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 662 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
North East Indiana Steam & Gas AssoWhite PigeonMI$51k0
MARFA INVITATIONALMarfaTX$51k0
THE BLUE ROCK FOUNDATIONWimberleyTX$51k0
SURDAAN FOUNDATIONCoppellTX$51k0
PIKES PEAK HISTORICAL STREET RAILWAY FOUNDATIONColorado SpringsCO$51k0
HERITAGE FOUNDATION FOR ART AND CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITYNew OrleansLA$51k0
Southern California Railway Plaza Association IncorporatedFullertonCA$51k0
LESTER PRAIRIE DAYS LLCEden PrairieMN$51k0
SINGSTRONG INCNew YorkNY$51k0
SUDANESE AMERICAN AT DULLES AREA ASSOCIATION INCHerndonVA$51k0
ArtsNatchez IncNatchezMS$51k0
NORTH IOWA CHILDRENS MUSEUMClear LakeIA$51k1
LATINA DANCE PROJECT INCJoshua TreeCA$51k0
ROCKPORT EXCHANGE CORPORATIONRockportMA$51k0
BULLION PLAZA CULTURAL CENTER & MUSEUMMiamiAZ$51k0
Hillsborough Fire Museum FoundationTampaFL$51k0
KUBLY-DISCH FOUNDATION INCNew GlarusWI$51k0
HADDAD FARHAD CULTURAL CENTER-HFCCAshburnVA$51k0
JILL M TAYLOR DANCE COMPANYRaleighNC$51k0
MUNICIPAL OPERA COMPANY OF ALLENTOWN INCMacungiePA$51k0
FLAT ROCK CREEK FALL FESTIVAL INC FLAT ROCK CREEK FALL FESTIVAL INCPauldingOH$51k0
JAPAN SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO AND TIJUANASan DiegoCA$51k1
THE MCINTYRE FAMILY FOUNDATION INCDarienCT$51k0
WOMEN IN HARMONYPortlandME$51k0
Friends of the Chicago Harbor LighthouseChicagoIL$51k0
LEFLORE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYPoteauOK$51k0
B SHARP MUSICAL CLUB INCSauquoitNY$51k0
FRIENDS OF SB HERITAGE MUSEUMSan BenitoTX$51k0
PUNJABI SOCIETY INCDuluthGA$51k0
RUSH HISTORICAL SOCIETYRushNY$51k0
Finch TheatreLincolnKS$51k0
DORILL INITIATIVE INCNew YorkNY$51k0
Nritya Sudhas Hindu Temple RhythmsOak ParkMI$51k1
Tim Heiden Life For Christ Foundation IncBarstowCA$51k0
UP THEATER COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$51k0
MEDFIELD MUSIC ASSOCIATION INCMedfieldMA$51k0
BOSTON WOMENS HERITAGE TRAIL INCRoslindaleMA$51k0
MICHIGAN LEAGUE OF HANDWEAVERSPortageMI$51k0
CRESCENDO YOUTH ORCHESTRAHibbingMN$51k1
CANTEMUSIpswichMA$51k0
COMPASSION PROJECTBozemanMT$51k1
Lewisburg Middle School Cheer BoostersHernandoMS$51k0
Mount Carmel Area Community Center Catherine BesserMount CarmelPA$51k0
ST LOUIS SPORTS HALL OF FAME INCSaint LouisMO$51k2
LOOKING BACK AT MEDFORD HISTORY INCMedfordMA$51k0
WALWORTH COUNTY FAIR FOUNDATION INCElkhornWI$51k0
Children's Hands on Museum of NW ILFreeportIL$51k1
ALL CULTURES EQUAL INCWebster CityIA$51k1
SANTA BARBARA ART ASSOCIATIONSanta BarbaraCA$51k0
Aigyptos Institute C/O Epacria Capital Partners LLCBoulderCO$51k0