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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 55 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SPOKANE HOOPFEST ASSOCIATIONSpokaneWA$2.9M1
ALBERTA BAIR THEATER CORPORATIONBillingsMT$2.9M1
FORT WORTH OPERA ASSOCIATION INCFort WorthTX$2.9M2
AFRO-LATIN JAZZ ALLIANCE OF NEW YORK INCNew YorkNY$2.9M4
The People's Music SchoolChicagoIL$2.9M4
PARTNERS FOR CHRISTIAN MEDIA INCChattanoogaTN$2.9M3
Carmel Bach Festival IncCarmelCA$2.9M2
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF STATE ARTS AGENCIES INCWashingtonDC$2.9M6
THE WESTON PLAYHOUSE THEATERWestonVT$2.9M1
John P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical ScienceHoustonTX$2.9M2
THE ROS FOUNDATIONGreenfieldWI$2.9M0
SCIENCE SPECTRUM INCLubbockTX$2.9M1
PACIFIC CHORALECosta MesaCA$2.9M3
THE SLEEPY CAT FARM FOUNDATIONGreenwichCT$2.9M0
BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA INCNew YorkNY$2.9M2
World Music IncCambridgeMA$2.9M4
LOFT CINEMA INC FKA TUCSON CINEMA FOUNDATION INCTucsonAZ$2.9M1
COTUIT CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCCotuitMA$2.9M1
Erie Philharmonic IncEriePA$2.9M3
Instituto Cervantes of Chicago IncChicagoIL$2.9M0
San Francisco Girls Chorus IncSan FranciscoCA$2.9M3
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S MARTIN HOUSE CORPORATIONBuffaloNY$2.9M1
BALLET MEMPHIS CORPORATIONMemphisTN$2.9M2
PER ARTES FOUNDATION INCNew CityNY$2.9M0
FINE ARTS DISCOVERY SERIES INC D/B/A SHERMAN THEATERStroudsburgPA$2.9M2
Victoria Theater Arts Center dba 825 ArtsSaint PaulMN$2.9M1
WINCHESTER COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL TRUSTWinchesterMA$2.9M2
SAN FRANCISCO PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$2.9M0
PRESERVATION TRUST OF VERMONT INCMontpelierVT$2.9M1
OKLAHOMA HALL OF FAMEOklahoma CityOK$2.9M2
POLYNESIAN VOYAGING SOCIETYHonoluluHI$2.9M4
SOUTH BEND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION INCSouth BendIN$2.9M4
AOZORA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INCBrooklynNY$2.9M1
HEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTSSausalitoCA$2.8M2
Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish MuseumWashingtonDC$2.8M3
FRIENDS OF FLIGHT 93 NATIONAL MEMORShanksvillePA$2.8M0
SOLDIERS & SAILORS MEMORIAL HALLPittsburghPA$2.8M1
Northwest School of Wooden BoatbuildingPort HadlockWA$2.8M1
The Tennessee Holocaust Commission IncNashvilleTN$2.8M1
BALLET DES MOINESDes MoinesIA$2.8M1
THE ARTS COUNCIL INC D/B/A ARTS HUNTSVILLEHuntsvilleAL$2.8M1
BALLET IDAHO INCBoiseID$2.8M2
INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN INCBostonMA$2.8M3
Municipal Art Society of New YorkNew YorkNY$2.8M7
Manifest Creative Research GalleryCincinnatiOH$2.8M1
FAIRFIELD THEATRE COMPANY INCFairfieldCT$2.8M1
MONTHAVEN ARTS & CULTURAL CENTERHendersonvilleTN$2.8M2
MARINE CORPS ASSOCIATION FOUNDATIONQuanticoVA$2.8M5
STRANAHAN THEATER TRUSTToledoOH$2.8M0
FRIENDS OF MENDELSOHNClevelandOH$2.8M0