Skip to main content
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 575 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CHILDREN'S CHOIR OF CHICOChicoCA$76k0
RHYTHM METHOD INCBrooklynNY$76k2
Massachusetts Ahiskan Turkish AssociationWest SpringfieldMA$76k0
VOCAL ARTS OF FAIRFAX INCFairfaxVA$76k0
IMAGINATION CITY CHILDRENS MUSEUM INCGrand IslandNE$76k0
ACADEMY OF DANCE AND CREATIVE ARTS INCPrattsvilleNY$76k0
ROXBURY ARTS ALLIANCE INCLedgewoodNJ$76k0
URASENKE TEA SOCIETY OF SO CALIF URASENKE TANKOKAI LOS ANGELES ASSOCMonterey ParkCA$76k0
DALLAS STREET CHOIRDallasTX$76k0
EXPO COMPOSITORES FOUNDATIONMaywoodCA$76k0
GROUNDWORKS THEATRESan DiegoCA$76k2
Savanna Band and Pageantry Booster OrganizationAnaheimCA$76k0
MERCER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYAledoIL$76k0
Craft Institute IncLexingtonMA$76k0
EASTSIDE DANCE PROJECTPlainfieldNJ$76k0
VICTORY HALL OPERACharlottesvleVA$76k2
FOCUSED VIRTUE Inc DBA Sound Investigations IncAlpharettaGA$76k0
OKLAHOMA HIGHER EDU HERITAGE SOCOklahoma CityOK$76k0
MUSEUM OF CLASSIC CHICAGO TELEVISIONLisleIL$76k1
VALLEY YOUTH ORCHESTRADeltaCO$76k0
GEORGETOWN ART WORKSGeorgetownTX$76k0
NEW SANDY RIVER AND RANGELEY LAKE RAILROADPhillipsME$76k0
THE GHOSTLIGHT STAGE COMPANYCincinnatiOH$76k1
MAITRI IN HOUSTONPearlandTX$76k0
ARTISANS OF MOUNT DORA INC DBA ARTISANSMount DoraFL$76k0
ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS-ZAMNAI ZAMNAINilesIL$76k0
RAYROSE THEATRICALS INCPalm SpringsCA$76k0
Bristol Friends of the Arts IncBristolVT$76k0
BERKS BOOK BONANZA INCMohntonPA$76k0
LAYYASAARAM INSTITUTE OFINDIAN ARTSExcelsiorMN$76k0
HYPOKRIT FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$76k0
LAURENS COUNTY COMMUNITY THEATRE INCClintonSC$76k0
BREADCRUMBS PRODUCTIONS INCSyracuseNY$76k0
OUTER VOICESCataumetMA$76k1
ZIA SINGERSSanta FeNM$76k0
GREATER SPRING LAKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCESpring LakeNJ$76k0
HOLE IN THE WALL COMPANYNew BritainCT$76k0
BENSON FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS INCBensonNC$76k0
ARS ARTS & CULTURE CENTERBenton HarborMI$76k0
MISSOURI VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETYBismarckND$76k0
HAMILTON PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATION INCHamiltonOH$76k0
MAKE-BELIEVE ASSOCIATIONChicagoIL$76k1
TRENDSETTERS FOUNDATIONFayettevilleAR$76k0
HUNGRY HILL CENTER FOR ART EDUCATION AND OUTREACHButteMT$76k1
GOLDA CIRCLE ART HOUSE INCNorth Fort MyersFL$76k0
Hawaii NonlinearHonoluluHI$76k0
LEVIATHAN LAB INCNew YorkNY$76k0
The Greater St Louis Amateur Hockey Hall of FameSaint LouisMO$76k0
THE DELMAR HISTORICAL AND ARTS SOCIETY INCORPORATEDDelmarDE$76k0
Upper Arlington Band Boosters IncUpper ArlingtonOH$76k0