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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 5 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MUNICIPAL THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF ST LOUISSt LouisMO$37.2M9
ALVIN AILEY DANCE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$37.2M11
ARTIS-NAPLES INCNaplesFL$36.9M11
PEROT MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCEDallasTX$36.6M11
COLUMBUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAColumbusOH$36.3M0
THE NELSON GALLERY FOUNDATIONKansas CityMO$36.2M6
GUTHRIE THEATER FOUNDATIONMinneapolisMN$36.1M8
BALLET THEATRE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$35.9M9
NC HISTORY CENTER ON THE CIVIL WAR EMANCIPATION & RECONSTRUCTION FOUNDATIONFayettevilleNC$35.8M1
NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM FOUNDATIONArlingtonTX$35.6M12
NATIONAL FOOTBALL MUSEUM INCCantonOH$35.3M10
THE SANTA FE OPERASanta FeNM$35.1M8
MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETYSt LouisMO$35.1M8
SCIENCE MUSEUM OF MINNESOTASt PaulMN$35.1M7
Thomas Jefferson Foundation IncCharlottesvilleVA$35M10
MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER INCMilwaukeeWI$34.8M6
NATIONAL SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONWashingtonDC$34.8M8
NORTON MUSEUM OF ART INCWest Palm BeachFL$34.5M7
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts FoundationRichmondVA$34.2M7
NATIONAL BOARD OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL EXAMINERS INCChicagoIL$34.1M27
COMMON SENSE MEDIASan FranciscoCA$34M13
The Hobby Center FoundationHoustonTX$34M7
CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INCChicagoIL$33.8M13
THE PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF NEWPORT COUNTYNewportRI$33.7M7
THE FREDERICK A SIMEONE MD FOUNDATION INCPhiladelphiaPA$33.6M1
STATUE OF LIBERTY ELLIS ISLAND FOUNDATIO FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$33.5M9
Hope Media GroupHumbleTX$33.4M9
PMML NORTH INCKenoshaWI$33.4M3
SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER INCLos AngelesCA$33.3M13
THE HELEN MARIE TAYLOR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION INCRichmondVA$33.2M0
OLD GLOBE THEATRESan DiegoCA$33.2M11
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONPhiladelphiaPA$33.1M9
WORLD TRADE CENTER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCNew YorkNY$33M10
THE LEGACY FOUNDATIONMontgomeryAL$32.8M5
WANG THEATRE INCBostonMA$32.8M10
OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION INCAshlandOR$32.7M11
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIOPasadenaCA$32.6M20
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LEARNED SOCIETIESNew YorkNY$32.5M8
AUSTIN THEATRE ALLIANCEAustinTX$32.5M7
Buffalo Bill Memorial AssociationCodyWY$32.5M4
RUTH ECKERD HALL INCClearwaterFL$32.2M5
Nashville Symphony AssociationNashvilleTN$32M12
SCHOOL OF AMERICAN BALLET INCNew YorkNY$31.2M9
NATIONAL MINORITY SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL INCNew YorkNY$31.2M6
American Battlefield TrustWashingtonDC$31.2M9
SEATTLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCSeattleWA$31.1M12
ARTSQUESTBethlehemPA$30.9M5
GROTON HILL MUSIC INCGrotonMA$30.9M4
The French-American School of New YorkMamaroneckNY$30.9M7
OMAHA PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY c/o 101 ProductionsOmahaNE$30.7M7