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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 638 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Chesapeake Choral Arts Society IncPort TobaccoMD$58k0
GDIACC FOUNDATION INCDallasTX$58k0
FRIENDS OF BOLTON MANSIONLevittownPA$58k0
DICKINSON MUSIC ENRICHMENT CENTERDickinsonTX$58k0
TABULA RASA DANCE THEATER INCNew YorkNY$58k0
WORLD HOUSE CHOIR INCYellow SpringsOH$58k1
The CAPE COD CHORALE IncSandwichMA$58k0
DOORS OPEN PITTSBURGH INCPittsburghPA$58k1
Tapestry SingersAustinTX$58k0
SALOME CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INCNew YorkNY$58k0
Northern California Cantonese Heritage AssociationSan FranciscoCA$58k0
DARTMOUTH CULTURAL CENTER INCDartmouthMA$58k0
WILLIAMS COUNTY COMMUNITY THEATERBryanOH$58k0
RED DOOR ART GALLERY AND MUSEUMWahpetonND$58k0
THE LIGHT HOUSE OPERA COMPANYBronxNY$58k0
EMERGING CIVIL WAR INCFredericksburgVA$58k0
Montrose Center for ArtsMontroseCO$58k0
GIRDWOOD ART INSTITUTEGirdwoodAK$58k3
YORKSHIRE PLAYHOUSEYorkNE$58k0
CREATIVE ARTS TEAM INCNew YorkNY$58k1
North Texas Youth Ballet IncSouthlakeTX$58k0
HARVEST MOON FOLK SOCIETY INCCentralSC$58k0
GREENVILLE BALLET INCGreenvilleSC$58k0
Ballet Arts AcademyBrandywineMD$58k0
MISSISSIPPI ART COLONY INCMoselleMS$58k1
CHINESE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD INCManhassetNY$58k0
DAKOTA CENTER FOR THE ARTSEaganMN$58k3
KIOWA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCGreensburgKS$58k0
NORCO HIGH SCHOOL NOTEWORTHY BOOSTERS CLUBNorcoCA$58k0
AFRICAN AMERICAN DAY PARADE BREAKFAST COMMITTEENew YorkNY$58k0
COLLINS PINE MUSEUMChesterCA$57k0
DECATUR CITY DANCE INCDecaturGA$57k0
TULPEHOCKEN PARENT MUSIC ASSOCIATIONBernvillePA$57k0
BLUES HEAVEN FOUNDATION INCChicagoIL$57k0
THE PITTSFIELD PLAYERSPittsfieldNH$57k1
THE GREATER BATH FOUNDATIONBathNC$57k0
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEWBURGH BAY AND TNewburghNY$57k0
The Legacy Project IncLynchburgVA$57k1
PACIFIC NORTHWEST MUSIC PROJECT A NONPROFIT CORPORATIONAberdeenWA$57k0
SATORI LTDAllentownPA$57k1
NEW GENERATION BRANCHES STEEL ORCHESTRA INCOrlandoFL$57k0
CENTRAL NEW YORK ART COUNCIL INC C/O TERRI KONUPhoenixNY$57k0
SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL Cincinnati Sound ChorusCincinnatiOH$57k1
SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN HISTORIANSDahlonegaGA$57k0
CALIFORNIA SYMPHONY ENDOWMENT FUNDWalnut CreekCA$57k0
SCIENCE LIVE PRODUCTIONS INCBrooklynNY$57k2
SEICENTO BAROQUE ENSEMBLEBoulderCO$57k1
CHAMBER MUSIC IN YELLOW SPRINGS INCYellow SpringsOH$57k0
SAN DIEGO MEMOIR WRITERS ASSOCIATIONSan DiegoCA$57k3
Cameron Art Museum Foundation IncWilmingtonNC$57k0