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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 504 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SONOMA VALLEY JAZZ SOCIETYSonomaCA$103k0
SLOVENIAN CULTURAL CENTERLemontIL$103k2
SANTA FE SCOTTISH RITE TEMPLE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONSanta FeNM$103k0
MARIGOLD ARTS DEVELOPMENT INCNorth CharlestonSC$103k1
Central Texas ArtisansSan MarcosTX$103k0
LA CASA DE LA CULTURA ISABELINA INCIsabelaPR$103k0
MUDDY WATERS CLAY CENTER INCGrand ForksND$103k0
PALMS SCHOLARSHIP FUNDMcAllenTX$103k0
IAMSTONEFOLTZ FOUNDATIONSunburyOH$103k0
SAN LUIS VALLEY MUSEUMAlamosaCO$103k1
KA OHI NANI O MANAOLANASuisun CityCA$103k0
CORNUDAS MOUNTAIN FOUNDATIONEl PasoTX$103k1
FOUNDATION FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATIONChicagoIL$103k1
ACADIANA INDIAN ASSOCIATION INCLafayetteLA$103k0
CAROUSEL OF SMILES LTDSandpointID$103k0
TRUMBULL ART GALLERYWarrenOH$103k0
RHYTHMICALLY SPEAKINGSaint PaulMN$103k0
TEXAS VETERANS HALL OF FAME MUSEUMDentonTX$103k0
LONG ISLAND STRING FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION INCNorthportNY$103k0
LEADERSHIP METROWEST INCFraminghamMA$103k1
PORTLAND LINDY SOCIETYPortlandOR$103k0
GOLDEN BELT COMMUNITY CONCERT ASSOCGreat BendKS$103k0
BRENDONWOOD HISTORIC DISTRICT FOUNDATION INCIndianapolisIN$103k0
Association of Eritrean Jeberti in North America IncFairfaxVA$103k0
West Side Show RoomRockfordIL$103k0
BLUFF CITY THEATERHannibalMO$103k0
SUNSET APOLLO MARCHING BAND AND AUXPortlandOR$103k0
SOHO THINK TANK INC dba New Ohio TheatreNew YorkNY$103k1
MIDWEST SALUTE TO THE ARTSFairview HeightsIL$103k0
BESSEMER HALL OF HISTORY INCBessemerAL$103k0
ROTARY CLUB OF FONTANA FOUNDATIONFontanaCA$103k0
LA DONNA DANCE INCNew YorkNY$103k0
FOND DU LAC COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYFond Du LacWI$103k0
KUNTZ COMMUNITY ARTSBellinghamWA$103k0
JOHN BURTON HARTER FOUNDATIONLouisvilleKY$103k4
Bughouse TheatreChicagoIL$103k0
KANSAS CITY BAROQUE CONSORTIUMKansas CityMO$103k1
THE SPIZZWINKS OF YALE UNIVERSITY INCNew HavenCT$103k0
PETER STATHAS DANCE INCMilwaukeeWI$103k0
PACA INCPort WashingtonNY$103k0
CULTURAL AND CREATIVE ARTS CENTER OF THE SMVSanta MariaCA$103k0
PICKLEBERRY PIE INCCheltenhamPA$103k0
ARTS WITH A PURPOSE INCIndianapolisIN$103k0
SOCIETY FOR BEVEL INTENTIONS INCTucsonAZ$103k0
LITTLE FALLS TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCLittle FallsNJ$103k0
PANJAB DIGITAL LIBRARY USAAshburnVA$103k0
WENDEL MUSEUM OF ANIMAL CONSERVATIONVancouverWA$103k0
AMELIA ISLAND OPERA INCFernandina BeachFL$103k0
Onward Industries IncMarina Del ReyCA$103k0
YPC NATIONAL INCNew YorkNY$103k0