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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 496 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GLORIFY PERFORMING ARTS INCWest ChesterPA$106k2
THE ARTHUR R AND RUTH D LAUTZ CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONAtlantaGA$106k0
NORWAY PARIS CABLE TVNorwayME$106k0
REYOT INCSilver SpringMD$106k0
FRIENDS OF MOUNTAIN VIEW CEMETERYOaklandCA$106k0
ANNEX THEATRESeattleWA$106k0
DOCUMENTARY PRODUCERS ALLIANCEDoverDE$106k0
ACCORDIONISTS AND TEACHERS GUILD INTERNATIONALBarrington HillsIL$106k0
VIENNA ARTS SOCIETY INCViennaVA$106k1
THE RR SMITH CENTER FOUNDATIONStauntonVA$106k0
RAD LABPhiladelphiaPA$106k1
Sister City Program of Gainesville IncGainesvilleFL$106k2
STRINGENDO CHAMBER ENSEMBLERiver ForestIL$106k1
ALL RHYTHMS CO IAN FRYAustinTX$106k3
ST FRANCIS HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR BOOSTER CLUBSaint FrancisMN$106k0
DAUGAVAS VANAGI LATVIAN WELFARE ASSOCIATION INCBronxNY$106k0
Jewish Tapestry Project IncRaleighNC$106k0
CRESTED BUTTE MOUNTAIN THEATRE INCCrested ButteCO$106k0
Institute for Regional EducationSanta FeNM$106k1
INTERACT THEATER COMPANYNorth HollywoodCA$106k0
Sacramento Regional Association of MalayaleesElk GroveCA$106k0
New York City Master Chorale IncNew YorkNY$106k3
FRIENDS OF MARY RIEPMA ROSS MEDIA ARTS CENTER INCLincolnNE$106k0
OKTOBERFEST USA GEMUTLICHKEIT FOUNDATIONINCLa CrosseWI$106k0
ARTSINPLAY INC DBA SENIORS IN PLAYSan AntonioTX$106k1
Crescendo PhoenixvillePhoenixvillePA$106k1
Pelzer Heritage CommissionPelzerSC$106k0
ELBERT THEATER FOUNDATIONElbertonGA$106k0
Naalehu TheatreHonoluluHI$106k0
Sedona LtdHaymarketVA$106k0
Dare to Defy Productions IncFairbornOH$106k0
CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY CHORUSCambridgeMA$106k1
EULENSPIGEL PUPPET THEATREWest LibertyIA$106k0
KIRKWOOD HISTORICAL SOCIETYKirkwoodMO$106k0
HAWAII ISLAND PACIFIC & ASIA CULTURAL CELEBRATION INCKailua KonaHI$106k0
EAST HILLSBOROUGH HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCPlant CityFL$106k0
MEDITERRANEAN PARTNERSCypressTX$106k0
SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONALOlympiaWA$106k0
Smalls Live Foundation IncNew YorkNY$106k0
FRIENDS OF CENTENNIAL HALL INCNorth HamptonNH$106k0
ABATE OF WISCONSIN SAFERIDER INCBlack River FallsWI$106k0
Next Generation DJ AcademyLargoMD$106k0
THE BLACK TV & FILM COLLECTIVE INCBrooklynNY$106k0
SERENA CORPRedmondWA$106k0
CHAMBERSBURG AREA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTSScotlandPA$106k1
DANCING WITH THE WILLIAMSBURG STARSWilliamsburgVA$106k0
DON AND CATHARINE BRYAN CULTURAL SERIES INCNags HeadNC$106k0
VIRGINIA CHORAL SOCIETY INCNewport NewsVA$106k1
DC RawhidesWashingtonDC$106k0
WINNER PIX THEATER INCWinnerSD$106k0