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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 634 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
WILDERNESS WILDLIFE MUSEUMRectorPA$59k0
STONEY HILL FOUNDATION INCNew HopePA$59k1
WASHINGTON TELANGANA ASSOCIATIONIssaquahWA$59k0
HUNTINGTON CULTURAL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE INCHuntingtonNY$59k0
COMMUNITY WORSHIP ARTS INCEvansvilleIN$59k0
VINTAGE AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM OF NJ INCPoint Pleasant BoroughNJ$59k0
ST PETERSBURG INTERNATIONAL FOLK FAIR SOCIETY INCSaint PetersburgFL$59k1
CALIFORNIA SIKH FOUNDATIONRocklinCA$59k0
WASHINGTON-LEE BAND BOOSTERSArlingtonVA$59k0
LYNN-HEIDELBERG HISTORICAL SOCIETYNew TripoliPA$59k0
Sausalito Womans Club Preservation SocietySausalitoCA$59k0
LEON CODenverCO$59k2
VARIANT 6PhiladelphiaPA$59k2
SOHO DESIGN DISTRICT INCNew YorkNY$59k0
FRIENDS OF SILVER HAWK THEATRELincolnNE$59k0
Cultural Fire Events IncProvoUT$59k0
SANTIAM HEARTS TO ARTSMill CityOR$59k2
THE WEST VIRGINIA RAILROAD MUSEUM INCElkinsWV$59k0
LE JEUNE BALLET NATIONAL COBlue AshOH$59k1
DJONIBA DANCE & DRUM CENTRE INCNew YorkNY$59k1
MARK HENNESSY FOUNDATION INCBarnstableMA$59k0
GIBBON HERITAGE CENTER FOUNDATIONGibbonNE$59k0
THE ACQUISITIONS INSTITUTE AT TIMBERLINE LODGEPortlandOR$59k0
SUFI COMMUNITY CENTERWadsworthIL$59k0
LUSITANIA BAND OF THE NORTH BAYPetalumaCA$59k0
DOWN EAST SINGERSRockportME$59k0
ARTFUL LIVESNorth Las VegasNV$59k0
TAIWANESE CULTURAL AND SPORTS ASSOCIATIONSan JoseCA$59k0
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCNew YorkNY$59k0
PLAY ON ARTS INCDunkirkNY$59k0
BIGGER PICTURE FILM GROUP INCIndianapolisIN$59k0
ABRAHAM LINCOLN NATL CEMETERY MEMORIAL SQUADElwoodIL$59k0
Fairborn Phoenix FoundationWaynesvilleOH$59k0
Barrington History MuseumBarringtonIL$59k0
UNC STUDENT TELEVISION INCORPORATEDChapel HillNC$59k6
FOLLOW YOUR DREAM FOUNDATION INCRossCA$58k0
CLAWSON FOURTH OF JULY COMMITTEEClawsonMI$58k0
GUITAR SARASOTA INCSarasotaFL$58k0
ABBEY PLAYERS INCAbbevilleLA$58k0
ALL ABOUT MUSIC SAN DIEGOBoulevardCA$58k1
ST LUCIE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCFort PierceFL$58k0
HISTORIC ORIENT-SANTA FE DEPOT INCSan AngeloTX$58k0
Kid RockerRenoNV$58k1
GASPARILLA ISLAND MARITIME MUSEUM INCBoca GrandeFL$58k0
SPACE FOR ART FOUNDATION INCSaint PetersburgFL$58k0
Oakley Valley Arts CouncilOakleyID$58k0
WOMEN'S COUNCIL ON ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENTWashingtonDC$58k0
INDY DANCE COUNCILIndianapolisIN$58k2
Redwood Rainbows Square Dance Club IncSebastopolCA$58k0
FRIENDS OF THE LAKEVILLE AREA ARTS CENTERLakevilleMN$58k1