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 657 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Lewis Carroll Society of North America IncNew YorkNY$52k0
OPERA READING PROJECTSt PaulMN$52k1
SAINTS MUSIC ASSOCIATIONLa JollaCA$52k0
EVANSVILLE CIVIC THEATRE INCEvansvilleIN$52k2
PRISM MOVEMENT THEATERDallasTX$52k0
RHINEBECK THEATRE SOCIETYRhinebeckNY$52k0
MEKI'S TAMURE POLYNESIAN ARTS GROUPBrooklyn ParkMD$52k0
Swedish Women's Educational Assoc Intl - Los Angeles Chapter IncRedondo BeachCA$52k0
BECKRIDGE CHORALEPlymouthMI$52k0
RUHS THEATER ARTS BOOSTER CLUBRedondo BeachCA$52k0
FRIENDS OF NAS OTTUMWA BLACKOttumwaIA$52k0
WORCESTER COUNTY VETERANS MEMORIALBerlinMD$52k0
ELEVATE PERFORMING COMPANYRoanokeVA$52k0
SYMPHONY OF THE POTOMAC INCGlen EchoMD$52k1
THE MANHATTAN CHORAL ENSEMBLE INCNew YorkNY$52k0
Paradise and Pacific RailroadGlendaleAZ$52k0
CULTURAL SOCIETY OF FILIPINO AMERICANSBurnsvilleMN$52k0
Manchester Performing Arts AssociationManchesterNH$52k0
SOUTHERN OREGON INDIAN CENTERGrants PassOR$52k1
OAK RIDGE HERITAGE & PRESERVATIONOak RidgeTN$52k0
OKLAHOMA STEAM THREASHING AND GAS ENGINE ASSOCIATION INCSand SpringsOK$52k0
International GatewayMinneapolisMN$52k0
FRIENDS OF BOHEMIAN NATIONAL CEMETERYChicagoIL$52k0
Brilliant Minds Media IncKulaHI$52k0
FRIENDS OF THE SCHOONER LOTUS INCSodus PointNY$52k0
TRYON DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATTryonNC$52k0
NASHUA VALLEY RAILROAD ASSOCIATIONShirleyMA$52k0
MASON CITY COMMUNITY THEATREMason CityIA$52k0
SOCIAL THEORY POLITICS AND THE ARTSMesaAZ$52k0
ITHEATRE COLLABORATIVEPhoenixAZ$52k1
LAVA LAMP FILMS INCWestervilleOH$52k0
Renu - the Foundation for Art A Nj Nonprofit CorporationKendall ParkNJ$52k0
SOMERSET COMMUNITY TELEVISIONMadisonME$52k1
EDO ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON DC METROPOLISWashingtonDC$52k0
1611 King James Bible MuseumScottsdaleAZ$52k0
Carolina Storm Independent Percussion IncConcordNC$52k0
A CONTEMPORARY THEATRE FOUNDATIONSeattleWA$52k0
HARLEM OPERA THEATER INCNew YorkNY$52k0
HISTORIC CITY OF JEFFERSON INCJefferson CityMO$52k0
VILLAPALOOZA INCChicagoIL$52k0
DUNEDIN SCOTTISH HIGHLANDER BAND BOOSTER CLUB INCDunedinFL$52k0
TESSERAE INC NFPChicagoIL$52k0
GRACE IN MOTION DANCEWarrentonVA$52k1
STAR Arts EducationGilroyCA$52k0
FUND FOR OPHTHALMIC KNOWLEDGE INC C/O DAVID H ABRAMSON MDNew YorkNY$52k0
GERMANY PHILATELIC SOCIETY INCSaint PaulMN$52k2
CREATOR ZONELake StevensWA$52k0
Friends of the Arts in the Bahamas IncMiamiFL$52k0
DURANT DORT CARRIAGE COMPANY FOUNDATIONFlintMI$52k0
EA ARNIM ARCHIVES AND MUSEUM OF TEXAS INCFlatoniaTX$52k0