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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 558 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Watch Hill Memorial Library and Improvement SocietyWesterlyRI$82k0
COLUMBUS TELANGANA ASSOCIATIONPowellOH$82k0
CHANDANA KANNADA SANGHAOlatheKS$82k0
BUCYRUS LITTLE THEATRE INCBucyrusOH$82k0
HAI FOUNDATIONDetroitMI$82k1
SIMI VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETYSimi ValleyCA$82k0
AMORE OPERA INCNew YorkNY$82k0
SATSANG FOUNDATIONSanta Fe SpringsCA$82k0
MARYLAND FIRE-RESCUE SERVICES FOUNDATION INCAnnapolisMD$82k0
APPLEGATE VALLEY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERJacksonvilleOR$82k0
PROCESSIONAL ARTS WORKSHOP INCRed HookNY$82k2
LAREDO LITTLE THEATERLaredoTX$82k0
KEWAUNEE YOUNG PEOPLES THEATER INCKewauneeWI$82k0
MUSIC ON A MISSIONAvon LakeOH$82k3
ALEFBA GROUPBellevueWA$82k0
CREATOR ACCOUNTABILITY NETWORKRoyersfordPA$82k3
BYRON DAYS FESTIVAL INCByron CenterMI$82k1
THE DALRYMPLE FAMILY FOUNDATION INCAmoryMS$82k0
JOAN BENTINCK-SMITH CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONCotuitMA$82k0
PUNJABI CULTURAL SOCIETY OF CHICAGOPalatineIL$82k0
GREATER NIAGARA BALLET COMPANY INCNiagara FallsNY$82k2
AMERICAN ROMANIAN CULTURAL SOCIETYSeattleWA$82k0
The Jackson County Stage CompanyCarbondaleIL$82k0
TRIPLE-A BOOSTER CLUBBaudetteMN$82k0
A SPACE TO SOAR INCAtlantaGA$82k0
AUSTIN POLISH SOCIETYAustinTX$82k2
CORTLAND DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIPCortlandNY$82k0
ETHOS YOUTH ENSEMBLESMurfreesboroTN$82k1
EQ AUSTINAustinTX$82k0
LOUISIANA IRISH ITALIAN ASSOCIATIONMetairieLA$82k0
SHOESTRING THEATRE INCLake HelenFL$82k0
CITY CENTER DANBURY EVENTS INCDanburyCT$82k0
LOKA DHARMA SEVA FOUNDATION OF AMERICAPearlandTX$82k0
Bengali Cultural Society of Milwaukee LtdBrookfieldWI$82k0
LONE STAR SUMMER SWIM LEAGUESan AntonioTX$82k0
Greenville Gay Mens ChorusGreenvilleSC$82k2
THOMAS PAINE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONNew RochelleNY$82k0
SAND POINT ARTS AND CULTURAL EXCHANGESeattleWA$82k0
WESTERN HELLENIC JOURNAL INCDanvilleCA$82k1
CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF WHITE AMERICAN CULTURE INCSomersetNJ$82k1
OREGON COMMUNITY THEATREOregonOH$82k0
AMERICAN DANCEWHEELS FOUNDATION INCBala CynwydPA$82k4
Hamburg OktoberfestHamburgNY$82k0
Wheat Ridge Theatre CompanyArvadaCO$82k0
RIO BLANCO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCMeekerCO$82k1
CHEVALIER BALLET NYC INCBronxNY$82k1
Rock The RezSpearfishSD$82k1
GREATER CINCINNATI POLICE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCCincinnatiOH$82k0
WINGSPAN ARTS INCNew YorkNY$82k1
MUSOPENRedwood CityCA$82k0