Skip to main content
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 64 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
DAWNING FAMILY SERVICES INCTampaFL$2.4M1
FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN FOUNDATIONBismarckND$2.4M0
Organization of American HistoriansBloomingtonIN$2.4M2
PUBLIC RADIO INCBaton RougeLA$2.4M0
FITCHBURG ART MUSEUMFitchburgMA$2.4M1
THE SOCIETY OF GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTONHopkinsMN$2.4M1
MCLEAN PROJECT FOR THE ARTSMcLeanVA$2.4M1
TYPE MEDIA CENTER INCNew YorkNY$2.4M2
NATIONAL COUNCIL ON EDUCATION FOR THE CERAMIC ARTSBoulderCO$2.4M3
Turrell Art FoundationFlagstaffAZ$2.4M0
LONGUE VUE HOUSE & GARDENSNew OrleansLA$2.4M1
STUDIO TENN THEATRE COMPANYFranklinTN$2.4M1
HCPA Services CompanyHoustonTX$2.4M3
SAMOAN CLUB OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULASalinasCA$2.4M0
STOWERS MACHINERY FOUNDATION INCKnoxvilleTN$2.4M0
THE INTERNATIONAL UFO MUSEUM & RESEARCH CENTER AT ROSWELL NEW MEXICORoswellNM$2.4M0
Workhouse Arts Foundation IncLortonVA$2.4M2
MISSION PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONSan Juan CapistranoCA$2.4M0
THE ARMORY ART CENTER INCWest Palm BeachFL$2.4M2
EL DORADO FESTIVALS & EVENTS INCEl DoradoAR$2.4M1
CINCINNATI LANDMARK PRODUCTIONSCincinnatiOH$2.4M3
FORT WAYNE MUSEUM OF ART INCFort WayneIN$2.4M1
PARAMOUNT ARTS CENTREAuroraIL$2.4M0
MPB FOUNDATIONJacksonMS$2.4M1
THE WINTER PARK PLAYHOUSE INCWinter ParkFL$2.4M2
HOBART PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$2.4M0
Henry L Ferguson MuseumFishers IslandNY$2.4M1
INK PEOPLE INCEurekaCA$2.4M3
SAN ANTONIO PHILHARMONICSan AntonioTX$2.4M0
PENNYSLVANIA SHAKESPEARE FESTIVALCenter ValleyPA$2.4M5
SILVERMINE GUILD OF ARTISTS INCNew CanaanCT$2.4M1
Nassau County Museum of ArtRoslyn HarborNY$2.4M2
KIDS AT THEIR BEST INCFort MorganCO$2.4M1
METROEAST COMMUNITY MEDIAGreshamOR$2.4M1
RELIGION MEDIA COMPANYRiversideCT$2.4M1
FRIENDS OF THE STRAND INCMariettaGA$2.4M0
HARID CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC INCBoca RatonFL$2.4M2
SOUTH TEXAS PUBLIC BROADCASTING SYSTEM ICorpus ChristiTX$2.4M2
THE ZOHAR CHARITY AND EDUCATIONALBaltimoreMD$2.4M0
Florida West Coast Symphony Inc Endowment TrustSarasotaFL$2.4M1
JUNK FOR JOY INCPlanoTX$2.3M2
MUSEUM OF THE SOUTHWESTMidlandTX$2.3M2
LAS VEGAS PINBALL COLLECTORS CLUBLas VegasNV$2.3M0
ITALIAN AMERICAN COMMITTEE ON EDUCATIONNew YorkNY$2.3M0
EASTERN MUSIC FESTIVAL INCGreensboroNC$2.3M1
CLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY INCClevelandOH$2.3M2
MOUNTAINFILMTellurideCO$2.3M1
Words Beats and Life IncWashingtonDC$2.3M1
Diablo Regional Arts AssociationWalnut CreekCA$2.3M1
NEW MUSIC USA INCNew YorkNY$2.3M1