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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 68 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SELF HELP GRAPHICS & ART INCLos AngelesCA$2.2M2
THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART OF GEORGIA INCAtlantaGA$2.2M1
MICHIGAN STATE TRUST FOR RAILWAY PROwossoMI$2.2M1
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF COVENT GARDEN THE ROYAL BALLET INCNew YorkNY$2.2M1
Home for Contemporary Theatre and Art Ltd dba HERE Art CenterNew YorkNY$2.2M2
FAGEN FIGHTERS WWII MUSEUMGranite FallsMN$2.2M0
Mobile Symphony IncMobileAL$2.2M3
RANCHO LOS ALAMITOS FOUNDATIONLong BeachCA$2.2M1
CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE INCClevelandOH$2.2M1
Public Risk Management AssociationAlexandriaVA$2.2M2
TULSA OPERA INCTulsaOK$2.2M1
ARTSHACK BROOKLYN INCBrooklynNY$2.2M1
WINDRIDER INSTITUTE INCEagleID$2.2M2
LOS ANGELES CHILDREN'S CHORUSPasadenaCA$2.2M3
WICHITA SYMPHONY SOCIETYWichitaKS$2.2M1
OREGON JEWISH MUSEUM AND CENTER FOR HOLOCAUST EDUCATIONPortlandOR$2.2M2
OREGON CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANYPortlandOR$2.2M1
Children's After School ArtsSan FranciscoCA$2.2M2
OBIRIN GAKUEN FOUNDATIONKenmoreWA$2.2M1
DOOR COUNTY MARITIME MUSEUM & LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCSturgeon BayWI$2.2M1
ACCION POLITICA PCUNISTA DBA PCUNWoodburnOR$2.2M1
HISPANIC ADVOCACY AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT THROUGH RESEARCHSaint PaulMN$2.2M1
CIVIC MUSIC ASSOCIATION DES MOINESDes MoinesIA$2.2M2
MAUI COUNTY COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCKahuluiHI$2.2M2
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WORLD WAR II AVIATION INCColorado SpringsCO$2.2M1
CACHE VALLEY CENTER FOR THE ARTSLoganUT$2.2M1
OZ ARTS INCNashvilleTN$2.2M2
BALLET LUBBOCKLubbockTX$2.2M2
Marin Theatre CompanyMill ValleyCA$2.2M1
THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS MUSEUM INCNew HavenCT$2.2M8
PALACE OF FINE ARTS LEAGUESan FranciscoCA$2.2M0
MIDWEST ART CONSERVATION CENTER INCMinneapolisMN$2.2M1
DANCERS WORKSHOPJacksonWY$2.2M1
Highpoint Center for PrintmakingMinneapolisMN$2.2M1
MISSISSIPPI CENTER FOR CULTURAL PRODUCTIONUticaMS$2.2M2
SAMSKRITA BHARATISanta ClaraCA$2.2M0
SALT BLOCK FOUNDATION INCHickoryNC$2.2M1
THE ANTIQUE BOAT MUSEUMClaytonNY$2.2M2
HENEGAR PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCMelbourneFL$2.2M1
LIGHTHOUSE PERSONALIZED EDUCATION FOR TEENSHolyokeMA$2.2M1
PARSONS DANCE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$2.2M2
DOGWOOD ARTS INCKnoxvilleTN$2.2M1
OREGON INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW INCHillsboroOR$2.2M1
The New Festival IncBrooklynNY$2.2M2
CHERRY ARTSDenverCO$2.2M1
VOICE OF SAN DIEGOSan DiegoCA$2.2M3
SYMPHONY SAN JOSESan JoseCA$2.2M1
MERRIMACK REPERTORY THEATRE INCLowellMA$2.2M2
MENTLTDNew YorkNY$2.2M1
EAGLE MARKET STREETS DEVELOPMENT COAshevilleNC$2.2M1