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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 62 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE DRAMATISTS GUILD FUND INCNew YorkNY$2.5M4
THE OEIS FOUNDATION INCMonroevillePA$2.5M1
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF THE EAST END IBridgehamptonNY$2.5M3
Tulsa Symphony Orchestra IncTulsaOK$2.5M4
ZAMIR CHORAL FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$2.5M1
CASA BELVEDERE THE ITALIAN CULTURAL FOUNDATION INCStaten IslandNY$2.5M2
Laurie Foundation for the Performing Arts IncColumbiaMO$2.5M0
BAFFLER FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$2.5M1
OPEN CAMPUS MEDIA INCWashingtonDC$2.5M5
TARA INSTITUTE OF THE PERFORMING ARTSBoulderCO$2.5M4
ZUMIX INCEast BostonMA$2.5M2
MEMPHIS IN MAY INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL INCMemphisTN$2.5M4
Pennsylvania Humanities CouncilPhiladelphiaPA$2.5M4
ARKANSAS REPERTORY THEATRELittle RockAR$2.5M1
Mainly Mozart IncSan DiegoCA$2.5M2
INTERNATIONAL CHURCHILL SOCIETYWashingtonDC$2.5M2
Orchestra of the Americas Group IncWashingtonDC$2.5M2
THE AMERICAN CENTER OF RESEARCH INCORPORATEDAlexandriaVA$2.5M2
SILICON VALLEY CREATESSan JoseCA$2.5M1
HARMONY PROJECT PRODUCTIONS INCColumbusOH$2.5M2
PSYCHOANALYTIC ELECTRONIC PUBLISHINGINC CO DR NADINE LEVINSONWilmingtonDE$2.5M2
THE FREDERICK A SIMEONE MD FOUNDATION INCPhiladelphiaPA$2.4M1
SCIENCEWORKS HANDS-ON MUSEUMAshlandOR$2.4M0
ASHWABAY ALLIANCE INCBayfieldWI$2.4M0
WESTERN AVENUE COMMUNITY FOR THE ARTS INCLowellMA$2.4M2
CHATTANOOGA SYMPHONY & OPERA ASSOCIATIONChattanoogaTN$2.4M1
THE CHICAGO PHILHARMONIC SOCIETYChicagoIL$2.4M13
OCEANSIDE MUSEUM OF ARTOceansideCA$2.4M1
DEUTSCHES HAUS INCNew OrleansLA$2.4M1
JANE AND JACK FITZPATRICK TRUSTStockbridgeMA$2.4M1
GASPARILLA MUSIC FOUNDATION INCTampaFL$2.4M1
STATEN ISLAND CHILDREN'S MUSEUMStaten IslandNY$2.4M1
THE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER AT GLEN ALLEN FOUNDATIONGlen AllenVA$2.4M1
UNITED ARTS COUNCIL OF GREENSBORO INCGreensboroNC$2.4M1
San Angelo Museum of Fine ArtsSan AngeloTX$2.4M2
LAKE CHAMPLAIN MARITIME MUSEUM AT BASIN HARBOR INCVergennesVT$2.4M1
SKYLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE CORPMilwaukeeWI$2.4M0
Historical Society of MichiganLansingMI$2.4M1
INDIANA STATE SCHOOL MUSIC ASSOCIndianapolisIN$2.4M0
HOSPITAL CLINIC HOME CENTER INSTRUCTIONAL CORPBrooklynNY$2.4M0
TEKEYAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION INCWatertownMA$2.4M1
THE JOHN G SHEDD INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTSEugeneOR$2.4M0
THE BATTERY CONSERVANCY INCNew YorkNY$2.4M3
The Laundromat Project IncBrooklynNY$2.4M1
San Antonio ReportSan AntonioTX$2.4M3
FRIENDS OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORYCorpus ChristiTX$2.4M1
THE PROGRAMMING SERVICE FOR PUBLIC TELEVISION INCTampaFL$2.4M3
CCAE THEATRICALS INCEscondidoCA$2.4M1
SLOW BURN THEATRE COMPANY INCFort LaduerdaleFL$2.4M2
BENNINGTON MUSEUM INCBenningtonVT$2.4M1