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 536 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
DONALD BYRD CULTURAL FOUNDATION INCBayonneNJ$90k0
VALLEY PLAY MUSEUMEllensburgWA$90k3
KAZIMIERZ PULASKI POLISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL INCGarfieldNJ$90k0
BRICES CROSSROADS BATTLEFIELD COMMBaldwynMS$90k0
SOCIETY HILL PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONPhiladelphiaPA$90k0
COWBOY HALL OF FAME AFFILIATED FUND OF OCCF INCOklahoma CityOK$90k2
VESELICA SLOVAK CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONLisleIL$90k0
FLORIDA CENTER FOR CULTURAL COMPETECoral SpringsFL$90k1
WASHINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETYWashingtonIL$90k0
DRAG DADDY INCLouisvilleKY$90k0
THE MUSIC ACADEMY FOUNDATIONRockfordIL$90k0
PVHS DRAMATIC ARTS BOOSTERS INCPonte VedraFL$90k0
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN OUTREACH - EPDC CORPParamusNJ$90k0
OAK GROVE CAPE VERDEAN CULTURAL CENTER INCOnsetMA$90k0
TUSCARAWAS ARTS PARTNERSHIPNew PhiladelphiaOH$90k1
TOWER CHORALEWestern SprgsIL$90k0
BOREAL THEATERMillinocketME$90k0
Angels ShareLivoniaMI$90k0
AMBASSADORS INTERNATIONAL BALLET FOLKORICO INCHoustonTX$90k0
LEMONT HIGH SCHOOL BAND PARENTS ASSOCIATIONLemontIL$90k0
BELLISTON BALLET INCNorth HollywoodCA$90k0
Black Film SpaceBrooklynNY$90k2
East Tennessee Veteran's AssociationKnoxvilleTN$90k0
Stoneware Museum of Monmouth IllinoisMonmouthIL$90k0
IMPROVED ORDER OF RED MEN OF NORTH CAROLINAWashingtonNC$90k0
BUFFALO GAY MENS CHORUS INCBuffaloNY$90k1
SCHOPEG ACCESS INCCobleskillNY$90k0
ConveneSt Louis ParkMN$90k1
CHRISTIAN LITERATURE ADVANCEGreenvilleSC$90k0
THE ALEXANDER HAMILTON AWARENESS SOCIETYStowMA$90k0
ST PATRICKS DAY PARADE OF LAWRENCE KANSAS INCLawrenceKS$90k0
AMANA ARTS GUILDAmanaIA$90k0
Cross Culture Christian Theater INCPhiladelphiaPA$90k0
Khmer Language Arts and Culture AcademyTacomaWA$90k0
JOHN GRAVES PRODUCTIONS INCPhiladelphiaPA$90k1
WEST IND CONNECTIONIndependenceMO$90k0
MOVEMENT ARTS COLLECTIVE INCSn Luis ObispCA$90k0
PROTECT OUR PAST INCN ChathamMA$90k0
Northern New Mexico Regional Arts CenterEspanolaNM$90k1
PORTSMOUTH MURALS INCPortsmouthOH$90k0
INVERSION ENSEMBLE INCAustinTX$90k2
JANE FRANKLIN DANCEArlingtonVA$90k9
THE HAWAIIAN LEGACY FOUNDATIONHonoluluHI$90k0
GC Kids On Stage IncSnow HillNC$90k0
Pan African Center For Empowerment IncSeattleWA$90k0
PHOTO ALLIANCESan FranciscoCA$90k1
ARDEA ARTS INCNew YorkNY$90k0
THEATRE ARTS FOR EVERYONEYorkPA$90k1
HERITAGE COMMUNITY CENTER INCThief River FallsMN$90k1
THEN POOVAGA TAMIL SANGAM INCMiramarFL$90k0