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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 690 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AMERICA CHINA PUBLIC AFFAIRS INSTITUTE INCWashingtonDC$42k0
FRIENDS OF WPVM INCAshevilleNC$42k0
BOOK LOVE FOUNDATIONNorth ConwayNH$42k0
FRIENDS OF MIMOSA HALL & GARDENS INCRoswellGA$42k0
Jamaican American Association of CeOrlandoFL$42k0
KARPATHIAN SOCIETY OF APERITANS OMONONIA INCUnionNJ$42k0
CAROLINE MACK CENTER FOR THE ARTSSumterSC$42k0
MINNESOTA AIR NATIONAL GUARD HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INCSaint PaulMN$42k0
ANOKA BRASS BAND ASSOCIATION INCMinneapolisMN$42k0
BLUFF CITY ARTS ALLIANCEEufaulaAL$42k0
WESTSIDE URBAN FORUMSanta MonicaCA$42k0
OLD COLORADO CITY HISTORICAL SOCIETYColorado SpringsCO$42k0
Combat Diver FoundationSaint PetersburgFL$42k2
City of Gary Economic Development CorporationGaryIN$42k0
THE INTERNATIONAL DANCE COMMISSIONDetroitMI$42k0
GURU SHRADHASan CarlosCA$42k0
INDIA CULTURAL AND EDUCATION CENTERDallasTX$42k0
NISHKAM TVGraftonMA$42k0
Beautiful Music In The ParkAshlandOR$42k0
BETHEL INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION FDAnaheimCA$42k0
PENNSYLVANIA FEDERATION OF MUSIC CLUBS INCValenciaPA$42k0
KEENE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INCKeeneNH$42k0
Rossmoor Art GuildSilver SpringMD$42k0
GREATER SHENANDOAH HISTORICAL SOCIETYShenandoahIA$42k0
NEPALI AMERICAN CENTER NFPMount ProspectIL$42k0
THE ERIC AND DEBORAH DEWITT VGJAZZAtlantaGA$42k0
CHAMBER MUSIC CENTRALStamfordCT$42k0
THE SUPERGEOGRAPHIC ENSEMBLE THEATRE INCBrooklynNY$42k0
PREMIERA INCNew YorkNY$41k0
BLISSFIELD AMERICAN LEGIONDetroitMI$41k1
APEX ARTS LEAGUESouthlakeTX$41k0
Core Empowerment Social JusticeBostonMA$41k0
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ENDOWMENT TRUST FUNDDetroitMI$41k1
AFRICAN AMERICAN FIREFIGHTER MUSEUMLos AngelesCA$41k0
MICHAEL S ROSEN FOUNDATIONRochesterNY$41k1
Starlite Organization for the ArtsSan AntonioTX$41k0
WE TRUST IN GOD CHARITABLE TRUST HOUSTON INCMissouri CityTX$41k0
JAZZFRESNO INCFresnoCA$41k0
Fair Oaks Theatre Festival IncFair OaksCA$41k0
American Friends of Sarabande IncBrooklynNY$41k0
APPLEBY FOUNDATION INCAu Sable ForksNY$41k1
ARTS COUNCIL INCWichitaKS$41k0
FILLMORE COMMUNITY ART CENTERFillmoreUT$41k0
SQUIERS POINT HISTORIANS OF LEBANON TOWNSHIP INCGlen GardnerNJ$41k0
LETS SWING NJ INCMount TaborNJ$41k0
Center for the Narrative and Lyric ArtsAnchorageAK$41k0
OPERA MAGNIFICO INCGladstoneNJ$41k1
MEMPHREMAGOG ARTS COLLABORATIVE INCNewportVT$41k0
PORTSIDE NEW YORK INCBrooklynNY$41k0
JAPANESE ACTIVITIES COMMITTEESaint LouisMO$41k0