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 691 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
RENDER CREATIVE INCWorcesterMA$41k1
WIFT AUSTINAustinTX$41k0
Johnsburg Historical SociertyWevertownNY$41k0
GREATER ASTORIA HISTORICAL SOCIETYLong Island CityNY$41k0
NATIONAL SCENIC VISITORS CENTERZionsvillePA$41k0
COMMUNITY PERFORMING ARTS AND ASSOMiamiFL$41k0
COMITE CULTURAL MEXICANOChicagoIL$41k0
HUNGARIAN SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTSBelmontMA$41k0
HOLLIDAYSBURG COMMUNITY CHORUSAltoonaPA$41k0
ALIGARH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF TEXASKatyTX$41k0
Midatlantic Chapter of the American Political Items CollectorsBernardsvilleNJ$41k0
Smith Mountain Arts CouncilMonetaVA$41k0
STARE AT THE SUNGlencoeIL$41k0
DECATUR FINE ARTS ACADEMY INCDecaturGA$41k2
Brazos Valley TroupeBryanTX$41k1
SYRACUSE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INCSyracuseNY$41k0
SYRACUSE POSTER PROJECT INCSyracuseNY$41k2
MEDITATION MAGICIrvingTX$41k0
Hispanic Alliance for Performing and Audiovisual Arts IncHoustonTX$41k0
Sunnyside Symphony OrchestraPortlandOR$41k0
BEAUFORT PIRATE INVASION INCBeaufortNC$41k0
SISKIYOU MUSIC PROJECTAshlandOR$41k1
NATIONAL MUSIC COUNCILUpper MontclairNJ$41k1
FRIENDS OF NEW BERN FIREMEN'S MUSEUM INCNew BernNC$41k0
A KID AT ART FOR THE HEART INCChardonOH$41k0
SABINE NEUTRAL STRIP HISTORICAL FOUFlorienLA$41k0
Rocky Springs Carousel AssociationLancasterPA$41k0
EL CAMPO BAND PARENTS CLUBEl CampoTX$41k0
THE CHICAGO BARN DANCE COMPANYEvanstonIL$41k0
Dallas Galleries for AdvocacyDallasTX$41k0
WOODSTOCK MUSEUMWoodstockNY$41k0
SMALL ART MUSIC PROJECTSSan FranciscoCA$41k0
PICKARD COLLECTORS CLUB LTDWilmetteIL$41k0
PAWNEE COUNTY FAIR FOUNDATIONPawnee CityNE$41k0
HUGGING TREE LEGACYPort TownsendWA$41k0
IDAHO'S COMBAT WOUNDED VETERANS INCBoiseID$41k0
CORE ART SPACELakewoodCO$41k0
MOUNT SINAI FRIENDS OF THE ARTSINCMount SinaiNY$41k0
KYLEE'S DANCING ANGELS INCBaldwinMD$41k0
STROUDSBURG LITTLE BETHEL HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONStroudsburgPA$41k0
REAL FACTSOak ParkCA$41k0
THE UNIONVILLE TAVERN PRESERVATION SOCIETYMadisonOH$41k0
FUNDACION CINEXILIO INCMiamiFL$41k0
BARN AT LEEWest RoxburyMA$41k4
WISCONSIN STATE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY INCMadisonWI$41k0
NANCY EVANS DANCE THEATREPasadenaCA$41k0
GROVE HILL ARTS COUNCIL INCGrove HillAL$41k0
THE CREW INCNashvilleTN$41k0
WEARE C LITTLE MEMORIAL PARK ASSOCIATION INCAlbanyNY$41k0
HAVASHIRE FESTIVALS INCLake Havasu CityAZ$41k0