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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 497 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SCOTTS VALLEY COMMUNITY THEATER GUILD INCScotts ValleyCA$106k0
MUSACK INCNantucketMA$106k0
THE FUND FOR GALILEAN ARCHAEOLOGYHooverAL$106k0
MEDIA CITY SCHOOL OF MUSICGlendaleCA$106k1
POPOLO PROJECT INCHonoluluHI$106k0
CAMRON-STANFORD HOUSE PRESERVATION ASSOCIATIONOaklandCA$106k2
Manhattan Chamber Players IncNew OrleansLA$106k1
FRIENDS OF GAINESWOOD INCDemopolisAL$106k0
HASTINGS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAHastingsNE$106k3
Korean American Music Supporters Association USA IncCupertinoCA$106k0
AMERICAN HISTORICAL PRINT COLLECTORS SOCIETYNew YorkNY$106k0
BIG ISLAND RENDEZVOUS & FESTIVAL INCAlbert LeaMN$106k0
TREASURY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONWashingtonDC$106k0
LOUIS AND JOANNE KNOTTS FAMILY FOUNDATION INCBoca RatonFL$106k0
Canto DeoCentennialCO$106k0
Resonance CollectiveLos AngelesCA$106k0
MISSISSIPPI MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIARidgelandMS$106k0
Macoupin Art CollectiveStauntonIL$106k4
NuNu Arts and Culture CollectiveArnaudvilleLA$106k0
RIDGELINES INCAaronsburgPA$106k2
COLLEGE PARK ARTS EXCHANGE INCCollege ParkMD$106k5
South Side Jazz Coalition IncChicagoIL$106k0
Full Spectrum StudioHilton Head IslandSC$106k0
Ciao Italia MatthewsMatthewsNC$106k0
SEA COAST SYMPHONYDana PointCA$106k1
National Society of DAR-IndianaBrookvilleIN$106k0
MINNEAPOLIS SCOTTISH RITE BUILDING & MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCMinneapolisMN$106k0
5280 PLUS SENIOR CHORALESCastle RockCO$106k2
URBAN ARTS MUSICDenverCO$106k1
SHOTGUN CINEMAColumbiaMO$106k1
LOLA- LOCAL OPERA LOCAL ARTSAustinTX$106k1
TEEN INTERNATIONAL MEDIA EXCHANGESherman OaksCA$106k0
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BOWLES MUSUEM AND HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INCFort Walton BeachFL$106k0
TAIWANESE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK INCFlushingNY$106k0
Thomas Paine Memorial Association IncMadisonWI$106k0
RISE UP CHORUS INCMetuchenNJ$106k0
MONO LAKE KUTZADIKA INDIAN COMMUNITY CULTURAL PRESERV ASSOCIALee ViningCA$106k0
MERRION & SMITHHenricoVA$106k2
HISTORIC FAYETTE THEATERFayettevilleWV$106k0
WASHINGTON OPERA SOCIETYWashingtonDC$106k0
NET WORKSStarkvilleMS$106k0
ANTELOPE VALLEY BALLETLancasterCA$106k0
GRASS ROOTS EVENTS INCImperial BeachCA$106k1
GWINNETT SYMPHONY INCBufordGA$106k0
ADMIRAL SIR ISAAC COFFINS LANCASTERIAN SCHOOLNantucketMA$106k1
JEMISON VAN DE GRAAFF MANSION FOUNDTuscaloosaAL$106k0
SOVIET JEWRY MOVEMENT ARCHIVES PROJECT INCWalthamMA$106k0
CENTRAL EURASIAN STUDIES SOCIETY INCYellow SpringsOH$106k1
A House Unbuilt % Victoria Bradford StyrbickiStillwaterMN$106k0
SHENANDOAH VALLEY ARTISTRY INCWinchesterVA$106k0