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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 6 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ASIAN ART MUSEUM FOUNDATION OF SAN FRANCISCOSan FranciscoCA$30.7M10
New Museum of Contemporary ArtNew YorkNY$30.6M14
PRX IncCambridgeMA$30.6M14
THE AMERICAN THEATRE GUILDKansas CityMO$30.5M3
Menil Foundation IncHoustonTX$30.5M7
Houston Grand Opera Association IncHoustonTX$30.4M12
JAZZ AT ASPEN-SNOWMASSAspenCO$30.4M4
HOLOCAUST LEGACY FOUNDATION INCBostonMA$30.2M1
SEATTLE ART MUSEUMSeattleWA$30M9
LAUREL LAKE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY INCHudsonOH$29.9M8
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETYColumbusOH$29.9M5
COLUMBUS ASSOCIATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSColumbusOH$29.9M8
THE VENETOULIS INSTITUTE FOR LOCAL JOURNALISMBaltimoreMD$29.8M13
WASHINGTON DRAMA SOCIETY INCWashingtonDC$29.8M9
ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM FOUNDATIONSt LouisMO$29.7M7
Remember the Alamo FoundationSan AntonioTX$29.7M2
CHICAGO THEATRE GROUP INCChicagoIL$29.4M9
Artspace Projects IncMinneapolisMN$29.1M12
COUNT BASIE THEATRE INCRed BankNJ$29.1M7
INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUMWashingtonDC$29M7
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD-AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TELEVISION AND RADIO ARTISTS FOUNDLos AngelesCA$29M9
OVERTURE CENTER FOUNDATION INCMadisonWI$28.9M8
THE BROADLos AngelesCA$28.9M4
DALLAS SYMPHONY FOUNDATIONDallasTX$28.9M0
Jacksonville Symphony Association IncJacksonvilleFL$28.8M6
THE SECOND STAGE THEATRE INCNew YorkNY$28.7M10
THE SHAKESPEARE THEATREWashingtonDC$28.7M8
ARMAND HAMMER MUSEUM OF ART AND CULTURAL CENTER INCLos AngelesCA$28.7M13
PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSEMillburnNJ$28.6M7
PETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$28M8
Newman Kahlon Foundation CorpOntarioCA$27.9M0
Dallas Museum of ArtDallasTX$27.8M11
Conner Prairie Foundation IncFishersIN$27.6M0
BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ARTBaltimoreMD$27.6M8
Princeton University PressPrincetonNJ$27.5M23
HUNTINGTON THEATRE CO INCBostonMA$27.5M7
MUSIC ASSOCIATES OF ASPEN INCAspenCO$27.3M17
SAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORYSan DiegoCA$27.3M9
ROCKY MOUNTAIN PUBLIC MEDIA INCDenverCO$27M7
PUBLIC BROADCASTING OF COLORADO INCCentennialCO$27M11
SOUTH STREET THEATER COMPANY INCMorristownNJ$26.9M5
CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTERCincinnatiOH$26.9M7
CENTER FOR THE COLLABORATIVE CLASSROOMAlamedaCA$26.9M13
NORTH TEXAS PUBLIC BROADCASTING INCDallasTX$26.9M12
MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB INCNew YorkNY$26.9M10
THE TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ARTToledoOH$26.8M8
DEMOCRACY PREP PUBLIC SCHOOLSNew YorkNY$26.8M14
OREGON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRYPortlandOR$26.7M8
THE BARNES FOUNDATIONPhiladelphiaPA$26.7M9
University Communications Network IncNew YorkNY$26.6M1