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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 609 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
JOHN STITES JAZZ ARTIST ORGANIZATIONMarshallMI$66k0
DORCHESTER COMMUNITY CENTER FOR VISUAL ARTS INCDorchesterMA$66k4
CLAIR AND JAN ART FOUNDATIONShorehamNY$66k0
PHILADELPHIA NESHOBA COUNTY ARTS COPhiladelphiaMS$66k0
AKTINA PRODUCTIONS INCAstoriaNY$66k0
CAMERA HERITAGE MUSEUMStauntonVA$66k0
Scuola Piccoli Italiani di Boston IncWinchesterMA$66k0
DENNEHY PARENTS CLUB NFP INCOrland ParkIL$66k0
CLAUSEN MEMORIAL MUSEUMPetersburgAK$66k0
PRESERVATION DELAWARERocklandDE$66k0
FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL INCTampaFL$66k0
MOVING EDUCATION INSTITUTE INCApalachicolaFL$66k0
Corona Symphony OrchestraCoronaCA$66k0
LIFEART DANCE ENSEMBLECommerce CityCO$66k1
SEVERALL FRIENDSCerrillosNM$66k0
Nebraska Brass IncLincolnNE$66k0
FUSION PERFORMING DANCE ACADEMYLos AngelesCA$66k1
INTERNATIONAL ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATIONChicagoIL$66k0
VINEYARD SOUNDVineyard HavenMA$66k0
PENNSYLVANIA BOWHUNTERS FESTIVALDushorePA$66k0
TAMMY WYNETTE LEGACY PARKFultonMS$66k0
SLEEPING WEAZEL INCBostonMA$66k1
Inland Northwest Musicians IncHermistonOR$66k2
FRIENDS OF THE JONATHAN CLARK HOUSE LTDMequonWI$66k0
MARQUETTE CHORAL SOCIETYMarquetteMI$66k0
FERNDALE MUSEUM INCFerndaleCA$66k0
PERCUSSIAJackson HeightsNY$66k0
PADMA PAADAM SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS INCFrederickMD$66k0
NOULOU CHAMBER PLAYERS INCLouisvilleKY$66k2
FOUNDATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF 108 SOUTH JACKSON STJanesvilleWI$66k0
ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL OF PHILADELPHIAGladwynePA$66k0
AGBO FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$66k0
ROCKVILLE CHINESE SCHOOLBethesdaMD$66k0
CINCINNATI FUSION ENSEMBLE INCCincinnatiOH$66k5
ARIZONA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM FOUNDATION AND CENTER FOR EDUCATIONWilliamsAZ$66k0
Foss-Radich Foundation for GavalochoriDenverCO$66k0
The Satori InstituteOmahaNE$66k0
Mac-A-Cheek Foundations for the HumanitiesWest LibertyOH$66k0
THE AVALON THEATRE FOUNDATION INCGrand JunctionCO$66k0
Southern Utah Art GuildSaint GeorgeUT$66k0
CAPE ROMAIN LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCMc ClellanvilleSC$66k0
THE LES FILM FESTIVAL INCNew YorkNY$66k0
SOCIEDADE FILARMONICA UNIAO POPULARSan JoseCA$66k0
HILLSBORO FESTIVAL OF THE BELLSHillsboroOH$66k0
AMERICAN SUPPORTERS OF ROYAL ACADEMY OF DRAMATIC ARTNew York CityNY$66k0
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTSBaldwinsvilleNY$66k2
Raices Chicago Story CoalitionChicagoIL$66k0
CONNECTICUT COUNCIL OF MASAJIDHamdenCT$66k0
Spectre Performing Arts IncHenricoVA$66k0
ACTORS POINT THEATER COMPANY INCHendersonvilleTN$66k0