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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 579 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SOUTHWEST YOUTH BALLET THEATRE INCChandlerAZ$75k0
Friends of the Sloan Museum and the Longway PlanetariumFlintMI$75k0
Olmsted Historical SocietyOlmstedIL$75k0
CHESTERFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETYChesterfieldVA$75k0
ABILENE COMMUNITY THEATRE INCAbileneTX$75k0
HARMONIA CHAMBER SINGERS INCLewistonNY$75k2
Wamego Historical SocietyWamegoKS$75k0
HEART OF OHIO TOLE INCWestervilleOH$75k0
ASHLAND YOUTH BALLETT INCAshlandKY$75k0
MERIAN ENSEMBLE INCAtlantaGA$75k0
CAPITOL HILL COFFEE HOUSE MINISTRYSchenectadyNY$75k0
ALLEGHENY ECHOES INCMarlintonWV$75k0
BRAZOS CHAMBER ORCHESTRACleburneTX$75k2
RATON ARTS AND HUMANITIES COUNCIL INCRatonNM$75k1
ART OF GIVING FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$75k3
DARK & STORMY PRODUCTIONSSaint PaulMN$75k1
KVAL NFPSycamoreIL$75k0
VIET BAO FOUNDATIONGarden GroveCA$75k0
SILVERLAKE CHILDRENS THEATRE GROUPLos AngelesCA$75k0
SONDANCE STUDIOLakevilleMN$75k0
BUCKS COUNTY SYMPHONY FOUNDATION INCDoylestownPA$75k0
Sanctuary for Sustainable Artistry IncOaklandCA$75k1
DC SOUTH ASIAN ARTS COUNCIL INCGaithersburgMD$75k1
ALKI ART FAIRSeattleWA$75k2
INTERNATIONAL ORANGE CHORALE OF SAN FRANCISCOSan FranciscoCA$75k0
Making Matters NHBoscawenNH$75k0
CITY OF DUNEDIN PIPE BAND INCDunedinFL$75k0
TEMENOS INCNew YorkNY$75k0
COLLETON COUNTY HISTORICAL AND PRESERVATION SOCIETYWalterboroSC$75k0
CHAPPAQUIDDICK TRIBE OF THE WAMPANOAG INDIAN NATION CORPHyde ParkMA$75k0
Arts Unlimited Southwest IncKeeneTX$75k0
IRON HORSE THEATRE COMPANYAmbridgePA$75k3
HOPE THROUGH ARTRancho CucamongaCA$75k0
FUND FOR THE ARTS OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY INCJamestownNY$75k0
SEATTLE CHINESE NEW IMMIGRANTS CENTBellevueWA$75k0
CHINESE SCHOOL OF OHIO NONPROFIT INCPowellOH$75k0
PAINTING PANDASAustinTX$75k0
COMMUNITY THEATRE OF CLAY COUNTY INCBrazilIN$75k0
THE OLD HOTELOthelloWA$75k1
SCITUATE LIBRARY FOUNDATION INCScituateMA$75k0
MAMARONECK ARTISTS' GUILD INCLarchmontNY$75k0
Kabayan IncWasillaAK$75k0
GREATER RUXTON AREA FOUNDATION INCRiderwoodMD$75k0
ARTISTS' COALITION OF FLAGSTAFF INCFlagstaffAZ$75k1
GEAUGA AMISH HISTORY CENTERMiddlefieldOH$75k0
CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF WALLA WALLAWalla WallaWA$75k0
The American Institute of Graphic Arts NHastings On HudsonNY$75k1
CANTUS NOVUSNewtownPA$75k2
THE PILGRIM CHAMBER PLAYERSHighland ParkIL$75k0
Friends of Plum & Pilot Islands IncWashington IslandWI$75k0