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 67 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
KIKI KOGELNIK FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$2.3M0
HOLLYWOOD HISTORIC TRUST CO LILY WEINERHollywoodCA$2.3M1
SIERRA REPERTORY THEATRE INCSonoraCA$2.3M0
Tectonic Theater Project IncNew YorkNY$2.3M4
NATIONAL WASP WWII MUSEUM INCSweetwaterTX$2.3M1
RIVERBANK YOUTH THEATREMarine CityMI$2.3M0
THE HERMITAGE MUSEUM AND GARDENSNorfolkVA$2.3M1
KNEISEL HALLBlue HillME$2.3M2
PRINCE GEORGES ARTS AND HUMANITIESUpper MarlboroMD$2.3M1
CENTER FOR URBAN RENEWAL & EDUCATIONWashingtonDC$2.3M4
Charlottesville BalletCharlottesvilleVA$2.2M2
The State of Alabama Ballet IncBirminghamAL$2.2M1
SCOTTSDALE ARTISTS' SCHOOL INCScottsdaleAZ$2.2M3
Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge IncBaton RougeLA$2.2M1
SAN FRANCISCO MARITIME NATIONAL PARK ASSOCIATIONSan FranciscoCA$2.2M1
DELRAY BEACH PLAYHOUSE INCDelray BeachFL$2.2M1
BALLET RIProvidenceRI$2.2M1
LUCERNA FUNDPort WashingtonNY$2.2M0
LUBBOCK SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCLubbockTX$2.2M2
TRAIL OF LIGHTS FOUNDATIONAustinTX$2.2M1
LIONS AUTOMOBILIA FOUNDATIONRancho DominguezCA$2.2M2
THE ARTS OF LIFE INCChicagoIL$2.2M0
1HOOD MEDIA ACADEMY INCPittsburghPA$2.2M2
LOG CABIN LITERARY CENTER INCBoiseID$2.2M1
BLOOMINGTON THEATER AND ART CENTERBloomingtonMN$2.2M0
Fotofest IncHoustonTX$2.2M1
Palos Verdes Art Center Beverly G Alpay Center for Arts EducationRancho Palos VerdesCA$2.2M2
Wayne Theatre Alliance IncWaynesboroVA$2.2M1
THE ARTS CAMPUS AT WILLITSBasaltCO$2.2M2
INTIMAN THEATRESeattleWA$2.2M2
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF DELAWAREWilmingtonDE$2.2M1
SHARON LYNNE WILSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCBrookfieldWI$2.2M1
LAUMEIER SCULPTURE PARKSt LouisMO$2.2M1
REAL PRESENCE RADIOFargoND$2.2M1
SANTA BARBARA TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATIONSanta BarbaraCA$2.2M3
Music Theatre Works IncWilmetteIL$2.2M0
THE AMERICAN PROSPECT INCWashingtonDC$2.2M4
PROVIDENCE ART CLUBProvidenceRI$2.2M1
ALABAMA MEDIA FOUNDATIONBirminghamAL$2.2M1
PAYOMET INCTruroMA$2.2M1
YELLOWSTONE ART MUSEUMBillingsMT$2.2M1
FRIENDS OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIAAbingdonVA$2.2M0
COASTER THEATRE PRODUCTIONSCannon BeachOR$2.2M1
THE HYDE COLLECTION TRUSTGlens FallsNY$2.2M1
FRIENDS OF THE FREE STATE CAPITOL INCTopekaKS$2.2M1
White Ash Broadcasting IncClovisCA$2.2M1
THOMAS COLE HISTORIC HOUSECatskillNY$2.2M1
GREATNONPROFITSSan FranciscoCA$2.2M1
Community Wireless of Park CityPark CityUT$2.2M2
FERNANDENO TATAVIAM BAND OF MISSION INDIANSSan FernandoCA$2.2M3