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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 597 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
TELUGU ASSOCIATION OF INDIANA INCFishersIN$70k0
TRINITY HOUSE THEATRELivoniaMI$70k0
THE SECRET CITY INCWoodstockNY$70k1
The Weekend of Chamber Music IncJeffersonvilleNY$70k0
THE KINGWOOD POPS ORCHESTRAKingwoodTX$70k1
YES ANDRichmondVA$70k0
PHILOSOPHY EDUCATION SOCIETY INCWashingtonDC$70k2
Beyond The Bounds IncBrewsterMA$70k0
IRVINE KOREAN PARENTS ASSOCIATIONIrvineCA$70k0
CANTATE CARLISLECarlislePA$70k1
SAN MUSAE CULTURE CENTERRowland HeightsCA$70k0
Society of Mayflower Descendants in South CarolinaCullowheeNC$70k0
SOUTH PORCH ARTISTSSummervilleSC$70k1
SZKOLA M SKLODOWSKIEJ-CURIE INCTarpon SpringsFL$70k3
LEGACY CHORALE OF GREATER MINNESOTABrainerdMN$70k0
MICHIGAN YOUTH BALLET THEATREMontagueMI$70k0
REFORMING ARTS INCORPORATEDAtlantaGA$70k0
OASIS CHORALEHarrisonburgVA$70k0
TRIBE OF HEART LTDIthacaNY$70k2
East Austin Creative Coalition IncAustinTX$70k1
CROOKED RIVER FINE ARTS COUNCILKentOH$70k2
BRIGHTMUSIC SOCIETY OF OKLAHOMAOklahoma CityOK$70k3
KONA ALOHA SINGERSKailua KonaHI$70k0
SANTA BARBARA COURTHOUSE LEGACY FOUNDATIONSanta BarbaraCA$70k0
URBAN STUDIO UNBOUND INCNew YorkNY$70k0
AFRICAN ART MUSEUM OF MARYLANDColumbiaMD$69k0
EAU CLAIRE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INCEau ClaireWI$69k2
ORPHEUS PAGAN CHAMBER CHOIRDenverCO$69k1
PERQUIMANS ARTS LEAGUEHertfordNC$69k0
LEHI HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND ARCHIVESLehiUT$69k1
I KADA DANCE INCCoronaNY$69k0
ART THERAPY EXPRESS PROGRAM INCHockessinDE$69k1
CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AT MADISON INCMadisonWI$69k0
PIANO ON THE ROCKS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALSedonaAZ$69k2
SOLDIERS & SAILORS MONUMENTAL ASSN OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY OHIOZanesvilleOH$69k0
VOICES OF SILICON VALLEYSan JoseCA$69k0
EAST COAST SHOWDOWN INCCharlottesvilleVA$69k0
ORANGEBURG PART-TIME PLAYERSOrangeburgSC$69k0
GARDEN STATE IRISH FESTIVAL FOUNDATOakhurstNJ$69k0
PERFORMING ARTS CTR ON THE SQUARESearcyAR$69k0
LYME PUBLIC HALL AND LOCAL HISTORY ARCHIVES INCLymeCT$69k0
First Friday Berea IncBereaKY$69k0
INDUS OF FOX VALLEY INCAppletonWI$69k0
Connect Beyond FestivalAshevilleNC$69k0
Madison Public Schools Music AssociationMadisonNJ$69k0
LANCASTER HISTORICAL SOCIETYLancasterNH$69k0
Bagche for Music Language and Art IncSouth GraftonMA$69k0
MOUNTAINSIDE MASTER CHORALE INCClaremontCA$69k7
GUJARATI SAMAJ INCSterling HeightsMI$69k0
DAVID HORODOKER WOMENS ORGANIZATIONBoynton BeachFL$69k0