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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 565 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ELMIRA LITTLE THEATRE INCElmiraNY$80k0
VOICES IN PRAISE INCDunkirkMD$80k0
BAHAR KIDSIrvineCA$80k0
FRIENDS OF CHEVRA T'HELIMPortsmouthVA$80k1
NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM ASSNCorinthMS$80k0
THE PHYLLIS CHESLER ORGANIZATION INCNew YorkNY$80k0
INTEGRATED ARTSEugeneOR$80k3
Drum Love IncModestoCA$80k1
The National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition FoundationFairfaxCA$80k0
EVERGREEN CHILDRENS CHORALEEvergreenCO$80k2
S1PortlandOR$80k2
WATSONVILLE TAIKO GROUP A NONPROFIT CORPWatsonvilleCA$80k2
VINTAGE AG ASSOCIATION INCPetersburgIL$80k0
Friends of Torrance Theatre CompanyTorranceCA$80k0
MA SHARON CHINESE LANGUAGE SCHOOLSharonMA$79k4
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA INCAlexandriaVA$79k5
AMER ASSOC OF ST CATHERINE FND INCNew RochelleNY$79k0
The Cro Foundation IncMarriottsvilleMD$79k0
LONG BEACH BLUES SOCIETYLong BeachCA$79k0
PERFORM 4 PURPOSE INCAuburnNY$79k0
BHARTIYA SAMAJ OF CENTRAL FLORIDA INCLakelandFL$79k0
THIOSSANE INSTITUTEColumbusOH$79k0
PAONIA PLAYERSPaoniaCO$79k0
Pilipino American Community EndeavorFriscoTX$79k0
COMMONWEALTH CHORALE INCNewtonMA$79k1
BROOKHAVEN ARTS & MUSIC ORGANIZATION INCBrookhavenNY$79k0
CENTRAL EUROPEAN HISTORY SOCIETY HIST DEPT EMORY UNI 221 BOWDEN HALLAtlantaGA$79k0
COPPELL HISTORICAL MUSEUMCoppellTX$79k0
MCALLISTER MUSEUM OF AVIATIONYakimaWA$79k0
PAN-ICARIAN BROTHERHOOD OF NEW YORKFlushingNY$79k0
VISUAL ECHO INCNew YorkNY$79k0
ROUSTABOUT THEATER INCSanta RosaCA$79k1
BONEYFIDDLE PROJECTPortsmouthOH$79k0
Asia America Symphony AssociationPalos VerdesCA$79k0
Sound & Spirit IncNatickMA$79k0
Littleton Historical SocietyLittletonMA$79k0
TURKISH CULTURAL CENTER NEW HAMPSHIRE INCBedfordNH$79k0
Thick Description IncOklahoma CityOK$79k0
West Pasco Business Association IncTrinityFL$79k0
BOREALIS ART GUILD IncHibbingMN$79k0
TWIN BROOKS THRESHING SHOWMilbankSD$79k0
THE PHENIX CITY ART COUNCIL INCPhenix CityAL$79k0
WESTSIDE CULTURAL ALLIANCEChicagoIL$79k0
MAKERS FOUNDATION INCCave CreekAZ$79k0
Photographic Historical Society of New England IncWalthamMA$79k0
ARTS ON THE HORIZON INCAlexandriaVA$79k1
Rochester Chamber Music Society c/o Lesley StrausRochesterVT$79k1
SACRED GROUND INTERNATIONALPryorMT$79k1
FOUNDATION IN ART THEORY AND EDUCATIONWinter ParkFL$79k0
EGO TRIP BRC INCSan DiegoCA$79k0