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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 557 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
UNION COUNTY ST PATRICK'S DAY PARADERoselle ParkNJ$82k0
The Naraya Cultural Preservation Council IncSanta MonicaCA$82k1
Americans For Battlefield PreservationWashingtonDC$82k0
Capital Regiment Drum & Bugle CorpsReynoldsburgOH$82k1
PHASE HOLOGRAPHY INSTITUTE INCOld HickoryTN$82k0
WARNECKE INSTITUTE INCHealdsburgCA$82k0
BRAMBLE NFPChicagoIL$82k2
PONTIAN SOCIETY PONTOS NORWALK INCNorwalkCT$82k0
Fishers Arts Council IncFishersIN$82k0
COURAGE COALITIONMinneapolisMN$82k0
RETHINK THE CONVERSATION LTDNew YorkNY$82k0
ROCKVILLE LITTLE THEATRE INCRockvilleMD$82k0
TENNESSEE STAGE COMPANYKnoxvilleTN$82k0
CENTRAL HISTORICAL SOCIETYDeWittIA$82k0
GEORGIA CHILDRENS CHORUS INCAthensGA$82k4
AVON COMMUNITY ACCESS AND MEDIA INCAvonMA$82k0
UNITED WE GOBay CityMI$82k0
PARABLE FUNDOakdaleMN$82k1
WESTERN RESERVE CHORALECleveland HeightsOH$82k2
GOOD MEDICINE PRODUCTIONSWestervilleOH$82k0
DOCUMENTARY SONGWRITERSRockportME$82k1
RICHARD AND NINA EDELMAN FOUNDATION FOR ARTS AND EDUCATION INCNew YorkNY$82k0
MAR-LE-NIE DANCE STUDIO INCChambersburgPA$82k0
Arts Society of Kingston IncKingstonNY$82k0
LACONIA HISTORICAL & MUSEUM SOCIETY INCLaconiaNH$82k0
GOABOVE INCPalmdaleCA$82k0
Pinetop Perkins Foundation IncClarksdaleMS$82k0
BRIARWOOD ARTS FOUNDATIONJacksonMS$82k1
QUOGUE CHAMBER MUSIC INCEast QuogueNY$82k0
SPRINGFIELD OLD CAPITOL ART FAIRSpringfieldIL$82k0
ARKANSAS RIVER VALLEY ARTS FOUNDATIRussellvilleAR$82k0
OCONEE YOUTH PLAYHOUSEWatkinsvilleGA$82k2
THE NEW THEATRE GUILD SCHOLARSHIPOverland ParkKS$82k0
JOEL & FRANCES MCCREA RANCH FOUNDATION INCMoorparkCA$82k0
CREATIVE MALDEN INCORPORATEDMaldenMA$82k0
TANGO BY THE RIVER INCSacramentoCA$82k0
THE LANSING WOMENS CHORUSEast LansingMI$82k0
CULTURAL ARTS ALLIANCE OF CARTERSVILLE BARTOW COUNTY INCCartersvilleGA$82k0
VINTAGE RADIO & COMMUNICATIONS MUSEUM OF CTWindsorCT$82k0
EMERGENT ART SPACESan FranciscoCA$82k0
Steven S GolayMiamiFL$82k0
Hamilton County Artists Assoc IncNoblesvilleIN$82k1
DROP DANCE STUDIO INCTucsonAZ$82k0
KOREAN CHRISTIANS FOR SHALOM JERUSALEM A NJ NONPROFIT CORPFort LeeNJ$82k0
MEYERSDALE AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETYMeyersdalePA$82k0
IRMANDADE DO DIVINO ESPIRITO SANTO SANTISSIMA TRINDADE DE SAUSALITOSausalitoCA$82k0
SPERO PROGRAM FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSAnaheimCA$82k0
TRANSFERWARE COLLECTORS CLUB INCMariettaGA$82k0
Southern Pacific Railroad History CenterLafayetteCA$82k0
NCW Arts AllianceEast WenatcheeWA$82k1