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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 511 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SOUTH FLORIDA BLACK JOURNALISTSLauderhillFL$100k0
WHITE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND CIVIC IMPROVEMENTClevelandGA$100k0
Groove City Black Heritage and Culture Group IncCambridgeMD$100k1
GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONIC BANDGrand RapidsMI$100k0
MARVIN EPSTEIN AND LYNN RUBEL FOUNDATIONElkoNV$100k0
440 STATE STREETSchenectadyNY$100k0
UNHEARD-OF ENSEMBLEBrooklynNY$100k5
Worthy Epicenter IncBendOR$100k0
FUTURE GENERATIONS OF ST LUCIE COUNTYFort PierceFL$100k1
BRONXARTSPACEBronxNY$100k1
Dance to your Hearts DelightTustinCA$100k1
SUDBURY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCSudburyMA$100k2
KERNSTOWN BATTLEFIELD ASSOCIATION INCWinchesterVA$100k0
THEATER LEAGUE OF CLIFTON INCWayneNJ$100k0
GILBERTVILLE EXPRESSIVE MOVEMENT INCGilbertvilleNY$100k0
NOISE SALON INCBostonMA$100k1
Echoes of ExpressionPlanoTX$100k0
HILLS AND THRILLS PRODUCTIONS INCBostonMA$100k0
TRED AVON PLAYERS INCOxfordMD$100k0
ARTISTS GUILD OF ANNA MARIA ISLAND INCBradenton BeachFL$100k0
BAKAITUS BERSHOK FAMILY FOUNDATIONPittsburghPA$100k0
BREAKING MAJOR BARRIERS CHARITIESDes MoinesIA$100k0
BRIGHAM YOUNG CENTER FOUNDATIONSandyUT$100k0
Central Heritage SocietyCentralSC$100k0
CHENG ASIAN ART FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$100k0
COLLABORATIVE ARTSRichmondVA$100k0
COLTRANE HOUSE PHILADELPHIANew YorkNY$100k0
CREATIVE MNSaint PaulMN$100k0
CULTURE FOR PEACE INSTITUTENew YorkNY$100k0
Cyclex IncNew YorkNY$100k0
GENDER AMPLIFIEDNew YorkNY$100k0
HISPANIC THEATERS AND PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION OF FLORIDA INCCoral GablesFL$100k0
JAMES A KIDD FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTSRenoNV$100k0
Kassan Foundation IncBrooklynNY$100k0
KERAMIDA FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION AND ART INCIndianapolisIN$100k2
KHELINS PROMISEWashingtonDC$100k0
LUBBOCK STORIES INCLubbockTX$100k0
MIR COMMUNITY BETTERMENT OF MARYLANHagerstownMD$100k0
MUSEUM OF COLLECTIONSSt LouisMO$100k0
NARDIL FOUNDATIONRocklinCA$100k0
ORGANIZACION CENTROAMERICANASeattleWA$100k0
QUAID I AZAM FOUNDATIONHoustonTX$100k0
San Juan Capistrano Performing Arts CenterSan Juan CapistranoCA$100k0
THE BUTLER FAMILY FOUNDATION INCFairviewTX$100k0
THE COMMUNITARIAN NETWORKWashingtonDC$100k0
THE MARC AND LIVIA STRAUS FOUND INCChappaquaNY$100k0
The Order of the PeacockLos AngelesCA$100k0
LITTLE THEATRE OF JEFFERSON CITYJefferson CityMO$100k0
The St Johns River Festival of the Arts IncSanfordFL$100k0
WORLD FOLKFEST INCProvoUT$100k0