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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 58 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
WORCESTER COUNTY MECHANICS ASSOCIATION DBA MECHANICS HALLWorcesterMA$2.7M1
VERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETYBarreVT$2.7M1
U B W INC A/K/A URBAN BUSH WOMEN INCBrooklynNY$2.7M2
GILLIOZ CENTER FOR ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTSpringfieldMO$2.7M0
GALA INC GRUPO DE ARTISTAS LATINO AMERICANOSWashingtonDC$2.7M3
THE THEATER OFFENSIVE INCBostonMA$2.7M2
Family Life Ministries IncZeelandMI$2.7M6
TexArts Association for Visual & Performing ArtsLakewayTX$2.7M1
PENINSULA SCHOOL OF ART INCFish CreekWI$2.7M1
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MILITARY VEHICLESDuBoisWY$2.7M1
ASSOCIATION OF WRITERS & WRITING PROGRAMSNorfolkVA$2.7M2
NORTHERN MINNESOTA PUBLIC TELEVISION INCBemidjiMN$2.7M1
THE SALT LAKE FILM SOCIETYSalt Lake CityUT$2.7M1
FISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCLelandMI$2.7M0
ORPHEUM THEATRE PRESERVATION PROJECTLTDSioux CityIA$2.7M0
HUNTSVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAHuntsvilleAL$2.7M1
THE BHA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM INC C/O KNOLLWOOD INVESTMENT ADVISORYHunt ValleyMD$2.7M0
SAFE STATES ALLIANCEAtlantaGA$2.7M4
UTAH HERITAGE AND ARTS FOUNDATION INCSalt Lake CityUT$2.7M0
DANCE DOWNTOWN LA INC LA DANCE PROJECTLos AngelesCA$2.7M3
DELAWARE THEATRE COMPANYWilmingtonDE$2.7M1
REAL PROGRESS FOUNDATIONSeattleWA$2.7M1
SAN FRANCISCO CHANTICLEER INCSan FranciscoCA$2.7M3
MCSWEENEY'S LITERARY ARTS FUNDSan FranciscoCA$2.7M1
BELVIDERE FOUNDATIONCentral CityCO$2.7M0
HISTORIC MADISON FOUNDATION INCMadisonIN$2.7M1
THE FARMERS MUSEUM INCNew YorkNY$2.7M2
IMPRESSION 5 SCIENCE CENTERLansingMI$2.7M1
NORTHWEST CHILDREN'S THEATER AND SCHOOL INCPortlandOR$2.7M2
THE ENGLERT CIVIC THEATRE INCIowa CityIA$2.7M0
Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Educational Museum IncColorado SpringsCO$2.7M1
NATIONAL ATOMIC MUSEUM FOUNDATIONAlbuquerqueNM$2.7M0
THE ARTS CENTER OF THE CAPITAL REGIONTroyNY$2.7M1
AMERICAN CHRISTIAN TELEVISION SERVI INCElidaOH$2.7M1
ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTERWashingtonDC$2.7M1
SHAKESPEARE PLAY ON SANTA CRUZ SHAKESPEARESanta CruzCA$2.7M2
TRUTHOUTSacramentoCA$2.7M0
The Festival at Sandpoint IncSandpointID$2.7M1
MUSEUM OF THE MARINE CAROLINA MUSEUM OF THE MARINEJacksonvilleNC$2.7M5
DES MOINES COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSEDes MoinesIA$2.7M1
LYME ACADEMY OF FINE ARTSOld LymeCT$2.7M1
PEACE CORPS FOUNDATION DBA PEACE CORPS COMMEMORATIVE FOUNDATIONWashingonDC$2.7M0
MONTEREY MUSEUM OF ARTMontereyCA$2.7M1
INDIANAPOLIS BALLET INCIndianapolisIN$2.7M0
THE MIGUEL CONTRERAS FOUNDATION C/O THOM DAVISLos AngelesCA$2.7M2
UPPER CUMBERLAND BROADCASTING COUNCIL INCCookevilleTN$2.7M0
LIGHTHOUSE ARTCENTER INCTequestaFL$2.7M1
Alternate RootsIncAtlantaGA$2.7M1
AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRANew YorkNY$2.7M2
WILLIAMSTOWN ART CONSERVATION CENTER INCWilliamstownMA$2.7M2