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 642 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
WHIT PRESSJacksonWY$56k1
GRANITE AREA ARTS COUNCILGranite FallsMN$56k0
HOLA HORA LATINAKnoxvilleTN$56k1
NAPPANEE ARTS COUNCIL INCNappaneeIN$56k0
MOY FAMILY ASSOCIATIONWashingtonDC$56k0
FORT WAYNE FIREFIGHTERS MUSEUM INCFort WayneIN$56k2
DATAW HISTORIC FOUNDATION INCSt Helena IslandSC$56k0
NATIONAL CHARITY LEAGUE SILVER STAR CHAPTERDallasTX$56k0
The Masterwork Music & Art FoundationCranfordNJ$56k0
SOCIETY FOR THE ARTS LTDChicagoIL$56k0
CHINESE CENTER OF TOLEDOToledoOH$56k2
WINCHESTER AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETYLarsenWI$56k0
NOOR HOPE FOUNDATIONDublinCA$56k0
THE UPTON TRIOCamdenSC$56k0
SC Cheer Booster Club IncSanta ClaraUT$56k0
COCHECO QUILTERS GUILDDoverNH$56k0
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF HAYWOOD COUNTYWaynesvilleNC$56k0
Artistree Community Theater IncMamaroneckNY$56k1
MARIETTA CHOIR BOOSTERSMariettaOH$56k0
MICHIGAN CREATIVITY ASSOCIATION INCNoviMI$56k1
WOMEN 4 WOMEN KNITTING 4 PEACEDenverCO$56k2
50 WAYS FOUNDATION INCMorganvilleNJ$56k0
BRICK TWSP MEM HS BAND SUPP ASSNBrickNJ$56k0
Widespot Performing Arts Center and Community ProjWabashaMN$56k0
LYNCHBURG ART CLUB INCORPORATEDLynchburgVA$56k0
CITY OF CHICAGO PIPE BANDChicagoIL$56k0
QUIET VOICENashvilleTN$56k0
DAVID SALINAS MINISTRIES INCNorth Richland HillsTX$56k1
TROWBRIDGE MUSEUM FUND 10373300Kansas CityMO$56k1
CONSERVATORY YOUTH THEATRE OF COLLIN COUNTY INCAllenTX$56k0
Hickory High Orchestra IncChesapeakeVA$56k0
Flora Community Development CorpFloraIL$56k0
EAST TENNESSEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRACollegedaleTN$56k0
THE MCLEAN SYMPHONYMcLeanVA$56k0
CHRISTIAN C SANDERSON MUSEUMChadds FordPA$56k0
YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF SOUTHERN ALAMEDA COUNTYHaywardCA$56k2
FEDERATION OF INDIAN ASSOCIATIONS CHICAGO ILSchaumburgIL$56k0
Tucson Masterworks ChoraleTucsonAZ$56k0
DAMKOEHLER FAMILY FOUNDATIONGreen BayWI$56k1
Cochranton Area Redevelopment Effort IncCochrantonPA$56k0
HISTORIC PALESTINE INCPalestineTX$56k0
BLUE STAR SALUTE FOUNDATION INCChelseaAL$56k0
HILL COUNTRY ARTS FOUNDATION ENDOWMENT TRUSTIrvingTX$56k0
SHIRTS N SKIRTS SQUARE DANCING CLUB INCOrangeCA$56k0
MUSIC MENTORS INCMentorOH$56k0
NEW HARMONY LINE INCWalthamMA$56k0
RICHMOND ALLIED VOICES INCRichmondVA$56k0
MARSHALL FESTIVALS INCMarshallMN$56k1
Goodwill Educational and Histo Society IncMayesvilleSC$56k0
THE RIDGEWOOD ART INSTITUTE INCRidgewoodNJ$56k0