Skip to main content
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 53 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MONTEREY COUNTY SYMPHONY ASSOC INCCarmelbytheseaCA$3M2
SANTA FE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL LTDSanta FeNM$3M6
KALAMAZOO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAKalamazooMI$3M2
BRISTOL RIVERSIDE THEATRE CO INCBristolPA$3M2
CHICAGO CHILDREN'S THEATREChicagoIL$3M2
Maryland Humanities Council IncBaltimoreMD$3M1
Stanford Jazz WorkshopStanfordCA$3M5
MOSAIC THEATER COMPANY OF DCWashingtonDC$3M2
FLORIDA HUMANITIES COUNCIL INCSt PetersburgFL$3M3
Lillian Anderson Family Charitable Foundation IncNew YorkNY$3M0
James Dick Foundation for the Performing ArtsRound TopTX$3M1
THE CATSKILL MOUNTAIN FOUNDATION INCHunterNY$3M2
PHILADELPHIA CLEF CLUB FOR JAZZ & PERFORMING ARTS INCPhiladelphiaPA$3M0
SHAREBABY INCBaltimoreMD$3M5
PAPAGAYODenverCO$3M3
THE CORPORATION OF YADDOSaratoga SpringsNY$3M2
MIDWEST OLD SETTLERS & THRESHERSMt PleasantIA$3M1
FRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM INCDallasTX$3M4
Hudson Turkish American Cultural Inc Association IncWayneNJ$3M2
JEFFERSON PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETYMetairieLA$3M1
The National Public Housing MuseumChicagoIL$3M3
WORLD ARTS FOCUSMount RainierMD$3M1
FRIENDS OF LOUISIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING INCBaton RougeLA$3M2
Valley Public Television IncFresnoCA$3M3
FLORIDA SMOOTH JAZZ FOUNDATION INCDaytona BeachFL$3M0
QUAD CITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONDavenportIA$3M1
THE HISTORY THEATRE INCSt PaulMN$3M2
ARTS & RECREATION FOUNDATION OF OVERLANDOverland ParkKS$3M1
MUSEUM OF CHILDREN'S ARTOaklandCA$3M2
CONNECTICUT AERONAUTICAL HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION INCWindsor LocksCT$3M4
DANCEMAKERS INCLanhamMD$3M1
Seattle Chamber Music FestivalSeattleWA$3M1
Spark Museum of Electrical InventionBellinghamWA$3M1
TIA CHUCHA'S CENTRO CULTURAL INCSylmarCA$3M0
THE DESERT BIENNIAL DBA DESERT XPalm SpringsCA$3M1
The Bronx Museum of the ArtsBronxNY$3M3
SING SING PRISON MUSEUMOssiningNY$3M1
NATIONAL URBAN INDIAN FAMILY COALITIONLynnwoodWA$3M1
JEFFERSON CENTER FOUNDATION LTDRoanokeVA$3M1
FRIENDS OF LEVITT PAVILION DENVERDenverCO$3M1
PHANTOM REGIMENT INCRockfordIL$3M1
PERFORMING ARTS AT METROPOLISArlington HeightsIL$3M1
HOT AUGUST NIGHTS INCSparksNV$3M1
ARTSBUILDChattanoogaTN$3M2
RUTHERFORD B HAYES PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUMSFremontOH$3M0
TENNESSEE PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATIONNashvilleTN$3M2
CHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOICIATION INCCherokeeNC$3M9
CIVIC LUBBOCK INCLubbockTX$3M0
VERMONT JOURNALISM TRUST LTDMontpelierVT$2.9M3
LOUISE WELLS CAMERON ART MUSEUMWilmingtonNC$2.9M2