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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 671 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MAINE ART GALLERYWiscassetME$48k0
OCEANO DEPOT ASSOCIATIONOceanoCA$48k0
PANGEA EAST INC IN CARE OF - DENNIS REDMONDSunnysideNY$48k0
DEPTFORD THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS INCWoodburyNJ$48k0
THORNTON ARTS SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES COUNCIL INCThorntonCO$48k5
FANTASY FORUM ACTORS ENSEMBLEWalnut CreekCA$48k0
STORM DANCE TEAM BOOSTER CLUB INCSauk RapidsMN$48k0
HAUPERT FAMILY FOUNDATION INCDubuqueIA$48k0
MILITARY MUSEUM INCGreen Cove SpringsFL$48k0
APERI ANIMAM INCWauwatosaWI$48k0
Milton Historical Society IncMiltonGA$48k0
JSOD BOOSTER CLUBHastingsMN$48k0
BFM Arts IncBuffaloNY$48k0
VERDUGO YOUNG MUSICIANS A CALIFORNIA NON-PROFIT CORPORATIONLa CrescentaCA$48k0
TE AO MANA INCNew YorkNY$48k0
SALT LAKE SYMPHONIC CHOIRRivertonUT$48k0
HEART OF THE HILLS HERITAGE CENTERKerrvilleTX$48k0
TEACH TO LEARN INCBoxfordMA$48k2
THE RINGWALD THEATREFerndaleMI$48k0
Project X TheatreDallasTX$48k2
CASADAY COSTUME COMPANYSouth BendIN$48k0
HISTORIC CARTER HOUSE SOCIETY INCSpringfieldLA$48k0
MASSACHUSETTS ALBANIAN AMERICANSOCIETYBraintreeMA$48k0
Silsbee Little Theater Inc of Silsbee TexasSilsbeeTX$48k0
CORYELL COUNTY MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCGatesvilleTX$48k0
MUSEM GUILD OF DEARBORNDearbornMI$48k0
ENCORE SLSO INCSt LouisMO$48k1
THE GLENDALE YOUTH ORCHESTRAGlendaleCA$48k0
Friends of the Tehachapi DepotTehachapiCA$48k0
HISTORIC MOTHER EMANUEL AMEC FOUNDATIONCharlestonSC$48k0
REGIONAL ORGANIZATION OF OAXACALos AngelesCA$48k0
VEDIC THEOLOGY INCIjamsvilleMD$48k0
GALLERY CONCERTSSeattleWA$48k1
BREATH COLLECTIVE INCCincinnatiOH$48k2
Instituto De Cultura Hispanica de Corpus ChristiCorpus ChristiTX$48k0
FAIN FAMILY FOUNDATIONPrescott ValleyAZ$48k0
ISFIC INCElmhurstIL$48k0
KITSAP LIVE STEAMERSPort OrchardWA$48k0
KRITYA FOUNDATION INCOzone ParkNY$48k1
THE COURT HOUSE PLAYERSGloucesterVA$48k0
SABERETTE DANCE BOOSTERBismarckND$48k0
Artistry In MotionJohnstonRI$48k0
THE FELLOWSHIP FOR THE METLAR HOUSE INCPiscatawayNJ$48k0
GIVE LOCAL FIRSTWest PlainsMO$48k0
HISTORIC WARBIRD FOUNDATIONBattle CreekMI$48k0
16th Regiment SC Vol Muse & Lib IncGreenvilleSC$48k0
GARDENA ACADEMY OF CULTUREINCGardenaCA$48k0
RATHAUS INCMinneapolisMN$48k0
California Recreational Arts BenevolentSan DiegoCA$48k0
QUEER THEATRE INCKalamazooMI$48k2