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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 538 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Bedford Heritage TrustBedfordPA$89k0
LEROY HERITAGE MUSEUM INCCantonPA$89k0
The Art School IncMilwaukeeWI$89k2
Southeast Museum Association IncBrewsterNY$89k0
KREWE OF GEMINIGulfportMS$89k0
Omotesenke Domonkai Eastern Region USAClosterNJ$89k1
CHURCHILL COUNTY MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONFallonNV$89k0
SING STARK INCCantonOH$89k1
WILSON COUNTY BLACK HISTORY COMMITTEELebanonTN$89k0
SAWNEE ASSOCIATION OF THE ARTS INCCummingGA$89k0
STRAY CAT FILM CENTERKansas CityMO$89k0
THE SCARSDALE HISTORICAL SOCIETYScarsdaleNY$89k0
FULTON CHAIN OF LAKES PERFORMING ARTS COUNCIL INCInletNY$89k0
COEUR DALENE ARTS & CULTURE ALLIANCECoeur DaleneID$89k1
GUJARATI SAMAJ OF GREATER AUSTINRound RockTX$89k0
NARROWS COMMUNITY THEATER INCBrooklynNY$89k0
UHANE POHAKU NA MOKU O HAWAII INCHiloHI$89k2
ATLANTIC ROCK ISLAND SOCIETY ENTERPRISEAtlanticIA$89k0
SANTA CLARA PARADE OF CHAMPIONSSanta ClaraCA$89k0
LA ZARZUELA INCMiamiFL$89k1
HOUSTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYCaledoniaMN$89k0
FILM AND MEDIA ALLIANCE OF SOUTHERNSt GeorgeUT$89k3
FRUITPORT BAND PARENTS ASSOCIATIONFruitportMI$89k0
Center for Advanced Musical StudiesHanoverNH$89k1
MANITOU BEACH HISTORIC RENOVATION SOCIETYManitou BeachMI$89k0
HALEIWA WAIALUA HISTORICAL SOCIETYWaialuaHI$89k0
Tanguero IncBloomingtonIN$89k0
COTATI ACCORDIAN FESTIVALPetalumaCA$89k0
PLAYERS GUILD OF LEONIA INCLeoniaNJ$89k0
UNABRIDGED TRUTH INCFayettevilleAR$89k1
SPRINGFIELD CHORAL SOCIETYSpringfieldIL$89k2
Oak Cliff Coalition for the ArtsDallasTX$89k0
GREATER NORRISTOWN ART LEAGUENorristownPA$89k0
PANHANDLE COMMUNITY RADIO INCSandpointID$89k0
STOUGHTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS GUILD INCStoughtonWI$89k0
Culture for Change FoundationFilerID$89k0
THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN MARINE ART INCMysticCT$89k0
D-COMPOSED GIVESChicagoIL$89k0
ANICLOVER CHARITABLE COUNCILSan JoseCA$89k0
ADAMS HISTORICAL SOCIETYAdamsMA$89k0
HERITAGE OF KOREAN INDEPENDENCE SF USAOaklandCA$89k0
TEGA PARENT ASSOCIATIONGrapevineTX$89k0
Chincoteague Island Arts Org IncChincoteague IslandVA$89k0
COYABA DANCE THEATERWashingtonDC$89k0
CONTENT FOR GOOD INCCentennialCO$89k2
COOPER FAMILY FOUNDATIONSan DiegoCA$89k0
JAZZ PROJECTBellinghamWA$89k1
UNION STREET GALLERYChicago HeightsIL$89k1
Iglesia Evangelica Emmanuel Nuevo AmanecerBonita SpgsFL$89k0
CLAN BEGLAN INCGlendaleWI$89k0