Skip to main content
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 60 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
PORTLAND STAGE COMPANYPortlandME$2.6M2
ARTS AND CULTURE ALLIANCE OF GREATER KNOXVILLEKnoxvilleTN$2.6M1
HOLY ROSARY REDEVELOPMENT BOARDLafayetteLA$2.6M0
THE WONDERLAB MUSEUM OF SCIENCE HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY INCBloomingtonIN$2.6M1
BAKEHOUSE ART COMPLEX INCMiamiFL$2.6M1
New Hampshire Historical SocietyConcordNH$2.6M3
Center for the Art of TranslationSan FranciscoCA$2.6M4
NORTHWEST RAILWAY MUSEUMSnoqualmieWA$2.6M1
CAHOON MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART INCCotuitMA$2.6M1
YORK COUNTY HISTORY CENTERYorkPA$2.6M2
ARAB CENTER WASHINGTON DC INCWashingtonDC$2.6M1
HUMANITIES WASHINGTONSeattleWA$2.6M3
BARRIER ISLAND GROUP FOR THE ARTSSanibelFL$2.5M1
California Lawyers for the ArtsSan FranciscoCA$2.5M1
Visual Arts Research & Resource Center Relating toNew YorkNY$2.5M1
D6 Family MinistryNashvilleTN$2.5M2
Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art FundDallasTX$2.5M0
THE JEWISH WOMEN'S ARCHIVE INCAuburndaleMA$2.5M1
JAMAICA CENTER FOR ARTS AND LEARNINGJamaicaNY$2.5M1
EPACENTEREast Palo AltoCA$2.5M3
Chittenden Community TelevisionBurlingtonVT$2.5M1
TEE & CHARLES ADDAMS FOUNDATIONBriarcliff ManorNY$2.5M1
INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN FRANCISCOSan FranciscoCA$2.5M2
UTAH ARTS ALLIANCESalt Lake CityUT$2.5M1
WEINBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTSFrederickMD$2.5M0
TOWER THEATRE FOUNDATION INCBendOR$2.5M1
THE VILNA SHUL BOSTONS CENTER FOR JEWISH CULTURE INCBostonMA$2.5M2
CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN MINNESOTAMankatoMN$2.5M1
THE ALLIANCE FRANCAISEFRENCH HOUSE OF CHICAGOChicagoIL$2.5M3
NEW HAVEN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCNew HavenCT$2.5M1
Weston Ranch FoundationSeguinTX$2.5M0
BRONX CHILDREN'S MUSEUMBronxNY$2.5M2
JAMESTOWN REDISCOVERY FOUNDATIONRichmondVA$2.5M2
Wabanaki Commission on Land and StewardshipOronoME$2.5M10
CENTER FOR BLACK EXCELLENCE AND CULTURE INCMadisonWI$2.5M0
ALDEN CHARITABLE FOUNDATION INCGuilfordCT$2.5M0
WORKS AND PROCESS INCNew YorkNY$2.5M2
Philadelphia Chamber Music SocietyPhiladelphiaPA$2.5M2
THE DUE PROCESS OF LAW FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$2.5M2
ONE WORLD PROJECT BROOKLYN INCBrooklynNY$2.5M1
NATIONAL VIETNAM WAR MUSEUM INCWeatherfordTX$2.5M0
NEW JERSEY POLICY PERSPECTIVE INCTrentonNJ$2.5M1
PRESERVATION LEAGUE OF NEW YORK STATEAlbanyNY$2.5M1
ASCAP FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$2.5M2
MUSIC FOR MINORS INCSan CarlosCA$2.5M2
Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences dba The Staten Island MuseumStaten IslandNY$2.5M2
OREGON VIETNAMESE AMERICAN CULTURALPortlandOR$2.5M0
SC Educational Communications IncSpartanburgSC$2.5M2
BROADWAY THEATRE LEAGUE OF NE PAScrantonPA$2.5M1
MUSIC ECOSYSTEMS AND ARTIST DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION OF WICHITAWichitaKS$2.5M0