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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 54 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Kronos Performing Arts AssociationSan FranciscoCA$2.9M4
Princeton Symphony Orchestra IncPrincetonNJ$2.9M2
REINSTITUTE INCStamfordCT$2.9M1
AUGUSTA SYMPHONY INCAugustaGA$2.9M4
LOMPOC THEATRE PROJECT CORPORATIONLompocCA$2.9M1
IRISH FESTIVALS INCWauwatosaWI$2.9M1
RED RIVER STEM INCShreveportLA$2.9M1
Stanley J Seeger Hellenic FundPrincetonNJ$2.9M5
THE MATTRESS FACTORY LTDPittsburghPA$2.9M1
THE THEATRE ENSEMBLERochesterMI$2.9M1
MAPPING BOSTON FOUNDATION INC C/O BEACON CAPITAL PARTNERSBostonMA$2.9M0
Main Street Theater HoustonHoustonTX$2.9M1
BURCHFIELD PENNEY ART CENTERBuffaloNY$2.9M3
VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ARTVirginia BeachVA$2.9M1
TEMPLEARTSSaginawMI$2.9M2
Asheville Symphony Society IncAshevilleNC$2.9M1
AUDRAIN AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM INCMiddletownRI$2.9M1
FLOWER HILL INSTITUTEJemez PuebloNM$2.9M7
THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS INCMemphisTN$2.9M2
PLAY ON SHAKESPEAREAshlandOR$2.9M2
IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE FOUNDATION INCIvorytonCT$2.9M1
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUMRichmondVA$2.9M3
SCIENCE MUSEUM OKLAHOMA AFFILIATED FUND OF OCCF INCOklahoma CityOK$2.9M3
DON HARRINGTON DISCOVERY CENTER FOUNDATION INCAmarilloTX$2.9M1
BLACKSTONE VALLEY TOURISM COUNCIL INCCentral FallsRI$2.9M1
PREGONES PUERTO RICAN TRAVELING THEATER INCBronxNY$2.9M2
SONGWRITINGWITHINCNashvilleTN$2.9M2
Society of Children's Book Writers and IllustratorsSanta MonicaCA$2.9M4
ARTS CORPSSeattleWA$2.9M5
MICHIGAN THANKSGIVING PARADE FOUNDATIONDetroitMI$2.9M3
PHOENIX THEATRE INCIndianapolisIN$2.9M0
GLOBAL INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM NETWORK INCWashingtonDC$2.9M2
HYDE PARK ART CENTERChicagoIL$2.9M3
GREENSBORO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCGreensboroNC$2.9M1
BOSTON CHILDREN'S CHORUS INCBostonMA$2.9M5
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN THEATER FESTIVALShepherdstownWV$2.9M3
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR THE ARTSGrass ValleyCA$2.9M1
NORTHWEST COMMUNITIES' EDUCATION CENTERGrangerWA$2.9M2
BOSTON ARTS ACADEMY FOUNDATION INCBostonMA$2.9M1
EUREKA MCCONNELL SCIENCE MUSEUMGrand JunctionCO$2.9M1
GREENWAY ARTS ALLIANCELos AngelesCA$2.9M2
STUTTERING ASSOCIATION FOR THE YOUNG INCNew YorkNY$2.9M5
ASPEN SANTA FE BALLETAspenCO$2.9M2
AIRBORNE AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS MUSEUM FOUNDATIONFayettevilleNC$2.9M0
ENTERTAINMENT 2 AFFECT CHANGENew YorkNY$2.9M1
MULTICULTURAL AIDS COALITION INCRoxburyMA$2.9M5
THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB MUSEUM OF THE DOGNew YorkNY$2.9M7
MOUNT AIRY MUSEUM OF REGIONAL HISTORY INCMount AiryNC$2.9M1
MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETYPortlandME$2.9M1
Shirley Proctor Puller Foundation IncSaint PetersburgFL$2.9M0