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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 6 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
NATIONAL SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONWashingtonDC$33.9M9
THE PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF NEWPORT COUNTYNewportRI$33.7M7
PMML NORTH INCKenoshaWI$33.4M3
SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER INCLos AngelesCA$33.3M13
CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTERCincinnatiOH$33.2M7
THE HELEN MARIE TAYLOR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION INCRichmondVA$33.2M0
OLD GLOBE THEATRESan DiegoCA$33.2M11
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONPhiladelphiaPA$33.1M9
WORLD TRADE CENTER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCNew YorkNY$33M10
The Cullen Trust for the Performing ArtsHoustonTX$32.9M0
THE LEGACY FOUNDATIONMontgomeryAL$32.8M5
WANG THEATRE INCBostonMA$32.8M10
OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION INCAshlandOR$32.7M11
Artspace Projects IncMinneapolisMN$32.7M9
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIOPasadenaCA$32.6M20
AUSTIN THEATRE ALLIANCEAustinTX$32.5M7
Buffalo Bill Memorial AssociationCodyWY$32.5M4
JOHNNY MORRIS' WONDERS OF WILDLIFE FOUNDATIONSpringfieldMO$32.4M5
OUR RESCUESalt Lake CityUT$32.4M9
French-American School of New YorkMamaroneckNY$32.3M7
THE AMERICAN THEATRE GUILDKansas CityMO$32.3M6
RUTH ECKERD HALL INCClearwaterFL$32.2M5
Nashville Symphony AssociationNashvilleTN$32M12
ARMAND HAMMER MUSEUM OF ART AND CULTURAL CENTER INCLos AngelesCA$31.9M16
FACING HISTORY & OURSELVES INCBostonMA$31.8M14
INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUMWashingtonDC$31.8M7
SCHOOL OF AMERICAN BALLET INCNew YorkNY$31.2M9
American Battlefield TrustWashingtonDC$31.2M9
SEATTLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCSeattleWA$31.1M12
GROTON HILL MUSIC INCGrotonMA$30.9M4
New Museum of Contemporary ArtNew YorkNY$30.6M14
Houston Grand Opera Association IncHoustonTX$30.4M12
JAZZ AT ASPEN-SNOWMASSAspenCO$30.4M4
HOLOCAUST LEGACY FOUNDATION INCBostonMA$30.2M1
THE COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCEDallasTX$30M8
LAUREL LAKE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY INCHudsonOH$29.9M8
NEW YORK CITY CENTER INCNew YorkNY$29.8M13
ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM FOUNDATIONSt LouisMO$29.7M7
NATIONAL MINORITY SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL INCNew YorkNY$29.7M6
TAMPA MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATION INCTampaFL$29.7M1
OPAS FOUNDATIONOmahaNE$29.5M3
THE HORACE BUSHNELL MEMORIAL HALLHartfordCT$29.4M12
PRX IncCambridgeMA$29.4M15
CHICAGO THEATRE GROUP INCChicagoIL$29.4M9
UBONGO INTERNATIONALAustinTX$29.2M1
THE BROADLos AngelesCA$28.9M4
DALLAS SYMPHONY FOUNDATIONDallasTX$28.9M0
THE JEWISH MUSEUMNew YorkNY$28.8M12
THE SECOND STAGE THEATRE INCNew YorkNY$28.7M10
SEVENTH REGIMENT ARMORY CONSERVANCY INCNew YorkNY$28.7M11