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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 585 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FILIPINO-AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF PUGET SOUNDAlgonaWA$73k0
SOUTH COAST ARTISTS INCWestportMA$73k0
MOUNTAINSIDE BAROQUE INCLavaleMD$73k1
WOMANS CLUB OF CONCORD NHConcordNH$73k0
Concert Nova IncCincinnatiOH$73k1
DEAFSTOCK INCClearwaterFL$73k0
ROCKFORD AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETYRockfordMN$73k0
HOKKA NICHI BEI KAISan FranciscoCA$73k0
Louisiana Association for Health Physical Education Recreation and DanceBaton RougeLA$73k0
SPECTORDANCECarmelCA$73k1
C GRIER BEAM TRUCK MUSEUMCherryvilleNC$73k2
ART IN THE PARK COMMUNITY CULTURAL PROGRAMSLos AngelesCA$73k1
Panther City ArtistsFort WorthTX$73k3
STAGE RIGHT PRODUCTIONS INCFair OaksCA$73k0
WINDTHORST HERITAGE INCDodge CityKS$73k0
XVI LATVIAN SONG AND DANCE FESTIVAL INCAdaMI$73k0
SACKETS HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETYSackets HarborNY$73k0
Blue Ridge Center for Music & Creative ArtsMadisonVA$73k0
KOW KONG BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES INCS PasadenaCA$73k0
Albers-Cantrell FoundationHoustonTX$73k0
SAN FRANCISCO YOUTH BALLET THEATRE ASSOCSan FranciscoCA$73k0
OLD SEWICKLEY POST OFFICE CORPORATIONSewickleyPA$73k0
BROOKLYN CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY LTD C/O CARMIT ZORIBrooklynNY$73k1
PIONEER CITY COUNTY MUSEUMSweetwaterTX$73k0
PORT LUDLOW PERFORMING ARTSPort LudlowWA$73k0
CAPITAL HEARINGSWashingtonDC$73k0
The ArtFullness Project DBA The Art RoomDentonTX$73k0
ATTERBURY-BAKALAR AIR MUSEUMColumbusIN$73k0
ARTS & CULTURAL COUNCIL OF DEC COUNTYGreensburgIN$73k0
ULHAAS BENGALI ASSOCIATION OF UTAHSalt Lake CityUT$73k0
CNE BAND BOOSTERS INCBataviaOH$73k0
PUBLIC ACCESS NORTHERN DUTCHESS AREA INCTivoliNY$73k0
Olympia Historical SocietyOlympiaWA$73k0
WEIMAR BAND BOOSTERSWeimarTX$73k0
EastLine Players CorpBabylonNY$73k0
Amhara Association of Bay AreaSan LeandroCA$73k0
JANE AUSTEN COLLABORATIVE INCChapel HillNC$73k1
LAKE FENTON MUSIC BOOSTERSLindenMI$73k0
BRADFORD OHIO RAILROAD MUSEUMBradfordOH$73k0
FAYETTEVILLE CUMBERLAND COUNTY DR MARTIN L KING JR COMMITTEEFayettevilleNC$73k0
TEXAS SOCIETY OF GENETIC COUNSELORSDallasTX$73k0
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF BRITISH ART INCPalm BeachFL$73k0
EDINBURG ART FOUNDATIONEdinburgTX$73k0
FRED T FOARD MUSIC BOOSTERS INCNewtonNC$73k0
The Heritage Signature ChoraleWashingtonDC$73k0
Arnold Area Historical SocietyArnoldNE$73k0
THE FUSE FACTORYColumbusOH$73k0
LOWER MACUNGIE TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETYWescosvillePA$73k0
SOUTH LOUISIANA CENTER FOR THE ARTSHoumaLA$73k0
Descendants Of The EarthVenturaCA$73k0