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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 525 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ARMSTRONG COUNTY MUSEUMClaudeTX$94k0
NORMAN LOWELL ART GALLERY FOUNDATIONAnchor PointAK$94k1
SoLA ContemporaryLos AngelesCA$94k1
HATCH MILL GROUP INCOcean BluffMA$94k0
HAMSFORK MUSEUM INCKemmererWY$94k0
FRIENDS OF THE HISTORY MUSEUM OF EAST OTTER TAILPerhamMN$94k2
American Society of Military History IncSouth El MonteCA$94k1
The Labyrinth Art CollectiveFresnoCA$94k0
WOODBURY DAYS COUNCILWoodburyMN$94k0
EASTERN IDAHO AGRICULTURE HALL OF FAMEIdaho FallsID$94k0
Song of AtlantaRoswellGA$94k0
VIENNA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCViennaOH$94k0
ICONOGRAPHY INSTITUTEMarylhurstOR$94k0
JEWISH HERITAGE MUSEUM OF MONMOUTH CTY INCFreeholdNJ$94k0
PACIFIC BUS MUSEUMSacramentoCA$94k0
SOCIETY FOR HISTORICALLY INFORMED PERFORMANCESomervilleMA$94k0
Child's Play Touring TheatreChicagoIL$94k0
FOUR LAKES TRADITIONAL MUSIC COLLECTIVE INCMadisonWI$94k0
THE COMMUNITY PLAYERSPawtucketRI$94k0
Pacific Northwest Cultural Exchange CounBellevueWA$94k0
MUSIC THAT MAKES COMMUNITYBrooklynNY$94k1
DOGSBITEORG INCORPORATEDAustinTX$94k1
The Friends of the Southport Historical SocietySouthportME$94k0
POQUOSON HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL MUSEUM FOUNDATIONPoquosonVA$94k0
MONTGOMERY COUNTY CHORALE AND ORCHESTRAAmblerPA$94k0
OTown West Coast SwingOrlandoFL$94k0
ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS JOHN F KENNEDY DIVISIONSchenectadyNY$94k0
Oregon Fire Service Museum Memorial and LearningSalemOR$94k0
TEXAS FOREST TRAIL REGION INCNacogdochesTX$94k1
Riverfront Renaissance Center for the ArtsMillvilleNJ$94k1
ASHLAND CHILDRENS THEATREAshlandOR$94k2
CASHMERE COMMUNITY COFFEE HOUSECashmereWA$94k0
NEW CENTER FOR HOLISTIC LEARNING NY INCLong Island CityNY$94k0
ORANGE COAST MUSICAL ARTSGarden GroveCA$94k2
TELUGU ASSOCIATION OF GREATER GREENVILLEGreerSC$94k0
Radio Free PalmerPalmerAK$94k0
Lafayette Museum of Fine Art IncLafayetteCA$94k0
ALLEY REPERTORY THEATER INCGarden CityID$94k0
LDI BOOSTER CLUBGibsoniaPA$94k0
THE PALM BEACH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY INCWellingtonFL$94k0
Massachusetts Air And Space Museum IncBedfordMA$94k0
MUDDY RIVER ARTS INCBrooklineMA$94k0
WHITE PINE PRESS INCLakeviewNY$94k2
THE SUNSHINE JAZZ ORGANIZATION INCMiamiFL$94k10
LAKE CHELAN MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE NATURAL HISTORY AND ARTChelanWA$94k0
POLES IN AMERICA FOUNDATION INCPlantationFL$94k0
EVANSTON CHILDRENS CHOIREvanstonIL$94k1
Texas Talent Musicans AssociationSan AntonioTX$94k0
AAMAALPlanoTX$94k0
Still Artist Residency Program IncWest OrangeNJ$94k0