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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 580 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
VICKSBURG HISTORICAL SOCIETYVicksburgMI$75k0
BROOKLINE COMMUNITY CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC Also AKA BCCA & DBA Cambridge Community Center for the Arts (CCCA)BrooklineMA$75k1
WARREN ARTS FOUNDATION INCMorrisonTN$75k0
BEVERLEY STREET STUDIO SCHOOL INCORPORATEDStauntonVA$75k0
SAVE STARLIGHT INCSan DiegoCA$75k0
COCOON THEATRE INCRed HookNY$75k1
BUTLER COUNTY WARBIRDS INCMiddletownOH$75k0
CHICAGO COMPOSERS ORCHESTRAChicagoIL$75k1
MARION COMMUNITY LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONMarionTX$75k0
Mexican Heritage Group of SalinasSalinasCA$75k0
GUITARS ANTIQUA MUSIC PROGRAMGardenaCA$75k1
CIRCLE PLAYERSMadisonTN$75k0
ALANA FAITH CHEN FOUNDATION INCGreat BarringtonMA$75k0
PLATINUM DANCE COMPANY BOOSTERSWarrenOH$75k0
Artspace Century Endowment Fund IncLimaOH$75k0
INTERNATIONAL CROSS CULTURE FOUNDATIONFriscoTX$75k0
OKLAHOMA CITY SWING CLUB INCOklahoma CityOK$75k0
HINESVILLE AREA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS HUMANITIES & LITERATURE INCHinesvilleGA$75k0
South Jersey Pops A New Jersey Nonprofit CorporatiMarltonNJ$75k0
WASHINGTON MEMORIAL HERITAGEValley ForgePA$75k0
CHANGING THE WORLD INCHyannisMA$75k2
Refuge Ministries IncMemphisTN$75k0
HASTINGS PRESCOTT ARTS COUNCILHastingsMN$75k0
BERKELEY CITY CLUB CONSERVANCYBerkeleyCA$75k0
SUMMERSTAGE OF DELAFIELD INCDelafieldWI$75k0
Watermark Theater IncNew YorkNY$75k0
Glenwood Springs Summer of Music IncGlenwood SpringsCO$75k1
CASHEL DENNEHY SCHOOL OF IRISH DANCE INCMilwaukeeWI$75k0
LITTLETON FINE ARTS GUILD DEPOT ART CENTERLittletonCO$75k0
TISKILWA HISTORICAL SOCIETYTiskilwaIL$75k0
WHEAT RIDGE CENTER FOR MUSIC AND ARTSWheat RidgeCO$75k0
ESPERANZA DANCE PROJECTTucsonAZ$75k0
Community Jams IncPortlandOR$75k0
Information Clearinghouse for Chinese GaysLos AngelesCA$75k0
Summer Stars Foundation IncNorwellMA$74k0
World Stage Theater CompanyTulsaOK$74k0
JOINED ARTISTS MUSICIANS & SINGERS INCSyracuseNY$74k0
THE CENTER FOR FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY INCFort CollinsCO$74k1
WIDELOADYoungsvilleLA$74k0
OURSTORYBRIDGE INCWashingtonDC$74k0
UFG PROJECTMinneapolisMN$74k0
PLACERVILLE AND SACRAMENTO VALLEY RAILROAD INCFolsomCA$74k0
Just Lovin Music Studios IncInglewoodCA$74k2
BERWICK ARTS ASSOCIATIONBerwickPA$74k1
BARONS MENAustinTX$74k0
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC INCSeattleWA$74k2
JEFFERSON STREET SOUND MUSEUMNashvilleTN$74k0
MT CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL BOOSTERSSan DiegoCA$74k0
ECHORCHESTRA INCHoustonTX$74k1
AIKEN CIVIC BALLET COMPANYAikenSC$74k0