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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 61 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SOUTH ORANGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTERINCSouth OrangeNJ$2.5M2
ITALIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY CENTER INCRochesterNY$2.5M0
THE CAVALIERS AP&E INCRosemontIL$2.5M1
MUSEUM OF ARTS & SCIENCES INCMaconGA$2.5M1
BLACK ALLIANCE FOR JUST IMMIGRATIONBrooklynNY$2.5M1
THE NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN BOARDING SCMinneapolisMN$2.5M2
CALIFORNIA INDIAN MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTERSanta RosaCA$2.5M1
DULUTH & NORTH SHORE RAILWAY INCDuluthMN$2.5M1
OPEN WORKS INCBaltimoreMD$2.5M1
Ballet NebraskaOmahaNE$2.5M1
COCONUT GROVE ARTS & HISTORICAL ASSOC INC F/K/A COCONUT GROVE ARTSCoconut GroveFL$2.5M1
CLEVELAND FILM SOCIETYClevelandOH$2.5M3
ORANGE COUNTY CHILDRENS THERAPEUTIC ARTS CENTERSanta AnaCA$2.5M1
CHEYENNE CARRIAGE COLLECTIONCheyenneWY$2.5M1
FOLKLIGHT FILM CLUBSanta RosaCA$2.5M2
GROUNDWORKS ART LAB INCBoulderCO$2.5M2
NORTHERN SKY THEATER INCFish CreekWI$2.5M2
AACA MUSEUM INCHersheyPA$2.5M1
BETTY BRINN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INCMilwaukeeWI$2.5M3
Pangea World TheaterMinneapolisMN$2.5M2
LARAMIE PLAINS MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCLaramieWY$2.5M0
HeydayBerkeleyCA$2.5M2
PORT GAMBLE S'KLALLAM FOUNDATIONKingstonWA$2.5M6
THE FRANCES CLARK CENTER FOR KEYBOARD PEDAGOGY INCKingstonNJ$2.5M4
JMG Productions IncWashingtonDC$2.5M2
Medal Of Honor Foundation IncMount PleasantSC$2.5M1
NUTMEG CONSERVATORY FOR THE ARTS INCTorringtonCT$2.5M3
4 CORNERSTONES FOUNDATIONEdinaMN$2.5M0
PHILADELPHIA'S MAGIC GARDENSPhiladelphiaPA$2.5M1
TITUSVILLE PLAYHOUSE INCTitusvilleFL$2.5M0
EMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA INCSchenectadyNY$2.5M2
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF TOYS AND MINIATURESKansas CityMO$2.5M1
Ethiopian Community in SeattleSeattleWA$2.5M1
JEWISH CHILDRENS MUSEUMBrooklynNY$2.5M2
CENTER FOR ART RESEARCH AND ALLIANCES INCNew YorkNY$2.5M1
Fresno Arts Council IncFresnoCA$2.5M1
INEQUALITY MEDIABerkeleyCA$2.5M2
FONNER PARK EXPOSITION & EVENTS CENTER INCGrand IslandNE$2.5M0
ECHO MINISTRIES INCSt PaulMN$2.5M1
NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICERSWashingtonDC$2.5M1
CLASSICAL 981 C/O BRENDA BARNESSeattleWA$2.5M4
One Voice Children's ChoirSandyUT$2.5M3
PATRONATO CASTILLO SERRALLESPoncePR$2.5M0
THE CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUMSan FranciscoCA$2.5M7
Museum of Craft and DesignSan FranciscoCA$2.5M6
BUCK'S ROCK CAMP INCNew MilfordCT$2.5M4
THE BARBARA BUSH FOUNDATION FOR FAMILY LITERACY INCWashingtonDC$2.5M6
EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION CORPORATIONWake ForestNC$2.5M1
APOLOGETICS PRESS INCMontgomeryAL$2.5M0
LOUIS J KOCH FAMILY CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF EVANSVILLE INCEvansvilleIN$2.5M2