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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 549 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GUITARS 4 GIFTSNashvilleTN$85k0
YOAKUM HERITAGE MUSEUMYoakumTX$85k1
Art League of LincolnLincolnCA$85k0
African American Archive of the Columbia County IncCroton HdsnNY$85k0
OGONTZ ARTS FOUNDATIONLymanNH$85k0
EMPORIA SPANISH SPEAKERS INCEmporiaKS$85k1
AL LEWIS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC AL LEWIS MUSEUMFernandina BeachFL$85k0
SPIRIT OF HARMONY FOUNDATION INCChicagoIL$85k2
General Carl Spaatz Regional Usaac MuseumBoyertownPA$85k1
WEST COLLIERVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND BOOSTERS INCColliervilleTN$85k0
OLYMPIA YOUTH CHORUSOlympiaWA$85k3
OVERFIELD TAVERN MUSEUMTroyOH$85k1
ARLINGTON GEM AND MINERAL CLUBArlingtonTX$85k0
PHILIPPINE AMERICAN WRITERS AND ARTISTSSan FranciscoCA$85k0
Artworks Gwinnett IncDuluthGA$85k0
NEW BOSTON HISTORICAL SOCIETYNew BostonNH$85k0
PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE BOOSTERSPalo AltoCA$85k0
CRITICAL REVIEW FOUNDATION INCAliso ViejoCA$85k0
Kaboom CollectiveColumbusOH$85k2
MITTEN CHILDRENS MUSEUMSouth HavenMI$85k0
PAGAN PRIDE-TWIN CITIESCoon RapidsMN$85k0
NEW ENGLAND MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM INCVernon RockvilleCT$85k0
CENTRAL CA CHAPTER AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF GERMANS FROM RUSSIAFresnoCA$85k0
PLAYHOUSE THEATRE GROUP OF CENTRAL WISCONSINStevens PointWI$85k0
COLUMBIAN AMERICAN CULTURAL SOCIETYCentral FallsRI$85k0
Theres Just Something About Kansas City IncSpring HillKS$85k2
THEATRE SOUTHWESTHoustonTX$85k0
UNION COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCMaynardvilleTN$85k0
Arts Alliance Mountain EmpireBristolTN$85k0
GURUNG TAMU SOCIETY INCWoodsideNY$85k0
OLD FORT WESTERN FUNDAugustaME$85k1
HIGH POINT PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCHigh PointNC$85k0
BARTLETT HISTORICAL SOCIETYBartlettNH$85k0
ST MARY IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH PRESERVATION SOCIETYSte GenevieveMO$85k0
THE CONTEMPORARY A CAPPELLA SOCIETY OF AMERICASan FranciscoCA$85k0
YARLUNG ARTISTSLos AngelesCA$85k0
SARATOGA FOOTHILL CLUB HISTORIC LANDMARK FOUNDATIONSaratogaCA$85k0
CHICKASHA COMMUNITY THEATER INCChickashaOK$85k0
Groundwork Music ProjectAustinTX$85k1
WORCESTER COUNTY ST PATRICK'S PARADE INCWorcesterMA$85k0
MULTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN OREGONMedfordOR$85k1
DELAWARE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCWilmingtonDE$85k0
THE APOGEE FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$85k0
THE CHILDREN'S THEATRE FOUNDATION OF AMERICABentonvilleAR$85k0
FRIENDS OF MUSICColumbusNE$85k2
IMAHETacomaWA$85k0
PONY EXPRESS PUMPKIN FEST INCSt JosephMO$85k0
HARLEM PRESENTS INCNew YorkNY$85k0
HATCH - A HAMTRAMCK ART COLLECTIVEHamtramckMI$85k0
POLISH CULTURAL CENTERWatervilleOH$85k0