Skip to main content
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 502 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MAURY COUNTY HISTORICAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATIONColumbiaTN$104k0
NEW JERSEY CIVIC YOUTH BALLET INCHackettstownNJ$104k0
STANDING ROOM ONLY INCMt PleasantSC$104k0
GREYHOUND HALL OF FAMEAbileneKS$104k0
FRIENDS OF OR&N 197PortlandOR$104k0
EASTERN VIKING BAND-AIDES INCVoorheesNJ$104k0
Tennessee Tamizh SangamFranklinTN$104k0
NORTH AMERICAN MANIPUR TRIBAL ASSOCIATIONDallasTX$104k0
DA CAPO VIRGINIAMartinsvilleVA$104k2
Mansfield Community TheatreMansfieldTX$104k1
ROWELL RANCH RODEO INCCastro ValleyCA$104k0
Takohachi IncPortlandOR$104k1
EL MUNDO DE LOS MUNECOS PUPPET WORLD INCSan JuanPR$104k1
TWOPOINT4 DANCE THEATRE INCWest SacramentoCA$104k0
THE FRAUKE AND WILLEM DE LOOPER FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$104k3
ITALIANS OF AMERICADenverCO$104k0
WEST BEND FRIENDS OF SCULPTURE INCSlingerWI$104k0
Metro Performance ResourcesKellerTX$104k0
DAVID WESTPHALL VETERANS FOUNDATION INCAngel FireNM$104k0
MID-COLUMBIA MUSICAL THEATRERichlandWA$104k0
BIG SKY PRORODEO ROUNDUP COMMITTEEGreat FallsMT$104k0
FRIENDS OF THE SWANS ISLAND LIGHTHOUSESwans IslandME$104k0
HOLIDAY WORLD MUSIC FESTIVALFort BranchIN$104k0
LONE STAR LYRIC THEATER FESTIVALHoustonTX$104k1
Philip Lorenz International Keyboard Concerts IncFresnoCA$104k0
Jose Costas Contempo BalletS PasadenaCA$104k0
LITHUANIAN WORLD COMMUNITYCumberlandRI$104k0
INSPIREMSPMinneapolisMN$104k1
The Film Music Foundation a California Nonprofit Public Benefit CorporationEncinoCA$104k0
OCTAGON HOUSE FOUNDATION INCMarionVA$104k0
Jazz in the NeighborhoodSan FranciscoCA$104k3
THE BUILDERS ASSOCIATION INCBrooklynNY$104k1
PATRICIA LINDLEY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCWellingtonOH$104k0
BITS N PIECES PUPPET THEATRE INCDoverFL$104k0
SPELLBOUND THEATRE INCBrooklynNY$104k0
THE HORST REITER CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONEllsworthKS$104k4
ORIGINS PERFORMING ARTS INCGeorgetownTX$104k0
MONTGOMERY CO HISTORICAL SOCIETYCrawfordsvilleIN$104k1
CHARLESTOWN WORKING THEATER INCCharlestownMA$104k1
HANFORD DRAMA BOOSTERS CLUBRichlandWA$104k0
ABLEVOICESBrentwoodTN$104k0
United Flamenco Arts Society IncQuincyMA$104k2
CHINAWIND FOUNDATIONSaratogaCA$104k0
FRIENDS OF CALLIGRAPHYSan FranciscoCA$104k0
HOUSE OF DANCE FOUNDATIONEdinaMN$104k0
FRIENDS OF KINDER FARM PARKMillersvilleMD$104k0
ZLATNE USTE BRASS BAND INCFlagtownNJ$104k0
EAST-WEST CHANOYU CENTEREllensburgWA$104k0
CLEVELAND HUNGARIAN HERITAGE SOCIETYClevelandOH$104k0
ENGAGE ARTCharlotteNC$104k0