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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 52 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
RICHMOND PERFORMING ARTS ALLIANCERichmondVA$3.1M1
HISTORIC OAKWOOD CEMETERY FOUNDATIONRaleighNC$3.1M0
THE CENTER FOR THE ARTSCrested ButteCO$3.1M2
EXPLORE & MOREA CHILDREN'S MUSEUMBuffaloNY$3.1M3
THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF CLEVELANDClevelandOH$3.1M1
STEPHEN SONDHEIM FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$3.1M0
NOW AND THERE INCBostonMA$3.1M1
CANAL WINCHESTER AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCCanal WinchesterOH$3.1M0
MAGFEST INCBaltimoreMD$3.1M1
PANGEA FOUNDATIONSan DiegoCA$3.1M7
LANTERN THEATER COMPANYPhiladelphiaPA$3.1M2
ELAWA FARM FOUNDATIONLake ForestIL$3.1M1
THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS INCNew YorkNY$3.1M4
Wheels Through Time Museum IncMaggie ValleyNC$3.1M5
THE CONNECTICUT DEMOCRACY CENTER INCHartfordCT$3.1M1
ADMIRAL THEATRE FOUNDATIONBremertonWA$3.1M1
BAY CHAMBER CONCERTS INCCamdenME$3.1M1
UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI INCJacksonMS$3.1M5
MIAMI MUSIC PROJECT INCMiamiFL$3.1M2
National Little Britches Rodeo AssociationColorado SpringsCO$3.1M1
TELUGU ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA INCONoviMI$3.1M0
PUTNAM MUSEUM AND SCIENCE CENTERDavenportIA$3.1M4
ARROW ROCK LYCEUM THEATRE INCArrow RockMO$3.1M0
EUGENE O'NEILL MEMORIAL THEATER CENTER INCWaterfordCT$3.1M4
FINE ARTS WORK CENTER IN PROVINCETOWN INCProvincetownMA$3.1M1
THE METROPOLITAN CENTER FOR THE VISUAL ARTS INCRockvilleMD$3.1M2
Explore New York CorpNew YorkNY$3M1
Eden Foundation IINewtonMA$3M0
Black Feminist Future IncAtlantaGA$3M1
ALABAMA HISTORIC IROWNWORKS COMMISSIONMcCallaAL$3M1
TRYON PALACE FOUNDATION INCNew BernNC$3M2
GRAND TACOMA CINE CLUB DBA THE GRAND CINEMATacomaWA$3M1
CLATSOP COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCAstoriaOR$3M1
BRYN MAWR THEATRE FILM INSTITUTEBryn MawrPA$3M1
JEWISH MUSEUM OF MARYLAND INCBaltimoreMD$3M1
THEATER LATTE DAMinneapolisMN$3M3
AMERICAN INNS OF COURT FOUNDATIONAlexandriaVA$3M7
THE PURPLE ROSE THEATRE COMPANYChelseaMI$3M1
PHILA SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF LANDMARKSPhiladelphiaPA$3M1
ELDERHEART INCSistersOR$3M5
Hack the Hood IncOaklandCA$3M4
THE LESLIE LOHMAN MUSEUM OF GAY AND LESBIAN ARTNew YorkNY$3M3
TRANSCENDENCE THEATRE COMPANYSonomaCA$3M4
OPERA ORLANDO INCOrlandoFL$3M1
HUDSY COMMUNITY PROJECT INCKingstonNY$3M2
TALLAHASSEE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND NATURAL SCIENCE INCTallahasseeFL$3M2
THE SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL SOCIETYCharlestonSC$3M3
THEATERWORKS INCHartfordCT$3M2
INTERNATIONAL FOLK ART ALLIANCE INC DBA IFAMSanta FeNM$3M1
SAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCSaugatuckMI$3M1