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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 677 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SCOTTFIELD THEATRE COMPANYBel AirMD$46k0
CONNECTICUT CLASSIC INCWatertownCT$46k2
TAMU PYE LHU INCWoodsideNY$46k0
SYNERGY DANCE TEAMTigardOR$46k0
Delaware Sports Museum andWilmingtonDE$46k1
LANDING CRAFT SUPPORT MUSEUMLittletonCO$46k0
ARTLANDS CREATIVERedlandsCA$46k0
Jackson Music Awards Association IncJacksonMS$46k0
GALLERIES AT LYNNARTS INCLynnMA$46k0
NORTHLAND FINE ARTS ASSOCIATION INCORPORATEDThorntonCO$46k0
CATAWBA ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCPort ClintonOH$46k0
KMRD INCCerrillosNM$46k1
Vita Art Center IncVenturaCA$46k0
AMERICAN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF INSTITUTE OF DEAF EDUCATION AND CULTURE INCWest HartfordCT$46k0
HOI AI HUU HAI QUAN CUU LONGWestminsterCA$46k0
CINCO RANCH THEATRE COMPANY BOOSTER CLUBKatyTX$46k0
CARRIES DREAMBen LomondCA$46k0
Perrysburg Area Historic Museum IncPerrysburgOH$46k0
FRIENDS OF WELLSROBERTSON HOUSE INCGaithersburgMD$46k0
HOPE IN HARMONY INCLeonardtownMD$46k0
SALEM ART ASSOCIATION ENDOWMENT FOUNDATIONSalemOR$46k0
TELUGU ASSOCIATION OF GREATER CHARLOTTE AREAWaxhawNC$46k0
Twentynine Palms Historical SocietyTwentynine PalmsCA$46k0
PRCUA Gwiazda Dance SchoolBrightonMI$46k2
MIAMI ARTS COMMISSIONMiamiAZ$46k1
THE AURORA SINGERSAuroraCO$46k2
HEART OF TEXAS CHILDRENS THEATREWoodwayTX$46k0
AMERICAN KANTOREIChesterfieldMO$46k0
TURNMUSIC CORPWaterbury CenterVT$46k1
FAR STAR ACTION FUND C/O BAKER TILLYSeattleWA$46k2
GLORY & GRACE WORLD MISSION FOUNDATION INCFlushingNY$46k0
HARDING BAND PARENTS BOOSTERS CLUB INCWarrenOH$46k0
AGRAJ SEVA KENDRAMonroe TownshipNJ$46k0
Crooked Creek Art LeagueChapinSC$46k0
BEACH CITIES QUILTERS GUILDMission ViejoCA$46k0
UNEXPECTED COMPANY CHORALELindstromMN$46k0
HISTORIC SAINT PAUL CORPORATIONSt PaulMN$46k0
RALSTON CIDER MILL A NJ NONPROFIT CORPORATIONMendhamNJ$46k0
GRAND RIVER MUSEUMLemmonSD$46k0
Association of Government AccountantsArlingtonVA$46k0
THE FESTIVAL CHORUSPalatineIL$46k0
FOREVER LOGAN STRONGEgg Harbor CityNJ$46k0
BALTIMORE COUNTY HISTORICAL TRUSTTowsonMD$46k1
Cottonpatch Quilters of Kern CountyBakersfieldCA$46k0
CARTER COMPASSION CENTER INCElizabethtonTN$46k0
BLUE BUTTERFLY PRODUCTIONS INCClearwaterFL$46k0
TOP O WORLD FARM SINGER FAMILY FOUNDATION INCBoca RatonFL$46k0
HEART JOURNEY LOCAL MUSIC FOUNDATIONSpringtownTX$46k0
FRIENDS OF GLENWOOD CORPORATIONOneontaNY$46k0
Eau Claire Musical Arts Society LtdEau ClaireWI$46k1