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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 65 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GARTH NEWEL MUSIC CENTER FOUNDATIONWarm SpringsVA$2.3M2
LEXINGTON THEATRE COMPANYLexingtonKY$2.3M2
SOUTH FLORIDA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCFort LauderdaleFL$2.3M2
GRAND RAPIDS CIVIC THEATRE INCGrand RapidsMI$2.3M1
THE HISTORIC COCOA VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE INCCocoaFL$2.3M0
ARTSMEMPHISMemphisTN$2.3M3
Foundation for the artsDallasTX$2.3M0
FAMILY ACTION NETWORK MOVEMENT INCMiamiFL$2.3M2
CHASHAMA INCNew YorkNY$2.3M2
SHAKER MUSEUM AND LIBRARYChathamNY$2.3M2
COMPAS INCSaint PaulMN$2.3M2
SANDRA FEINSTEIN-GAMM THEATREWarwickRI$2.3M3
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FLAMENCOAlbuquerqueNM$2.3M1
COLORADO CHILDREN'S CHORALEDenverCO$2.3M2
BURKE MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONSeattleWA$2.3M0
CASTLE OF OUR SKINS INCRoxburyMA$2.3M0
HECKSCHER MUSEUMHuntingtonNY$2.3M1
NEW ORLEANS OPERA ASSOCIATIONNew OrleansLA$2.3M1
MISSISSIPPI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONJacksonMS$2.3M4
GRAND PERFORMANCESLos AngelesCA$2.3M1
SUCCESS INSTITUTEMinneapolisMN$2.3M0
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE TRADITIONAL ARTSSilver SpringMD$2.3M1
CENTRAL CITY OPERA HOUSE ASSOCIATION ENDOWMENT FUNDWheat RidgeCO$2.3M0
THE CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURE INCNew YorkNY$2.3M5
USS MASSACHUSETTS MEMORIAL COMMITTEE INCFall RiverMA$2.3M0
NXTHVN INCNew HavenCT$2.3M3
NEVADA SCHOOL OF THE ARTSLas VegasNV$2.3M1
METROPOLITAN ARTS COUNCIL OF GREATER KANSAS CITYKansas CityMO$2.3M1
The Tuskegee Airmen National Historical MuseumDetroitMI$2.3M1
HERBERT BERGHOF STUDIO INCNew YorkNY$2.3M1
CLARION PROJECT INCRichardsonTX$2.3M2
HENRY H STAMBAUGH AUDITORIUM ASSOCYoungstownOH$2.3M1
BIG CAR MEDIA INCIndianapolisIN$2.3M1
BROOKLYN ARTS EXCHANGE INCBrooklynNY$2.3M3
THE WHITNEY INSTITUTEWallaceLA$2.3M1
CENTER FOR LAW AND POLICYWashingtonDC$2.3M0
47 Palmer IncCambridgeMA$2.3M0
MILWAUKEE COUNTY WAR MEMORIAL INCMilwaukeeWI$2.3M3
The Shane Lalani Center for the ArtsLivingstonMT$2.3M1
CABD INCJamaicaNY$2.3M2
INVISIBLE HISTORIESBirminghamAL$2.3M0
Deeply Rooted Productions IncChicagoIL$2.3M2
COMMON CHORDDavenportIA$2.3M0
THE GEORGETOWN PALACE THEATRE INCGeorgetownTX$2.3M1
TRUE STAR FOUNDATION INCChicagoIL$2.3M2
SERPENTINE AMERICAS FOUNDATION FKA AMERICAS FOUNDATION OF THE SERPENTINE GANew YorkNY$2.3M1
LANSING SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONLansingMI$2.3M3
SALVADORI CENTER LTDNew YorkNY$2.3M3
MUSEUM OF AUTOMOTIVE ICONS INCManhattanKS$2.3M1
NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAMEStillwaterOK$2.3M1