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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 51 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
NEW MEXICO PHILHARMONIC INCAlbuquerqueNM$3.1M1
THE MORRIS MUSEUM INCMorristownNJ$3.1M3
Musical Associates of Central New YorkSyracuseNY$3.1M2
MISSOURI NATIONAL VETERANS MEMORIALPerryvilleMO$3.1M0
MARQUIS STUDIOS LTDBrooklynNY$3.1M1
SUNSET CULTURAL CENTER INCCarmelbytheseaCA$3.1M1
THE LONG ISLAND MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART HISTORY & CARRIAGESStony BrookNY$3.1M3
NATIONAL MUSIC MUSEUM (AMERICAS SHRINE TO MUSIC)VermillionSD$3.1M0
SACRAMENTO REGION PERFORMING ARTS ALLIANCESacramentoCA$3.1M2
WINSTON-SALEM SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONWinstonsalemNC$3.1M4
Wayne Art CenterWaynePA$3.1M1
Childrens Creativity MuseumSan FranciscoCA$3.1M3
CHESAPEAKE SHAKESPEARE COMPANYBaltimoreMD$3.1M2
CHAPMAN CULTURAL CENTER INCSpartanburgSC$3.1M1
AXELROD PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCDealNJ$3.1M3
MINNESOTA LANDMARKS INCSt PaulMN$3.1M1
KOAHNIC BROADCAST CORPORATIONAnchorageAK$3.1M2
COMMUNITY HEART & SOUL INCShelburneVT$3.1M4
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF BEIT HATFUTSOT D/B/A AMERICAN FRIENDS OF ANU-MUSEUMNew YorkNY$3.1M0
Marwen Foundation IncChicagoIL$3.1M2
ASSOCIATES IN RESEARCH & EDUCATION FOR DEVELOPMENT INCSeattleWA$3.1M2
CULTURESOURCEDetroitMI$3.1M1
Eugene Symphony Association IncEugeneOR$3.1M2
THE KENYON REVIEWGambierOH$3.1M3
PARLANDO INCORPORATEDBoulderCO$3.1M0
THE SHOCKOE FOUNDATIONRichmondVA$3.1M3
Historic Columbia FoundationColumbiaSC$3.1M3
THE MARY LOUISE CURTIS BOK FOUNDATIONPhiladelphiaPA$3.1M0
Alliance for California Traditional ArtsFresnoCA$3.1M1
WHATCOM MUSEUM FOUNDATIONBellinghamWA$3.1M1
IQA FOUNDATION INCRichardsonTX$3.1M0
Organizing Institute South and West IAFAustinTX$3.1M7
West TN Public Television CouncilMartinTN$3.1M0
LAKE ELSINORE HISTORICAL SOCIETYLake ElsinoreCA$3.1M0
FORWARD ARTS FOUNDATION INCAtlantaGA$3.1M0
THE BUSHWICK STARR INCBrooklynNY$3.1M1
UNITED STATES INSTITUTE FOR THEATRE TECHNOLOGY INCLiverpoolNY$3.1M2
NANTUCKET DREAMLAND FOUNDATION INCNantucketMA$3.1M2
TAIWAN CENTER FOUNDATION OF GREATER LOS ANGELESAlhambraCA$3.1M0
CENTRAL TERMINAL RESTORATION CORPBuffaloNY$3.1M1
Sullenberger Aviation MuseumCharlotteNC$3.1M1
THE CHATHAM ORPHEUM THEATER INCChathamMA$3.1M0
SAWDUST FESTIVAL CORPORATIONLaguna BeachCA$3.1M0
ASIA-NORTHWEST CULTURAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONTacomaWA$3.1M0
LAKE DILLON FOUNDATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS DBA THEATRE SILCOSilverthorneCO$3.1M1
STEP UP WOMEN'S NETWORKLos AngelesCA$3.1M6
THE RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETYProvidenceRI$3.1M2
DC JAZZ FESTIVALWashingtonDC$3.1M1
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATUREAtlantaGA$3.1M4
The Virginia Holocaust MuseumRichmondVA$3.1M1