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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 513 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MASON COUNTY FOREST FESTIVAL ASSOCIATIONSheltonWA$100k0
SHINING STARS DANCEKinsgtonNH$100k0
FIRE MUSEUM PRESENTSPhiladelphiaPA$100k1
PETER GLENVILLE FOUNDATIONNorth CharlestonSC$100k1
FOUNDATION FOR RESPONSIBLE TELEVISIONDallasTX$100k0
PEACE DRUMS USA INCPhiladelphiaPA$100k0
REEL EARTH FILMSScottsdaleAZ$100k1
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTYCouncil BluffsIA$100k0
ASUNAROBellevueWA$100k0
OO-OO-NAH ART & CULTURAL CENTERTaosNM$100k3
GORDON PARKS MUSEUM FOUNDATIONFort ScottKS$100k0
MORADA WAY ARTS & CULTURAL DISTRICT INCIslamoradaFL$100k0
SIGNAL AND CYBER MUSEUM SOCIETYAugustaGA$100k1
CAPTIVA ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETYCaptivaFL$100k0
RICHLANDS AREA CITIZENS FOR THE ARTSRichlandsVA$100k1
FESTIVAL OF TREES PRESCOTTPrescottAZ$100k0
WHILE WE ARE STILL HERE INCORPORATEDNew YorkNY$100k1
BERWICK THEATER AND CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ARTS INCBerwickPA$100k0
RESERVA DE LA CASALos AngelesCA$100k0
FAMILY OPERA INC d/b/a NORTH CAMBRIDGE FAMILY OPERACambridgeMA$100k0
BCC Foundation IncIndianapolisIN$100k0
Central StageRichmondCA$99k1
Kannapolis African-American Museum and Cultural CenterKannapolisNC$99k0
The Belfast MaskersBelfastME$99k0
EXCHANGE ARTS DBA THE EXCHANGEBloomsburgPA$99k1
Boise Philharmonic Foundation IncBoiseID$99k0
TWIN STEEPLES INCPonchatoulaLA$99k0
ASIAN FOCUS CORPORATIONMorrisvilleNC$99k0
LAMOILLE COUNTY PLAYERS INCHyde ParkVT$99k0
ALL STRINGS ATTACHEDArcadiaIA$99k0
Shukr7Chapel HillNC$99k0
Historical Society of West Point IncWest PointVA$99k0
SAN MATEO COUNTY CHINESE SCHOOLMillbraeCA$99k0
BEYONDEARTHINSTITUTEINCNew YorkNY$99k2
Free Verse ProjectMissoulaMT$99k0
LEXINGTON YOUTH THEATRE INCLexingtonNC$99k0
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION INC - PB CHAPTERWest Palm BeachFL$99k0
SYRACUSE-WAWASEE PARK FOUNDATION ISyracuseIN$99k0
DANVERS FALCONFEST INCHathorneMA$99k0
COMMUNITY MEMORIAL MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONYuba CityCA$99k0
ITALIAN ASSOCIATION OF ARIZONAScottsdaleAZ$99k0
WILTON PLAYSHOP INCWiltonCT$99k0
LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE HISTORICAL SOCIETYLaconiaNH$99k0
BRIGIT ST BRIGIT THEATRE COMPANYOmahaNE$99k2
CORNERSTONE COMMUNITY RADIO INCEdgewaterFL$99k1
Saturn Club Historic Preservation FoundationBuffaloNY$99k0
KEYS OF CHANGE USAChapel HillNC$99k0
AQUATIC MAMMALS JOURNAL NFP C/O DPS WIUMacOmbIL$99k0
KENT MUSIC BOOSTERS INCKentOH$99k0
LIMERICK TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETYLimerickPA$99k0