
DETROIT SUZUKI ACADEMY OF MUSICDetroitMI$107k1
THE GARDEN THEATREHoustonTX$107k5
BUGGY BARN MUSEUMBlancoTX$107k0
THE PALM BEACH SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL INCJupiterFL$107k0
THE ART GUILD AT FAIRFIELD GLADECrossvilleTN$107k0
THE MCKEAN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYSmethportPA$107k0
GOLF MY FUTURE MYGAMEWashingtonDC$107k0
SAN DIEGO NORTH COAST SINGERSEncinitasCA$107k0
TANNER GIFT OF MUSIC TRUST ZIONS BANCORPORATION NASalt Lake CityUT$107k1
ALMANACK ARTS COLONY INCNew YorkNY$107k1
Pike County Historical Society IncMilfordPA$107k0
Sacramento Valley Chapter of Sweet AdelinesSacramentoCA$107k0
ADIRONDACK MENNONITE HERITAGE ASSOCIATION AND HISTORICAL SOCIETYCroghanNY$107k0
OZARK MOUNTAIN MUSICBransonMO$107k4
D CIPHERDetroitMI$107k3
FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME FOUNDATION INCBartowFL$107k0
TRIANGLE SWING DANCE SOCIETY INCDurhamNC$107k0
SAUK CENTRE ART LABSauk CentreMN$107k0
VILLAGE IN THE VALLEYMcAllenTX$107k0
KALAMAZOO ABRAHAM LINCOLN INSTITUTEKalamazooMI$107k0
STRAUSS FESTIVAL OF ELK GROVE INCElk GroveCA$107k0
HOT DOCS FOUNDATION USA INCNew YorkNY$107k0
UPPER JAY ART CENTERUpper JayNY$106k0
Beaverhead County Museum AssociationDillonMT$106k0
NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM FOUNDATIONKeyportWA$106k1
EAST BAY MEDIA CENTERBerkeleyCA$106k1
VIRGINIA AREA COMMITTEE OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS INCVirginia BeachVA$106k0
Atlanta Freedom Marching BandAtlantaGA$106k0
National Conference of State Societies W South Dakota State SocietyWashingtonDC$106k0
Olmos EnsembleSan AntonioTX$106k1
ALEXANDRIA CHORAL SOCIETYAlexandriaVA$106k0
PERSIAN CULTURAL CENTER INC AKA IRANIAN COMMUNITY SCHOOLViennaVA$106k1
NORTHWEST KENYAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONLakewoodWA$106k0
DESERT PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATION INCPalm DesertCA$106k1
GRAND PRAIRIE ART COUNCIL INCStuttgartAR$106k0
DEPONTE CREATIVITY PARTNERSPortlandOR$106k1
ACTORS FOR THEMSELVES INCSanta MonicaCA$106k1
BERKELEY PIANO CLUBBerkeleyCA$106k0