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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 628 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
BULLOCH COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCStatesboroGA$61k1
YORKVILLE MUSIC BOOSTERS INCYorkvilleIL$61k0
Grand Rapids Barbershop ChorusGrand RapidsMI$61k0
NAWCC CHAPTER180RamonaCA$61k0
TANTASQUA EDUCATION FOUNDATION INCFiskdaleMA$61k0
CELEBRATION SINGERSCranfordNJ$61k3
SARTELL SABRE DANCE TEAM BOOSTER CLUBSartellMN$60k0
ANGELINE CHAMPEAU RIOUX HOUSE INCGreen BayWI$60k0
THE GREEN BAY AND DEPERE ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY INCGreen BayWI$60k0
WISE PERFORMING ARTS GUILDDecaturTX$60k0
CENTER FOR ETHICS IN ACTIONPortlandME$60k0
SunDanz familyDaly CityCA$60k0
Oneida Lake Arts & Heritage CenterEast SyracuseNY$60k0
VOICES CHORALE NJHopewellNJ$60k1
REAL LIFE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSSelmaTX$60k4
PHHS BAND BOOSTERS INCPort HuronMI$60k0
THERESA WANG CHINESE CULTURE CENTER INCFlushingNY$60k1
CROATIAFESTSeattleWA$60k0
Wake Forest Cultural Arts AssociationWake ForestNC$60k0
SHAMROCK CLUB OF WISCONSIN INCWauwatosaWI$60k0
Francesco Von Mendelssohn Fund IncPhiladelphiaPA$60k1
Rose City AstronomersPortlandOR$60k0
ROTH VENTURESKanabUT$60k2
ACCURACY IN ACADEMIA INCWashingtonDC$60k1
LEAH STEIN DANCE COMPANYPhiladelphiaPA$60k0
KARLOVSKY & COMPANY DANCESaint LouisMO$60k0
OGALLALA QUILTERS SOCIETYDimmittTX$60k0
ETERNAL FLAME OF HOPE MINISTRIES INCJackson HeightsNY$60k0
The Man Called Jesus International Productions IncVirginia BeachVA$60k0
LIME ROCK FOUNDATIONNewportRI$60k0
Values Through HistoryHoustonTX$60k1
WINSTON SALEM CHORAL ACADEMYWinston SalemNC$60k0
Jackson Civil War SocietyJacksonMI$60k0
BREAKING BREAD VILLAGEMidlandMI$60k0
Columbia The Club Fourndation IncIndianapolisIN$60k0
Azerbaijan Society of MaineFalmouthME$60k0
DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARTSSt PetersburgFL$60k0
ARMED FORCES MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCCamp ShelbyMS$60k0
FINE ARTS ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF YONKERS INCYonkersNY$60k1
THE COLLEGE OF FELLOWS OF THE AMERICAN THighlandCA$60k0
THE BAXTER SPRINGS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCBaxter SpringsKS$60k0
THE BONNER INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF CHORAL MUSICClaremontCA$60k1
LANSING PERFORMING ARTSLansingIL$60k0
LOUHOLTZ UPPER OHIO VALLEY HALL OF FAME FOUNDATION INCEast LiverpoolOH$60k1
SOUTH DAKOTA SHAKESPEARE FESTIVALVermillionSD$60k0
TWIST AND SHOUT SCHOOL OF THE PERFORMING ARTSChicagoIL$60k1
Classical Arts Society of WashingtonWashingtonDC$60k1
BLUES SOCIETY OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA INCPensacolaFL$60k0
POLSON FLATHEAD LAKE MUSEUMPolsonMT$60k0
WESTHAMPTON BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETYWesthampton BeachNY$60k0