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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 512 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
PHYSICAL THEATER FESTIVAL INCORPORATEDChicagoIL$100k0
MUSIC IN CONTEXTHoustonTX$100k0
Spira Giving ColoradoDenverCO$100k0
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN TR XXXXX3001ChicagoIL$100k1
WINGS OF FLIGHT FOUNDATIONMesaAZ$100k0
South Indian Fine Arts Academy - SifaaCaryNC$100k0
ELMHURST CHORAL UNIONElmhurstIL$100k1
GLORY OF PEACE AND LOVEMill CreekWA$100k0
Erwin Township Historical SocietyIronwoodMI$100k0
DANCE MASTERS OF WISCONSIN INCJanesvilleWI$100k0
DORCHESTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCCambridgeMD$100k0
XIU NING CULTURE FOUNDATIONLafayetteCA$100k0
American Indian CouncilBozemanMT$100k0
ROLF AND ALICE KLEP EDUCATIONAL AND CHARITABLE TRUSTAstoriaOR$100k1
CHESTATEE HIGH SCHOOL BAND BOOSTER INCGainesvilleGA$100k0
CONNECTICUT CHORAL SOCIETY INCSouthburyCT$100k0
MECHANICSBURG MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONMechanicsburgPA$100k1
WASSERMAN PROJECTS FUNDAuburn HillsMI$100k1
HOLY GHOST SOCIETY OF FORT BRAGGFort BraggCA$100k0
AKIN HALL ASSOCIATIONPawlingNY$100k1
Roxbury Unity Parade IncRoxburyMA$100k0
AZERBAIJAN CULTURAL SOCIETY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIALos GatosCA$100k0
MARCHING ELITE FOUNDATIONBaltimoreMD$100k1
SEGUIN ART LEAGUESeguinTX$100k0
NEW ENGLAND SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION INCFraminghamMA$100k0
IVY HILL VAILSBURG FOR ARTS CULTURE AND COMMUNITY ACTIVISMNewarkNJ$100k0
SOORYA PERFORMING ARTSBallwinMO$100k0
WALTON THEATRE PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION INCWaltonNY$100k0
PHILADELPHIA SCULPTORS INCPhiladelphiaPA$100k0
PGM AVIATION INCHaltom CityTX$100k0
RICHFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCRichfieldWI$100k0
THE CULTURAL CARAVANBroomfieldCO$100k1
OLDHAM COUNTY ARTS ASSOCIATION CORPORATIONLa GrangeKY$100k0
NEW TOWN AT ST CHARLES TRUSTSt CharlesMO$100k0
MUSEUM OF NEWPORT IRISH HISTORY INCNewportRI$100k0
SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO HERITAGE CENTERPuebloCO$100k0
CHIPPEWA VALLEY SYMPHONY FOUNDATION TRUSTEau ClaireWI$100k0
MARITIME MUSIC AND TRADITION SOCIETY CORPEssexCT$100k0
YARMOUTH SEASIDE FESTIVAL INCSouth YarmouthMA$100k0
Historic Haile Homestead IncGainesvilleFL$100k0
Irish American Social ClubSilver SpringMD$100k0
AMOR POR JUAREZEl PasoTX$100k0
MAIN STREET LATIN FESTIVALWest ColumbiaSC$100k0
SILHOUETTE STAGES INCEllicott CityMD$100k1
New England Dance EnsembleLondonderryNH$100k1
WESTARTS BOOSTER CLUB INCHuntington BeachCA$100k0
Black Girl Brown Girl Collective IncPhoenixAZ$100k0
HISTORIC LUND THEATER ASSOCIATIONViborgSD$100k0
RITTENHOUSE SQ FINE ARTS ASSNPhiladelphiaPA$100k2
LIGONIER VALLEY RAIL ROAD ASSOCIATIONLigonierPA$100k0