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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 529 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
UNITED SOCIAL SERVICES OF THE SOCIETY FONew YorkNY$93k0
ARJAY ENTERTAINMENT INCORPORATEDPhillipsburgNJ$93k2
FRIENDS OF THE UMKC CONSERVATORYKansas CityMO$93k0
UNITED VOICES 4 PEACE INCNew YorkNY$93k0
EAST-WEST CULTURE AND ARTS FOUNDATIONAliso ViejoCA$93k0
Rancho San Diego Music FoundationEl CajonCA$93k0
KOREAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL CENTER OF SACRAMENTOSacramentoCA$93k2
LIZ SHEA-MCCOY FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTSLincolnNE$93k0
MAIN STAGEEurekaCA$93k0
Martinsville-Henry County Historical SocietyMartinsvilleVA$93k0
ALTURAS COMMUNITY THEATERAlturasCA$93k0
HOP SING TONG ASSOCIATION INCLos AngelesCA$93k0
DANTE ALIGHIERI SOCIETY OF JERSEY CITYJersey CityNJ$93k0
DENVER CHINESE SCHOOLHighlands RanchCO$93k0
SUZUKI MUSIC SCHOOL OF MICHIANA INCGrangerIN$92k0
ORCHARD PARK SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCOrchard ParkNY$92k0
CATALYST THEATER COMPANY PRODUCTIONS INCPlainfieldNJ$92k1
MCKEESPORT LITTLE THEATERMcKeesportPA$92k0
FIVE STAR THEATRE COMPANY INCGloucesterMA$92k3
THE GUNTERSVILLE MUSEUM INCGuntersvilleAL$92k0
LITTLE TOKYO HISTORICAL SOCIETYLos AngelesCA$92k0
PUERI CANTORES SAN GABRIEL VALLEYWest CovinaCA$92k2
LOUISIANA HUMANITIES FOUNDATIONNew OrleansLA$92k0
POINTE AUX BARQUES LIGHTHOUSEPort HopeMI$92k0
CAPE COD CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INCWest YarmouthMA$92k0
Harmony Project Bay Area IncSan FranciscoCA$92k0
SAKKS INCOlneyMD$92k1
LOWCOUNTRY WIND SYMPHONYBeaufortSC$92k1
MINNESOTA KNITTERS GUILDMinneapolisMN$92k0
COFFEE COUNTY ARTS ALLIANCEEnterpriseAL$92k0
WORCESTER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCLeominsterMA$92k4
TESSAKUNewmanCA$92k0
TARANADAAustinTX$92k0
CENTRAL WYOMING CHILDREN'S CENTERRivertonWY$92k0
OMEGAS OF SPARTANBURG INCSpartanburgSC$92k0
MARIACHI CRAZEEl PasoTX$92k0
Arts on the Avenue IncWest PlainsMO$92k0
Farm at Oatland NorthSaint Simons IslandGA$92k0
COLORADO DANCE THEATRE INCGreeleyCO$92k0
Cantrell Community ConnectionsVictorvilleCA$92k0
FRIENDS OF THE HOPKINS CENTER FOR THE ARHopkinsMN$92k0
FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC OF READINGReadingPA$92k0
ARISIA INCORPORATEDSomervilleMA$92k0
ORANGEBURG CIVIC BALLET INCOrangeburgSC$92k0
Davis Contemporary Dance CompanyDenverCO$92k0
LAWNSIDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCLawnsideNJ$92k0
Borderline DanceSequimWA$92k0
WORLD ORGANIZATION OF CHINA PAINTERSOklahoma CityOK$92k1
FOND DU LAC SYMPHONIC BAND LTDFond Du LacWI$92k15
BLACKFOOT COMMUNITY PLAYERS INCBlackfootID$92k0