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 654 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GUJARATI SAMAJ OF CLEVELAND TN INCClevelandTN$53k0
DANCEXPRESSDentonTX$53k1
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF QUILT GUILDSGardenaCA$53k0
Cameroon Cultural Association of Southern New JerseyBlackwoodNJ$53k0
WILLIAMSPORT BAND BOOSTERS INCWilliamsportMD$53k0
SPIRIT HAWK INCMcMinnvilleOR$53k0
AS220 REAL ESTATE SUPPORT CORPProvidenceRI$53k0
Recover VirginiaCovingtonVA$53k3
Apollo Club of Minneapolis IncMinneapolisMN$53k0
Willie Otis & Jo Ann Mills FoundationSugar LandTX$53k0
NORTH CAROLINA TELUGU BRAHMIN ASSOCIATION CORPCaryNC$53k0
OnStage Dance CompanyMaldenMA$53k0
PAINT MEMPHIS INCMemphisTN$53k0
POLISH NATIONAL CLUB OF HEMPSTEAD INCHempsteadNY$53k0
ARTS IN PRISONOverland ParkKS$53k1
MOUNT GRETNA AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCMount GretnaPA$53k0
MAKERSPACE OF GREENVILLE INCGreenvilleNC$53k0
EXTREME LENGTHS PRODUCTIONS INCWashingtonDC$53k1
HIGHVIEW ARTS INCLouisvilleKY$53k0
FREMONT AREA CHAMBER FOUNDATIONFremontNE$53k0
NORTHWOOD PERFORMING ARTS COUNCILNorthwoodND$53k0
PEOPLE ENGAGED IN PRESERVATION INCLaPorteIN$53k0
THE LIGHT BOX AT GOLDMAN WAREHOUSE INCMiamiFL$53k0
Sherwood Foundation for the ArtsSherwoodOR$53k0
CUYAHOGA FALLS FIREFIGHTER MEMORIAL FOUNDATIONCuyahoga FallsOH$53k0
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF GREENFIELD OHIO INCGreenfieldOH$53k0
PUPPETRY ARTS THEATRE OF CHARLESTON INCRavenelSC$53k1
Manitowoc Sunrise Rotary Foundation IncManitowocWI$53k0
HEARTLAND ART CLUBSaint LouisMO$53k0
POMERENE CENTER FOR THE ARTSCoshoctonOH$53k0
Liberty Community ChorusLibertyMO$53k0
SU KAI CHIN ASSOCIATION INCNew YorkNY$53k0
NELSONVILLE YORK BAND BOOSTERSNelsonvilleOH$53k0
JERSEY SHORE JAZZ & BLUES FOUNDATIONHazletNJ$53k0
Chicago South Asian Arts Council IncDowners GroveIL$53k0
TEXAS THEATRE ADJUDICATORS AND OFFICIALSWacoTX$53k0
HUDSON VALLEY ARTS AND SCIENCE INCOssiningNY$53k0
THE MARSHALL NICHOLAS BEAZLEY AVIATION MUSEUM INCMarshallMO$53k0
NISHAN PRESS INCPasadenaCA$53k0
IHS MEDIASan DiegoCA$53k1
SANDY ACTORS THEATRESandyOR$53k0
THE KALYMNIAN BENEFICIAL SOCIETY OF PRODROMOSCampbellOH$53k0
BROOKRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT INCBrooksvilleFL$53k0
International Association of Lasta LalibelaWashingtonDC$53k0
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INDIANAPOLIS 500 OLDTIMERS INCSpeedwayIN$53k2
Friends of the Holt Home IncHardinsburgKY$53k0
A&T SYSTEMS AMERICALos AngelesCA$53k0
IDEAS TO INSPIRECharlestonSC$53k0
MIAMI DANCE HUB INCMiamiFL$53k1
POPS AT THE POST INCSalisburyNC$53k0