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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 653 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FLOURISH FINE ART ACCELERATOR NFPChicagoIL$53k0
Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness of San FranciscoSan FranciscoCA$53k1
BRIDGELAND ORCHESTRA BOOSTER ASSOCIATIONCypressTX$53k0
AMHERST CHORAL BOOSTERS INCAmherstOH$53k0
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA INCBuffaloNY$53k0
OPAL CENTER FOR ARTS AND EDUCATIONCottage GroveOR$53k4
LANSING LIEDERKRANZ INCLansingMI$53k0
THE CONDUCTORS INSTITUTE OF SC INCColumbiaSC$53k0
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF PERFORMING ARTS INCWarrenNJ$53k0
MAYVILLE LIMESTONE SCHOOL MUSEUM INCMayvilleWI$53k0
SCHELL CITY COMMUNITY BETTERMENTSchell CityMO$53k0
WIMBERLEY VALLEY ART LEAGUEWimberleyTX$53k0
GROVE COMMUNITY PLAYMAKERS INCGroveOK$53k0
The Colonial Seaport FoundationDeltavilleVA$53k0
BELMEAD ON THE JAMES INCPowhatanVA$53k0
North Carolina Basketmakers Association IncWilliamstonNC$53k0
North Creek Railway Depot Preservation AssociationNorth CreekNY$53k0
CUMBERLAND SHOPShippensburgPA$53k0
ARTMORPHEUS INCDorchesterMA$53k0
Innsbrook Historical SocietyInnsbrookMO$53k0
FINE ARTS CLUB OF PASADENAAltadenaCA$53k0
The Andrew Jackson Hist Foundation IncWaxhawNC$53k0
KHS FRIENDS OF MUSIC INCKennett SquarePA$53k0
THE IRANIAN CULTURAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA (SHABAHANG) INCGladwynePA$53k0
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF QUESTIONED DOCUMENT EXAMINERSLong BeachCA$53k0
ALASKA OIL AND GAS HISTORICAL SOCIETYAnchorageAK$53k0
CLASSICAL ARTS SOCIETY OF HOUSTONSugar LandTX$53k0
JOHNS CREEK CHORALE INCJohns CreekGA$53k0
UPPER SWAN VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCCondonMT$53k0
STIEFEL THEATRE FOUNDATION ENDOWMENT FUNDSalinaKS$53k0
JAZZ AT FIVE INCMadisonWI$53k1
ART for Refugees in Transition IncNew YorkNY$53k0
URBAN NATIVE CENTERSioux CityIA$53k1
YOUNG ANGELS CHOIRLos AngelesCA$53k0
ARMSTRONG COMMUNITY THEATERKittanningPA$53k0
GUILD OPERA COMPANY INCAgoura HillsCA$53k4
THE GREENVILLE SHAKESPEARE COMPANYGreenvilleSC$53k2
HARDWICK COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCHardwickVT$53k1
Elmers Community Center IncAshfieldMA$53k0
THE OPEN ARTS FOUNDATIONSanta FeNM$53k0
DICKINSON THEATRE ORGAN SOCIETY INCWilmingtonDE$53k0
SOUTH COUNTY CONCERT ASSOCIATION INCHarwoodMD$53k0
KAYSINGER BLUFF PIONEER HERITAGE ASSOCIATIONWarsawMO$53k0
LAKE ARTS COUNCILOsage BeachMO$53k1
DENSMORE CHURCH INCWellesley IslandNY$53k0
BEELZEBUBS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INCNianticCT$53k0
PROJECT SEEKShreveportLA$53k0
WOORI SHOW INCOlivebridgeNY$53k1
FRIENDS OF BENTONVILLE BATTLEFIELD INCFour OaksNC$53k0
TROOST MARKET COLLECTIVEKansas CityMO$53k0