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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 506 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Community Concerts of the Grand Valley IncGrand JunctionCO$102k0
Goldfield Superstition Historical Society IncApache JunctionAZ$102k7
KENNEDY PERFORMING ARTS BOOSTERSCupertinoCA$102k0
ROCK & ROLL INSTITUTE NFPRockfordIL$102k1
DELLARTE OPERA ENSEMBLENew YorkNY$102k0
IMPERIAL COUNCIL OF SAN FRANCISCO INCSan FranciscoCA$102k0
THE DIAL MAGAZINE INCNew YorkNY$102k1
HANOVER AREA ARTS GUILD INCHanoverPA$102k0
AMERICANA THEATRE COMPANY INCORPORATEDCarverMA$102k3
House of PeruSan DiegoCA$102k0
CACHE VALLEY SYMPHONIC SOCIETYLoganUT$102k0
Lancaster Performing Arts Center FoundationLancasterCA$102k0
Camarillo Chapter 723 Experimental Aircraft AssociationCamarilloCA$102k0
NEEDHAM OBSERVERNeedhamMA$102k0
WESTCHESTER COLLABORATIVE THEATER C/O ALAN LUTWINOssiningNY$102k0
PUNA CANOE CLUBHiloHI$102k0
The Living Legends Awards for Services to Humanity IncClarksvilleMD$102k0
KNOWLTON FINE ARTSBlairstownNJ$102k0
FIRE FIGHTERS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION OF MISSOURIKingdom CityMO$102k0
Northeast Addison Television IncBristolVT$102k1
BALTIMORE COUNTY AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL INCTowsonMD$102k0
NEW YORK STATE EARLY MUSIC ASSOCIATION INC d/b/a NYS BaroqueIthacaNY$102k1
LEWIS & CLARK NATIONAL PARK ASSOCIATIONAstoriaOR$102k1
Sewickley Valley Historical SocietySewickleyPA$102k1
KLEIN FOUNDATION INCMobridgeSD$102k0
ALZNER FOUNDATION INCMcLeanVA$102k0
VIA NOVA CHORALE INCSarasotaFL$102k2
SWEDISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF ROCKFORDRockfordIL$102k1
SUNTAN ART CENTER INCSt PetersburgFL$102k2
WEST TENNESSEE REGIONAL ART CENTERHumboldtTN$102k0
FRIENDS OF THE YELLOWSTONE GATEWAY MUSEUM OF PARK COUNTY INCLivingstonMT$102k0
PACIFIC ARTS ASSOCIATIONBlaineWA$102k3
HEARTS OF PATRIOTSElyriaOH$102k0
WHITE BOX LTDNew YorkNY$102k1
QUANTUM MEDITATION SOCIETY USA INCJamaicaNY$102k0
COWBOY ARTS & GEAR MUSEUMElkoNV$102k0
PENNSYLVANIA ANTHROPOMORPHICS WESTPittsburghPA$102k0
Compton Kidz ClubPlaya VistaCA$102k0
THE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OF LEXINGTON INCLexingtonKY$102k0
Rocky Mountain Percussion AssociationWestminsterCO$102k0
Resilient Community ArtsEasthamptonMA$102k1
AMERICAN CHAMBER CHORALESt LouisMO$102k1
MERCED SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONMercedCA$102k0
Asheville Movement Community IncAshevilleNC$102k5
CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN TRIBE INCProvidence ForgeVA$102k0
DMV MUSIC ACADEMYHyattsvilleMD$102k0
BAYER BALLET COMPANYMountain ViewCA$102k0
ART CENTER OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY INCNew MilfordNJ$102k0
BearDanceCarrolltonTX$102k0
Wrightsville Beach Museum IncWrightsville BeachNC$102k0