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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 698 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SOCIETY OF THE FIRST FAMILIES OF NEW YORK LTDNew YorkNY$39k0
Overton County Arts CouncilLivingstonTN$39k0
Boston Education Academy INCManchester By The SeaMA$39k3
MONTOUR ANTIQUE FARM MACHINERY COLLECTORS ASSOCIATIONDanvillePA$39k0
CULTURA PLENERA INCElkridgeMD$39k0
Sonoma League for Historic PreservationSonomaCA$39k0
NATIONAL TEACHERS ASSN FOR COUNTRY WESTERN DANCELas VegasNV$39k1
Vangarde ArtsSioux CityIA$39k0
WALTERS ART MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCBaltimoreMD$39k0
Umpqua Valley Rainbow CollectiveWinchesterOR$39k0
RENACER BOLIVIANOChicagoIL$39k0
NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland Fund IncBaltimoreMD$39k0
SWAN VALLEY PAY IT FORWARDSaginawMI$39k0
ALLEN ROBERTS MASONIC LIBRARY AND MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA INCRichmondVA$39k0
GALLERY AT THE VAULT INCORPORATEDSpringfieldVT$39k0
NORTH SHORE HISTORICAL MUSEUM INCGlen CoveNY$39k2
PIATT COUNTY MUSEUM INCMonticelloIL$39k0
FRIENDS OF WHITE WATER SHAKER VILLAGEHarrisonOH$39k0
DELILAH CHARITY INCCarsonCA$39k1
MISSISSIPPI BLUES FOUNDATIONJacksonMS$39k0
ROTARY CLUBS OF JOPLIN SCULPTURE GARDENJoplinMO$39k0
Legionettes Dance Team IncLawrenceburgIN$39k0
CREATORS VOICE SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$39k0
USA BREAKINMiramarFL$39k0
MATANHO PROJECTLangleyWA$39k0
Waynesboro Historical SocietyWaynesboroPA$39k0
KAMRATONPittsburghPA$39k0
SEW N SEW FIBER ARTS INCNatickMA$39k0
POINSETT CLUB FOUNDATIONGreenvilleSC$39k0
FOUNDATION OAKWOOD CULTURAL CENTERGreensboroNC$39k0
Camano Schoolhouse FoundationCamano IslandWA$39k0
LEUVA PATHIDAR SAMAJ OF BHUVASAN USAPonchatoulaLA$39k0
BAND BOOSTERS OF LAKE ZURICH LTDLake ZurichIL$39k0
PIECE BY PIECE PRODUCTIONS INCNew YorkNY$39k0
Summerfest on the RioAlamosaCO$39k0
Grand River Valley RadioMurrayIA$39k0
RHODE ISLAND AVIATION HALL OF FAME INCProvidenceRI$39k0
Making It Happen FoundationDetroitMI$39k0
RUDE MECHANICALS AKA THE RUDE MECHANICALSRichlandWA$39k0
WARRENVILLE FREINDS OF THE 4THWarrenvilleIL$39k0
MISSABE RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETYDuluthMN$39k0
THIOKOL MEMORIAL PROJECTKingslandGA$38k1
UNION MILLS LEARNING CENTER INCUnion MillsNC$38k0
NASHUA CHORAL SOCIETYHudsonNH$38k0
TRUST UNDER WILL OF VIOLA FOULKE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE UNIV OF ARTHersheyPA$38k1
FORDNEY FOUNDATIONAgoura HillsCA$38k0
TOWER THEATER PRODUCTIONS FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSOnealsCA$38k0
CENTRAL EU CALIFORNIA CULTURAL INSTITUTEOrindaCA$38k1
CO-CATHEDRAL MUSIC OF GREATER HOUSTON INCHoustonTX$38k0
FRANKLIN COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL INCBrookvilleIN$38k0