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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 644 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
EAST HARTFORD COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCEast HartfordCT$56k0
SYMPHONY PARNASSUSSan FranciscoCA$56k0
Perrysburg Vocal Music Boosters IncPerrysburgOH$56k0
DIVERSITY INC DBA SMILES AGAINST HATESouth JordanUT$56k0
Dramatic Question TheatreBrooklynNY$56k7
THE FRANKLIN SQUARE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCFranklin SquareNY$56k0
WILLAMETTE VALLEY SYMPHONYAlbanyOR$56k2
OHIO VALLEY SUMMER THEATERAthensOH$56k0
BARTLESVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA FOUNDATIONBartlesvilleOK$56k0
THE ONTONAGON THEATER OF PERFORMING ARTS INCOntonagonMI$56k0
KIDS OF THE ARTS INCMount PleasantSC$56k1
DEER PARK DANCE PROGRAMCincinnatiOH$56k0
Carolina Management Consulting CorpGlendaleCA$56k1
ALL RIGHT NOW FOUNDATIONEl SegundoCA$56k0
JCHS Band BoostersGrayGA$56k0
Artist Life NFPChicagoIL$56k0
PROJECT PRESENTSt LouisMO$56k0
WAYZGOOSE KITSAPBremertonWA$56k1
THE INTERNATIONAL THEATRE PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$56k1
RECOVERY TVLos AngelesCA$56k1
TURKISH CULTURAL CENTER ALBANY ALBANY COMMUNITY CENTERRensselaerNY$56k1
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA JOURNALISM FOUNDATIONMorgantonNC$56k1
Scenic Lincoln Way IncTell CityIN$56k0
TICONDEROGA ARTS INCTiconderogaNY$56k0
AQUATIC CAPITAL OF AMERICA FOUNDATIONLong BeachCA$56k0
Morris David Dornfeld FoundationPort ClydeME$56k1
Westside Quilters GuildHillsboroOR$56k0
Clark Middle School Cougar Band BoostersFriscoTX$56k0
CAMP AMAZONEWashingtonDC$56k0
CHORUS OF EAST PROVIDENCEEast ProvidenceRI$56k0
Edens Green Apple IncEdenTX$56k0
FRIENDS OF DRESDEN MUSIC FOUNDATIONNewportRI$56k0
WATERLOO BOYS SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIAKinzersPA$56k0
Herscher Area Historical SocietyHerscherIL$56k0
GULF COAST GUARD AND PERCUSSION CIRCUIT INCPensacolaFL$56k0
Friends of Rosedown IncSt FrancisvilleLA$56k0
PACIFIC SOUND AND VISION FOUNDATIONBeverly HillsCA$56k1
REDEVELOP OLD JASPER ACTION COALITION INCJasperIN$56k0
AMERICAN CAPOEIRA FOUNDATIONCharlotteNC$56k1
LA FENICEAustinTX$56k0
CHEMLMSFORD CHINESE LANGUAGE SCHOOLWestfordMA$56k0
The Portland ClubPortlandME$56k0
Prescott Film SocietyPrescottAZ$56k1
Spirit Wind Center IncStoningtonCT$56k0
CREATIVE ALLIANCE MANITOU SPRINGSManitou SpringsCO$56k0
PROJECT FREEWILLNew PortlandME$56k1
Chapel Hill High Band Boosters Club IncChapel HillNC$56k0
UTR MediaMurfreesboroTN$56k1
BOULDER MUSEBoulderCO$56k1
FREDERICK CHINESE CULTURE CENTER INCFrederickMD$56k0