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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 533 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PERRY COUNTYLandisburgPA$91k1
WOMEN'S CAUCUS FOR ARTNew YorkNY$91k0
SAVING HISTORIC MOORESTOWN INCMoorestownNJ$91k0
Risk-RewardPortlandOR$91k0
LIVING ARTISTS COLLECTIVESeattleWA$91k1
NRITYAARANA SCHOOL OF INDIAN CLASSIC DANCELiberty TwpOH$91k0
STANWOOD-CAMANO ARTS GROUP GUILDStanwoodWA$91k0
THE MICHAEL FINKELSTEIN AND SUE-ANN FRIEDMAN FOUNDATION INCStamfordCT$91k0
FRENCH ART COLONYGallipolisOH$91k1
FRIENDS OF CONKLING HALL INCRensselaervleNY$91k0
Earth Lab SFSan FranciscoCA$91k0
BRIDGING VOICESPortlandOR$91k0
RENO ART WORKSRenoNV$91k0
MESQUITE COMMUNITY THEATREMesquiteTX$91k0
THE THEATER PROJECT A NJ NONPROFIT CORPORATIONUnionNJ$91k1
Muloma Heritage CenterStevensonMD$91k0
OLD SCHOOLHOUSE PLAYERSHickoryPA$91k0
QUANNAPOWITT PLAYERS INCReadingMA$91k0
LA FARGE FOUNDATION OF NEWPORTNewportRI$91k0
SAMPSON COUNTY HISTORY MUSEUMClintonNC$91k1
CALIFORNIA ARTS AND BEYONDYorba LindaCA$91k0
CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF YORK COUNTYAirvillePA$91k0
THOMPSON FALLS FILM & THEATER FOUNDATIONThompson FallsMT$91k0
CRAFTSMENS GUILD OF PITTSBURGHPittsburghPA$91k0
Connecticut Tamil Sangam IncOrangeCT$91k0
PARKER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAEnglewoodCO$91k0
CENTER FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS AND INTEGRITY INCLawrenceNY$91k0
WASHINGTON SHAKESPEARE COMPANY AVANT BARD THEATREArlingtonVA$91k1
WILEY H BATES LEGACY CENTER INCAnnapolisMD$91k0
JERSEY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYJerseyvilleIL$91k0
Naptown Philharmonic OrchestraEdgewaterMD$91k0
THE FINLANDIA FOUNDATION NEW YORK METROPOLITAN CHAPTER INCRyeNY$91k0
FRENCH LICK WEST BADEN CULTURAL CTRFrench LickIN$91k0
Kansas City Architectural FoundationKansas CityMO$91k0
NORTHWEST VINTAGE CAR&MOTORCYCLE MUSEUMSalemOR$91k0
Texas Nicaraguan Community CO TNCKatyTX$91k0
You Can Live History IncAuroraCO$91k2
Association of Retired US Fish & Wildlife EmployeesShepherdstownWV$91k2
GEORGETOWN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYGeorgetownSC$91k0
LEBANON COUNTY COMMUNITY CONCERT ASSOCLebanonPA$91k0
SAVANNAH BALLET THEATRE INCSavannahGA$91k0
MARICOPA CNTY HIST SOC-END TA-I XXXXX5009ChicagoIL$91k1
FOOTHILLS ANTIQUE POWER ASSOCIATIONConoverNC$91k0
UTAH FEDERATION OF MUSIC CLUBSFarr WestUT$91k0
TULSA ANTHROPOMORPHIC CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION INCOwassoOK$91k0
AVON GROVE COMMUNITY THEATERNew LondonPA$91k3
CRETE AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETYCreteIL$91k0
Ankeny Community TheatreAnkenyIA$91k0
ALEX HALEY MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONHenningTN$91k1
McDADE HISTORICAL SOCIETYMc DadeTX$91k0