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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 521 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SOUTHEAST LIGHTHOUSE FOUNDATIONBlock IslandRI$96k0
Friends of Theodore Roethke FoundationSaginawMI$96k0
MID AMERICA TRANSPORTATION AND AVIATION MUSEUMSioux CityIA$96k1
MELANGE DANCE COMPANYNew OrleansLA$96k1
The Mississippi Songwriters Festival IncMoss PointMS$96k0
SOUTHWEST LEARNING CENTERS INCSanta FeNM$96k0
Athenas Gem IncAthenaOR$96k0
OREGON AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETYCottage GroveOR$96k0
Beacon ArtsSeattleWA$96k1
Clay Center of New OrleansNew OrleansLA$96k0
American Friends of the Center for Wine and Civilization IncNew YorkNY$96k0
VETERANS TRIBUTE AND MUSEUM OF OSCOELA COUNTY INCKissimmeeFL$96k0
GENERAL JOHN A LOGAN MUSEUMMurphysboroIL$96k1
STANTON-DAVIS HOMESTAND MUSEUM INCPawcatuckCT$96k0
ROSWELL HISTORICAL SOCIETYRoswellGA$96k1
THE PALMETTO OPERAColumbiaSC$96k1
DANDREA LAROSA ART FOUNDATION INCLawrenceburgIN$96k0
NEW JERSEY TAMIL SANGAM INCPlainsboroNJ$96k0
SAWERAAChesterfieldMO$96k0
Village Light Opera Group LtdNew YorkNY$96k0
SAN DIEGO SYNERGY ARTS NETWORKCardiff By The SeaCA$96k0
INTERNATIONAL PERFORMING ARTS OF AMERICASan JoseCA$96k0
BLACK TAVERN HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCDudleyMA$96k0
L'ATELIER THEATRE NY INCBronxNY$96k0
CASA ITALIANA SOCIOCULTURAL CENTER INCWashingtonDC$96k0
Henry B Plant Museum Society IncTampaFL$96k0
CHESTNUT HILL CONCERTS INCOld SaybrookCT$96k5
PEDRO CUBAN PETE AGUILAR AND BARBARA CFort MyersFL$96k3
HERMAN HESSELSCHWART 758 MARINE CORPS LEAGUE CHRISTMAS FOR KIDSDefianceOH$96k0
MONSTER BASH INCORPORATED Monster BashHarmonyMN$96k0
Jazz And Classics For Change IncGhentNY$96k1
NOEL COMMUNITY ARTS PROGRAMShreveportLA$96k1
CULTURAL ADVOCACY NETWORK OF MICHIGANLansingMI$96k0
Preston Mitchum JR FoundationCatonsvilleMD$96k0
ROME FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA LTDLuquilloPR$96k0
NATL ASIAN AMERICAN THEATRE FESTIVALNew YorkNY$96k0
LAKELAND REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL BANDRingwoodNJ$96k0
LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON MUSEUM OF SAN MARCOSSan MarcosTX$96k0
Clogging Express of Broken ArrowBroken ArrowOK$96k0
SYMPHONY BY THE SEA LTDMarbleheadMA$96k0
THE JOHN MAY MUSEUM CENTERColorado SpringsCO$96k0
MILTON ARTS GUILD INCMiltonDE$96k0
MIFFLINBURG BUGGY MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCMifflinburgPA$96k0
UNION MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND ARTINCFarmervilleLA$96k0
Chiku Awali African Dance Arts & Culture IncSuffernNY$96k0
DIVERSITY IN ARTS AND NATIONS FOR CULTURAL EDUCATION INCBronxNY$96k1
PUEBLO RAILWAY FOUNDATIONPuebloCO$96k0
The Archie & Phebe Mae Givens FoundationSt Louis ParkMN$96k0
FLAGSTAFF FIGURE SKATING CLUBFlagstaffAZ$96k0
Prairie Dance Theatre IncEdmondOK$96k0