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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 562 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CATALYST THEATER COMPANYRapid CitySD$81k0
DOUBLE TEN CELEBRATION COMMITTEE S F BAY AREAMilpitasCA$81k0
PANDEMONIUM PRODUCTIONS INCSanta FeNM$81k1
FLYING TIGER LINE HISTORICAL SOCIETYLos AngelesCA$81k0
Black Women Playwrights Group IncWashingtonDC$81k0
ATATURK HERITAGE INCJackson HeightsNY$81k0
DREAM WEAVERS CHILDRENS THEATRE INCDecaturAL$81k0
COURT 13 ARTSNew OrleansLA$81k1
Northeast Kingdom Arts Council IncHardwickVT$81k0
HOUSE OF ARTISTS FOUNDATIONAtlantaGA$81k0
RIVERSONG MUSIC INCNashvilleIN$81k0
BEAUTIFUL BACKROADS CENTURY INCCartersvilleGA$81k0
JAZZ CENTRAL STUDIOSMinneapolisMN$81k0
WATERCOLOR SOCIETY OF INDIANA INCIndianapolisIN$81k0
THE FRIENDS OF THE WHITEHALL PUBLIC LIBRARYPittsburghPA$81k0
WAUKEE NORTHWEST BAND PARENTS ORGANIZATIONWaukeeIA$81k0
MISSOULA COMMUNITY CHORUS INCMissoulaMT$81k4
VINEGRASS CORPORATIONOrleansMA$81k1
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LONG-TERM FUNDMilwaukeeWI$81k0
WEST BATON ROUGE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION INCPort AllenLA$81k0
SONOMA COUNTY PHILHARMONICCotatiCA$81k0
BACKSTREET COMMUNITY ARTS INCNewnanGA$81k0
JAZZ ALIVE INCCincinnatiOH$81k0
CONCORDIA CHAMBER PLAYERSNew HopePA$81k0
COLORADO SPRINGS VETERANS DAY PARADE INCColorado SpringsCO$81k0
HERITAGE ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTERAshlandKY$81k0
GREENWAVE BAND BOOSTERS INCFort MyersFL$81k0
MCARTHUR BAND BOOSTER INCHollywoodFL$81k0
Smoky Hill Railway & HistoricalBeltonMO$81k0
National Theatre of the Deaf-CTWest HartfordCT$81k0
SKYLARK OPERASt PaulMN$81k0
TAOS JAZZ BEBOP SOCIETY INCTaosNM$81k0
MUSEUM OF CERAMIC ART-NEW YORKArmonkNY$80k0
GASTON COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART & HISTORYDallasNC$80k0
PLAYING WITH FIREOmahaNE$80k0
CIRCUS HALL OF FAME INCPeruIN$80k0
TINKERHAUS COMMUNITY MAKER SPACE INCNewburyportMA$80k1
CENTER FOR REFLECTION EDUCATION AND ACTION INCORPORATEDHartfordCT$80k2
AFGHANS CULTURAL CENTER INCNilesIL$80k1
SANBORN AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETYSanbornNY$80k0
CATHEDRAL PARK PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTIVEPortlandOR$80k1
DARRAH CARR DANCE INCWarwickNY$80k0
MASTER CHEFS OF FRANCE INCLong Island CityNY$80k0
FORT ARMSTRONG FOLK FESTIVALKittanningPA$80k0
ART SPHERE INCPhiladelphiaPA$80k1
Friends of Historic ButtevilleDonaldOR$80k0
BUFFALO COMMUNITY ORCHESTRA INCBuffaloMN$80k0
MGDC BOOSTER CLUBDanvilleVA$80k0
Cape Universal IncWest Palm BeachFL$80k0
Light Up the Queen IncWilmingtonDE$80k0