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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 598 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SONS OF NORWAY FIFTH DISTRICT NORDIC LEGACY FOUNDATION INCStoughtonWI$69k0
THE SAN FRANCISCO AERONAUTICAL SOCIETYSan FranciscoCA$69k0
SYNERGY INDOORMcAllenTX$69k0
THE WEEKEND THEATERLittle RockAR$69k0
SOLIVITA PERFORMING ARTS COUNCIL INCKissimmeeFL$69k0
KINNARA ENSEMBLE INCAtlantaGA$69k3
JACKSON CENTER FOR THE ARTSJacksonMN$69k0
LYNDON INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CENTER INCShelburneVT$69k0
ROCKVALE WRITERS' COLONY INCCollege GroveTN$69k0
Rotary Club of Jefferson IncJeffersonGA$69k0
PRECISION DANCE COMPANYCarsonCA$69k0
Generic Theater of Virginia IncNorfolkVA$69k0
BREATH OF FIRE LATINA THEATER ENSEMBLESanta AnaCA$69k1
LAKEWAY CIVIL WAR PRESERVATION ASSOCIATIONMorristownTN$69k0
MINISTRY ARCHITECTURE INCGoldenCO$69k2
Swara SaadhanCoppellTX$69k0
CUATRO PUNTOS INCGlastonburyCT$69k7
DURHAM BALLET THEATREDurhamNC$69k1
FRIENDS OF HISTORIC BOONVILLE ENDOWBoonvilleMO$69k0
EDWARDSVILLE OPERA FESTIVALEdwardsvilleIL$69k1
KAMANAWA FOUNDATIONHanapepeHI$69k0
ELAINE & RICHARD FOHR FOUNDATIONYountvilleCA$69k0
CHIN COMMUNITY OF OHIO INCColumbusOH$69k0
ECHO PARK FILM CENTERLos AngelesCA$69k1
Downtown Arts AllianceWest MonroeLA$69k0
LOMAS & SAUM FOUNDATIONGettysburgPA$69k0
SILVERTON ART ASSOCIATIONSilvertonOR$69k0
Harpers Ferry Area Heritage SocietyHarpers FerryIA$69k0
COLORADO MUSIC EXPERIENCELouisvilleCO$69k0
Deep Arts IncRochesterNY$69k1
CAMPBELL MUSEUM FOUNDATIONCampbellCA$69k0
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR POETRY THERAPY INCGreen ValleyAZ$69k0
FRANCES PLAMANN CHARITABLE TRUSTHiawathaKS$69k1
MIMS COMMUNITY RADIO INCNew Smyrna BeachFL$69k2
LEGACIES OF THE PACIFICVallejoCA$69k0
HARRISONBURG BAND BOOSTERS CLUBHarrisonburgVA$69k0
DAILY CARDINAL MEDIA CORPORATIONMadisonWI$69k0
TRENTON MUSEUM SOCIETYTrentonNJ$69k0
TOPEKA FESTIVAL SINGERS INCTopekaKS$69k0
NATIONAL FLAG DAY FOUNDATIONFredoniaWI$69k0
BLUE CANDLELIGHT MUSIC SERIESDallasTX$69k1
Towne Street TheatreLos AngelesCA$69k2
DRSAMUEL SHAHEEN FAMILY FOUNDATIONSaginawMI$69k0
Dakota Pro MusicaBismarckND$69k0
QUEENS WORLD FILM INITIATIVE INCJackson HeightsNY$69k2
SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE STEUBEN ASSOCIATIOYaphankNY$69k0
NEVADA SOCIETY OF SCOTTISH CLANSRenoNV$69k0
EVANSTON FOURTH OF JULY ASSOCIATIONEvanstonIL$69k0
ROLLENHAGEN HOUSEWyomingMI$69k0
BAD DOG EDUCATIONAL MEDIANew PhiladelphiaOH$69k0