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 530 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
PUEBLO MEDAL OF HONOR MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONPuebloCO$92k0
DANCE THEATER OF FLORIDA INCPalm Beach GardensFL$92k1
Echo TheatreDallasTX$92k1
MERCERSBURG AREA COMMUNITY CHORUS INCMercersburgPA$92k0
HYPERCUBE ENSEMBLEWoodsideNY$92k4
EASTON CHARITABLE TRNorth EastonMA$92k0
THE ALFA ART CENTER A NJ NONPROFIT CORPORATIONNew BrunswickNJ$92k1
SEBASTOPOL HOUSE HISTORIC CONSERVANCYSeguinTX$92k0
Prairie Fire TheatreNormalIL$92k0
KG FOUNDATIONS INCPlainsboroNJ$92k0
PREMIER THEATRE COMPANY INCAsbury ParkNJ$92k0
THE PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN SOCIETYMarionPA$92k0
FENTON COMMUNITY ORCHESTRAFentonMI$92k0
COLD HOLLOW SCULPTURE PARK INCEnosburgVT$92k0
LAGRO CANAL FOUNDATION INCLagroIN$92k0
CRESTED BUTTE SCHOOL OF DANCECrested ButteCO$92k2
YOU BE YOU INCMillvalePA$92k3
SOUTHERN SCREEN FILM FESTIVAL INCLafayetteLA$92k0
SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE OFFICERS EMERALD SOCIETY INCLake RonkonkomaNY$92k0
BETHLEHEM MUSIC SERIESMinneapolisMN$92k0
New Wave Artist Residency IncWest Palm BeachFL$92k0
BAND PRESERVATION INCLongwoodFL$92k0
SAKURA-KAI INCBloomingtonIL$92k3
Commonwealth Artists Student TheatreNewportKY$92k2
HISTORIC MARION REVITALIZATION ASSOCIATION INCMarionSC$92k1
AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL & GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF IL INCDecaturIL$92k0
Scottsdale Chapter of Sweet Adelines IncScottsdaleAZ$92k0
FRIENDS OF NEVADA STATE MUSEUM LAS VEGASLas VegasNV$92k0
THE CONCORD ORCHESTRA INCConcordMA$92k0
MCNEILL STREET PUMPING STATION PRESERVATION SOCIETYShreveportLA$92k0
CENTER THEATRE INCSmith CenterKS$92k0
LACHUGARBrooklynNY$92k1
THE NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BALLETSpringdaleAR$92k0
CULTIVATEPortsmouthNH$92k0
FORUM JAZZ DANCE THEATRELibertyvilleIL$92k6
MARPLE NEWTOWN HIGH SCHOOL BAND ASSOCIATIONNewtown SquarePA$92k0
BRAVE NEW WORLD REPERTORY THEATRE INCBrooklynNY$92k0
VYSHYVANKAChicagoIL$92k0
LIGONIER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOUNDATILigonierPA$92k0
UP STEAM & GAS ENGINE ASSOCIATION INCEscanabaMI$92k0
Theatre Factory IncTraffordPA$92k0
US Chinese Dance AssociationPleasantonCA$92k0
FRIENDS OF MT LEBANON PERCUSSIONPittsburghPA$92k0
Kairos Italy Theater Non-Profit IncNew YorkNY$92k0
STEPHENSON HIGH BAND BOOSTERStone MountainGA$92k0
CANADY FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTSWashingtonDC$92k0
ACADEMY OF SACRED DRAMA LTDCroton FallsNY$92k2
PROJECT THEATRE FOUNDATIONPaso RoblesCA$92k4
Downtown Edinboro Art & Music FestivalEdinboroPA$92k0
FLORIDA STATE MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION INCJacksonvilleFL$92k0