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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 573 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AUSTIN DANCE ENSEMBLEAustinTX$77k4
EAST COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATIONJulianCA$77k0
Pasadena Japanese Cultural InstitutePasadenaCA$77k0
PAKISTANI AMERICAN FORUM MERIT GRANTS FOR YOUNG WOMENSouth PasadenaCA$77k0
THE MUSIC TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA FOUNDATIONWalnut CreekCA$77k0
AFRICAN AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION INCAlbquerqueNM$77k0
CUMBERLAND CHORAL ARTSFayettevilleNC$77k0
FILARMONICA ARTISTA AMADORA DE SAN LEANDROSan LeandroCA$77k0
AGMA FOUNDATIONAlexandriaVA$77k0
BEAR ON THE SQUARE MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL INCDahlonegaGA$77k0
THE BRIDGE OF BOOKS FOUNDATION INCRumsonNJ$77k0
THE VICTORIAN ALLIANCESan FranciscoCA$77k0
EUGENE GAY MENS CHORUSEugeneOR$77k0
Stage III IncCasperWY$77k0
ARTS CENTER INCAnthonyKS$77k1
UTAH VOICES INCKaysvilleUT$77k2
STATEN ISLAND ORCESTRAStaten IslandNY$77k0
THE COMPANY THEATRE OF ROCHESTERCanandaiguaNY$77k0
Iceberg New Music IncMassapequaNY$77k0
OPERA HOUSE PLAYERSElkaderIA$77k0
SILVER SERENADERS OF TEXAS INCDallasTX$77k0
AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE & RESOURCES INCKewauneeWI$77k0
BROCKTON ARTS INCBrocktonMA$77k0
Shawano County Arts Council IncShawanoWI$77k0
TANNER WILLIAMS CIVIC AND HISTORICAL SOCIETYWilmerAL$77k0
CHICAGO NORTHWEST SUBURBAN CHINESE SCHOOLPalatineIL$77k0
COLBERT COUNTY HISTORICAL LANDMARKS FOUNDATION INCTuscumbiaAL$77k0
CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM INC D/B/A PSYCHIATRY FOUNDATIONBostonMA$77k5
Wega ArtsWeyauwegaWI$77k2
TAKING SHAPE INCCarrolltonMO$77k1
IMPOSSIBLE PLAYERS INCPuebloCO$77k0
VATVFalls ChurchVA$77k0
The Greenwood County Historical Society IncEurekaKS$77k0
Nelson County Arts CouncilPekinND$77k1
High Rock Lake River Rats IncSouthmontNC$77k0
UNITED STATES STAMP SOCIETY INC C/O DAVID S SUGARNorthbrookIL$77k2
Arts Winchester IncWinchesterMA$77k0
BAKERY PHOTOGRAPIC COLLECTIVEPortlandME$77k0
THE CHEFS DE CUISINE ASSOCIATION OF ST LOUISSappingtonMO$77k0
Jacobson FoundationNormanOK$77k0
Seven Hills Chamber MusicLynchburgVA$77k2
JAZZMN INCSt PaulMN$77k2
KENDALLVILLE WINDMILL MUSEUM AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCKendallvilleIN$77k0
Antenna TheaterSan RafaelCA$77k0
Onkwe IncHogansburgNY$77k0
Camarillo Ranch FoundationCamarilloCA$77k0
INDIAN CREEK HISTORICAL SOCIETYEmersonIA$77k0
Deepwells Farm Historical SocietySt JamesNY$77k0
CARNEGIE THEATRE CO INCHoustonTX$77k0
GREENVILLE YOUTH CHORALEGreenvilleSC$77k1