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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 588 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE MARKS PROJECT INCHope ValleyRI$72k0
ADVAITA MEDITATION CENTERWalthamMA$72k0
MCGREGOR-MARQUETTE CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCMc GregorIA$72k6
WINTHROP ARTS INCBrandonFL$72k2
COMMITTEE FOR CULTURAL POLICYINCLake SuccessNY$72k0
ANONA CENTER INCVilla ParkIL$72k0
WILL ROGERS STAGE FOUNDATION INCTulsaOK$72k0
SNYDER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCMiddleburgPA$72k0
Civic Life Project IncMilfordCT$72k0
BIRMINGHAM MUSIC CLUBBirminghamAL$72k1
FLORHAM PARK JULY 4TH CELEBRATION INCFlorham ParkNJ$72k0
MUSICAL CREATORS INSTITUTE INCNew YorkNY$72k0
Portland Highland Games Association IncPortlandOR$72k0
Friends of Isola Delle FemmineOaklandCA$72k0
NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY PACIFIC NORTHWEST CHAPTERPortlandOR$72k0
ELIOT FISK GUITAR ACADEMY INCNewtonMA$72k0
FRIENDS OF HISTORIC RIVERVIEW CEMETERY INCWilmingtonDE$72k0
FREESTYLE REPERTORY THEATRENew YorkNY$72k2
SOUTH PARK RAIL SOCIETYLongmontCO$72k0
National Capital Chapter 186 IncManassasVA$72k0
THE KOREAN AMERICAN SCHOOL OF HERITAGE & CULTURENorthbrookIL$72k1
DOWNTOWN SHERMAN PRESERVATION AND REVITALIZATION INCShermanTX$72k0
EWA PUULOA OUTRIGGER CANOE CLUBEwa BeachHI$72k0
Different Strokes Performing Arts CollectiveAshevilleNC$72k2
THE JAQUES ART CENTERAitkinMN$72k2
Central Valley Holocaust Educators NetworkSacramentoCA$72k3
ABBEVILLE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION CAbbevilleSC$72k0
Patriot Art FoundationMount PleasantSC$72k1
Charlotte Marathi MandalCharlotteNC$72k0
HUNGRY HOLLOW STEAM & GAS ENGINE CLUB INCRice LakeWI$72k0
BLACK SWAMP PLAYERSBowling GreenOH$72k0
Chicago Praise MinistriesChicagoIL$72k0
Second State PressPhiladelphiaPA$72k0
Northwest PA Steam Engine & Old Equipment Assoc IncPortersvillePA$72k0
7TH STREET CONCERTS INCCharlotteNC$72k1
HANFORD MILLS MUSEUM ENDOWMENT FUND 003438OneontaNY$72k1
MIDWESTERN BRAILLE VOLUNTEERSKirkwoodMO$72k0
Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music-OFOAMOgdenUT$72k3
ABADA-CAPOEIRA DC BRAZILIAN ARTS CENTER INCGaithersburgMD$72k1
PHILADELPHIA VIETNAM VETERNS MEMORIAL FUNDPhiladelphiaPA$72k0
MUSEUM OF VANNING AND HALL OF FAMEHudsonFL$72k0
AMIABLE ARTS FOUNDATIONJacksonMS$72k1
RIVERBEND PLAYERSNehalemOR$72k0
ST PATRICK CELEBRATIONS INCTowsonMD$72k0
PAPERWORKERS LOCALBirminghamAL$72k2
CLARION THEATRE GROUP INCClarionIA$72k0
Mayberry Comes To Scottsburg IncScottsburgIN$72k0
CHINESE CULTURAL FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$72k0
CHONG LOU USA ASSOCIATION HEADQUARTERS INCBrooklynNY$72k0
JULIAN GARCIA HERITAGE FOUNDATION C/O EDWARD T GARCIAAlbuquerqueNM$72k0