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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 586 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE FOOTHILL CHILDRENS THEATRE WRKSHOPWest CovinaCA$73k0
PSYKOUT INCLarchmontNY$73k0
LUMEDIA MUSICWORKS INCDallasTX$73k3
Sociedad De Especialistas En Ortodoncia De Puerto Rico IncSan JuanPR$73k0
OPERA ORLANDO ENDOWMENT FUND INCOrlandoFL$73k0
PORTSMOUTH COMMUNITY CONCERTS INCPortsmouthVA$73k0
ENCINITAS FRIENDS OF THE ARTSEncinitasCA$73k0
DAMASCUS FIBER ARTS SCHOOLDamascusOR$73k0
CHORALE ACADIENNELafayetteLA$73k0
CALIFORNIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE INC-(DBA)Fremont Centre TheatreSouth PasadenaCA$73k0
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF UPPSALA UNIVERSITYNew YorkNY$73k0
Independence Community Theater c/o Richard ToddTwinsburgOH$73k0
SOUTHERN AROOSTOOK AGRICULTURE MUSEUMLittletonME$73k0
Pagus IncArdmorePA$73k0
CCCNJ888 INCMahwahNJ$73k0
RIVERSIDE ART CENTERWapakonetaOH$73k0
American Night Writers Association IncMesaAZ$73k0
KERNERSVILLE AUTO MUSEUM INCKernersvilleNC$73k0
MANHATTAN MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING INCNew YorkNY$73k0
OHIO PERFORMING ARTS INSTITUTESpringfieldOH$73k0
WESTPORT COMMUNITY THEATRE INCWestportCT$73k0
Travelers Rest Artists AllianceTravelers RestSC$73k0
PORT SUMMER SHOW INCPort WashingtonNY$73k0
USA MATOU FRATERNITY INCFlushingNY$73k0
YOUTH JAZZ ENSEMBLE OF DUPAGECaryIL$73k1
Nikkei West FoundationSan JoseCA$73k0
Art Press FundManhattanKS$73k0
INKBOAT INCSan FranciscoCA$73k0
INSPERO INCHooverAL$73k1
SEATTLE ENSIGNBellevueWA$73k0
SALVATION MOUNTAIN INCCalipatriaCA$73k0
BROOKHAVEN SQUARE 3RD & 4TH ADDITIONS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONNormanOK$73k0
LAMBERTVILLE HALL FOUNDATION INCLambertvilleNJ$73k0
MAPLE VALLEY CREATIVE ARTS COUNCILMaple ValleyWA$73k1
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK MAHARASHTRA MANDALCaryNC$73k0
ENO RIVER PLAYERSDurhamNC$73k0
O'AHU BAND DIRECTORS ASSOCIATIONHonoluluHI$73k0
FREESPACE DANCE INCUpper MontclairNJ$73k0
SOUTH KINGSTOWN FINE ARTS BOOSTERSSouth KingstownRI$73k0
TAMIL SANGAM OF GREATER WASHINGTON INCBeltsvilleMD$73k0
BENGALI ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NASHVILLENashvilleTN$73k0
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HAR HAZEITIM INCBrooklynNY$73k0
YE NOTORIUS KREWE OF THE PEG LEG PIRATERuskinFL$73k0
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF ST CLOUD INCSt CloudMN$73k1
BRADFORD COUNTY HERITAGE ASSOCTroyPA$73k0
CENTURY WALK CORPORATIONNapervilleIL$73k0
AIM 4 THE HEART A CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT CORPORATIONLos AngelesCA$72k0
ORIGIN PROJECT INCORPORATEDNew YorkNY$72k0
RISING STARS DANCE STUDIO COMPETITION TEAMSocorroNM$72k1
NEW TEXAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRADallasTX$72k6