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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 555 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Joseph M Sorg Foundation IncBuffaloNY$83k0
Summerville Dorchester Museum IncSummervilleSC$83k0
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF CROATIAN AMERICANS CULTURAL FOUNDATIONPhiladelphiaPA$83k0
UTAH TAMIL SANGAMSouth JordanUT$83k0
EARTH CREATIVEEverettWA$83k1
Special Operations Memorial Foundation IncMacdill Air Force BaseFL$83k0
LEAWOOD STAGE COMPANYLeawoodKS$83k0
AMERICAN TAPESTRY ALLIANCE INCSan JoseCA$83k0
CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION INCBinghamtonNY$83k1
FRONT EXHIBITION COMPANYClevelandOH$83k0
BARABOO THEATRE GUILDBarabooWI$83k0
PUMPHOUSE PLAYERS INCCartersvilleGA$83k0
HATTHEATRE INCRockvilleVA$83k0
But Tre MagazineChandlerAZ$83k1
SOCIAL TANGO PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$83k0
Columbus Pride BandsColumbusOH$83k2
THE POSNER FINE ARTS FOUNDATIONPittsburghPA$83k0
INTERNATIONAL FOREST OF FRIENDSHIPAtchisonKS$83k0
HARRISON COUNTY ARTS INCCorydonIN$83k1
CURTAIN CALL INCKokomoIN$83k0
Ohio To Erie Trail FundColumbusOH$83k1
VERONA SUMMER MUSIC INCVeronaNJ$83k2
THEATRE NOVI MOSTMinneapolisMN$83k2
MAUI CONTRACTORS WOMEN'S AUXILIARYKiheiHI$83k0
HELLO ART WORLDDiamond BarCA$83k0
ULYSSES S GRANT ASSOCIATIONMississippi StateMS$83k0
RECOVERING JOY ARTS AND NATURE CENTER INCSomersetKY$83k0
SILVER CREEK ORGANIZATION FOR PERFORMING ARTSLongmontCO$83k0
KEATS-SHELLEY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA INCNew YorkNY$83k0
BLUE OX HISTORIC VILLAGE AND SCHOOLEurekaCA$83k0
FRIENDS OF SHELDON JACKSON MUSEUMSitkaAK$83k0
THE NEW STAGE THEATRE COMPANY INC C/O ILDIKO NEMETHNew YorkNY$83k1
THE CIRCULARITY PROJECT INCGreenwichCT$83k0
WAKE FOREST HIGH SCHOOL BAND BOOSTERS INCWake ForestNC$83k0
Hyperion Historical AllianceOrcuttCA$83k0
RICH MOUNTAIN BATTLEFIELD FOUNDATION INCBeverlyWV$83k0
MAPLE STREET CHAPEL PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCLombardIL$83k0
TOWNE SINGERSLa Canada FltCA$83k0
ACADEMY FOR DRAMATIC ARTSOlmsted FallsOH$83k1
RANCHO BERNARDO HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCSan DiegoCA$83k0
SEEKONK CABLE ACCESS INCSeekonkMA$83k0
ASHLAND MAIN STREET INCAshlandOH$83k0
FRIENDS OF SHAWANO COUNTY LIBRARIES INCShawanoWI$83k0
MADVILLE PUBLISHINGShady ShoresTX$83k0
ALABAMA MINING MUSEUM INCDoraAL$83k0
SYRACUSE COMMUNITY CHOIR INCSyracuseNY$83k0
SALEM ARTS ASSOCIATION INCSalemMA$83k0
CREATIVE THEATRE GROUP INCMonroeNY$83k0
EMPOWERING THROUGH THE ARTSDeSotoTX$83k0
Iowa City Community TheatreIowa CityIA$83k0