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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 611 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
RUN STARVED ROCK COUNTRY NFPOttawaIL$66k0
ATHENS OF INDIANA ARTS STUDIOS & GALLERY INCCrawfordsvilleIN$66k0
PICAYUNE THEATRE COMPANY INCPicayuneMS$66k0
Sweet Adelines International Mission Valley ChapterLos GatosCA$66k0
ARPEGGIONE ENSEMBLE INCBeverlyMA$66k0
CHINESE CULTURAL & ARTS INSTITUTEHummelstownPA$66k0
Pacific Pearl Music AssociationThousand OaksCA$66k0
Boston Chinese Musicians AssociationNorth ChelmsfordMA$66k0
FRIENDS OF THE THEATRE ASU INCMontgomeryAL$66k0
LUCKETTS BLUEGRASS FOUNDATIONLeesburgVA$66k0
DAN SCHMITT GIFT OF MUSIC AND EDUCATION FUNDAllouezMI$66k2
Maosan Lukyum Taoism Cultural Association IncSan GabrielCA$66k0
USA TAICHI CULTURE FOUNDATIONCupertinoCA$66k0
SHANGHAI ASSOCIATION IN USA INCFlushingNY$66k1
OKANOGAN BASKETWEAVERS ASSOCOmakWA$66k0
ST CHARLES COUNTY YOUTH ORCHESTRASaint PetersMO$66k0
Crescent City Chamber Music Festival IncNew OrleansLA$66k1
IBN KHALDON CENTER A NJ NONPROKearnyNJ$66k0
THE WILLIAM INGE FESTIVAL FOUNDATIONIndependenceKS$66k0
The Institute for Contempletive EducationDenmarkME$66k0
RICHMOND COUNTY ORCHESTRA INCStaten IslandNY$65k0
SUN LAKES LIONS FOUNDATIONChandlerAZ$65k0
THE GRACE THEATRE WORKSHOP INCUnion CityNJ$65k1
CARDBOARD HOUSE PRESSPhoenixAZ$65k0
ELITE MUSIC FOUNDATIONCovinaCA$65k0
SANGRE DE CRISTO CHORALESanta FeNM$65k1
PERFECT HARMONY CHORUSMadisonWI$65k0
LAKE EFFECT COMMUNITY ARTS CENTERManistiqueMI$65k0
FRIENDS OF THE MORRILL HOMESTEAD INCStraffordVT$65k2
ENCORE HOME SCHOOL PRODUCTIONSHummelstownPA$65k0
JUNIOR BACH FESTIVAL ASSOCIATIONBerkeleyCA$65k1
BOOM BOOM CLUBTraverse CityMI$65k0
DANIEL GRAHAM AND MIEKO GRAHAM FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$65k3
ARTS AND MUSIC GUILDMcKinneyTX$65k0
MARTHA CONNERTON KINETIC WORKS INCCharlotteNC$65k1
Daniel Singer Millenium Prize FoundationEl CerritoCA$65k0
THE COEUR DALENE CAROUSEL FOUNDATION INCoeur D AleneID$65k0
KALAKENDRA LIMITEDBeavertonOR$65k0
DUMBO FILM FESTIVALBuffaloNY$65k0
DILLON HISTORICAL SOCIETYDillonSC$65k0
Interior and Arctic Alaska Aeronautical FoundationFairbanksAK$65k1
KALAMAZOO CIVIC THEATRE FOUNDATIONKalamazooMI$65k0
5KINGS ORG C/O JEFF LUDWICKForsythIL$65k0
KALAMAZOO CHINESE ACADEMYPortageMI$65k1
MANZANO MOUNTAIN ART COUNCILMountainairNM$65k0
NACRE DANCE GROUP INCSaratoga SpringsNY$65k0
LONE STAR SYMPHONIC BANDKatyTX$65k0
WENATCHEE COMMUNITY CONCERT ASSOC WENATCHEE COMMUNITY CONCERT ASSOCWenatcheeWA$65k0
BRONX BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME INCWhite PlainsNY$65k0
North Muskegon Music BoostersMuskegonMI$65k0