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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 537 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
K9 Foundation Yakima ValleyYakimaWA$90k0
Monterey County Agricultural & Rural Life MuseumKing CityCA$90k0
WATERVILLE PRESERVATION SOCIETYWatervilleKS$90k0
THUNDERBIRD FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTSMt CarmelUT$90k0
REGIONAL ARTISANS ASSOCIATIONAptosCA$90k0
OAKLEY COLLECTIVE FOR ARTS & RESEARCHDes MoinesIA$90k0
ADIRONDACK REGIONAL THEATRE INCPlattsburghNY$90k0
WOODLAND RESTORATION FOUNDATIONRichmondVA$90k2
CONGOLESE COMMUNITY OF SCRANTONScrantonPA$90k0
LYMAN HERITAGE PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INC C/O TOWN AND COUNTY CLUBHartfordCT$90k0
Psstorg IncorporatedBaltimoreMD$90k0
Maryland State Music Teachers Association IncBowieMD$89k0
PUTNAM CHILDRENS DISCOVERY CENTER INCCarmelNY$89k0
NMB AREA MUSEUM FOUNDATIONNorth Myrtle BeachSC$89k0
LOVE BEYOND LIMITSLong BeachCA$89k0
PAUL BUNYAN PLAYHOUSE INCBemidjiMN$89k0
HARDYFRANK-TUWOrlandoFL$89k1
ASHAVARI PERFORMING ARTS INCFremontCA$89k0
New Song Community ChoirGarlandTX$89k2
UKRAINIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTEDickinsonND$89k1
LPM ENDOWMENT FOUNDATIONLyndenWA$89k0
FRIENDS OF THE OC PUBLIC LIBRARYOregon CityOR$89k0
MOORHEAD COMMUNITY ACCESS TELEVISION CORPORATIONMoorheadMN$89k1
NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION NPDCPhiladelphiaPA$89k0
Ensemble SignalRochesterNY$89k1
HAWAIIAN MUSIC AND DANCE FOUNDATIONHonoluluHI$89k0
BOYS BALLET SUMMER INTENSIVEClaytonNC$89k3
ALMASI ARTS ALLIANCECentrevilleVA$89k0
Latvian Foundation IncSaint LouisMO$89k0
FALCON PRODUCTIONS INCNewportKY$89k0
ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY OBSERVANCE COMMITTColumbusGA$89k0
EAGLES MERE HISTORIC VILLAGE INCEagles MerePA$89k0
MIDSOUTH MUSIC INSTITUTE AKA CoroRioOlive BranchMS$89k3
Mosaic Youth ChorusBethlehemPA$89k0
CHILDRENS CHORUS OF COLLIN COUNTYPlanoTX$89k1
KOSHARE INDIAN MUSEUM INCLa JuntaCO$89k1
MENDOCINO DANCE PROJECTMendocinoCA$89k0
JACOB LEISLER INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY INCHudsonNY$89k1
OLD BRUNSWICK CIRCUIT FOUNDATIONLawrencevilleVA$89k0
TMSDC EDUCATION FOUNDATIONNashvilleTN$89k0
EAST HAVEN PUBLIC TELEVISION INCEast HavenCT$89k0
NEW ORLEANS DANCE COLLECTIVE INCNew OrleansLA$89k0
UNKNOWN CHILD FOUNDATION INCOlive BranchMS$89k0
BR WINE & JAZZ INCEllijayGA$89k0
ENCORE MUSICALS OF OWENSBORO INCUticaKY$89k0
Suzuki School of the ArtsHickoryNC$89k1
THE ANDOVER COMMUNITY HUBAndoverNH$89k0
Saluda Historic DepotSaludaNC$89k0
National Academy of Video Game Trade RevOdentonMD$89k1
PEACEWEAVERS INCBathNY$89k1