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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 7 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Historic Haymarket Milwaukee IncMilwaukeeWI$26.6M0
BUFFALO FINE ARTS ACADEMYBuffaloNY$26.6M8
THE JOFFREY BALLETChicagoIL$26.5M9
FORD'S THEATRE SOCIETYWashingtonDC$26.4M8
ALLEY THEATREHoustonTX$26.3M8
JOHNNY MORRIS' WONDERS OF WILDLIFE FOUNDATIONSpringfieldMO$26.2M4
DETROIT PUBLIC MEDIAWixomMI$26.2M9
HUDSON VALLEY SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL INCGarrisonNY$26.2M2
THE PENNSYLVANIA BALLET ASSOCIATION DBA PHILADELPHIA BALLETPhiladelphiaPA$26.2M7
FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES INCBostonMA$26.2M12
UTAH SYMPHONY & OPERASalt Lake CityUT$26.2M11
WORLD MONUMENTS FUND INCNew YorkNY$26.1M5
THE FRED ROGERS COMPANYPittsburghPA$26.1M8
THE HORACE BUSHNELL MEMORIAL HALL CORPORATIONHartfordCT$26.1M10
GREATER COLUMBUS ARTS COUNCILColumbusOH$26M5
ARTS CENTER AND THEATRE OF SCHENECTADY INCSchenectadyNY$25.8M7
THE DIMITRIS BERTSIMAS - GEORGIA PERAKIS FOUNDATIONBelmontMA$25.7M0
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANYChicagoIL$25.6M12
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET ASSOCIATION David Thorpe CFOSeattleWA$25.5M10
FRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY DBA COSI COLUMBUSColumbusOH$25.4M8
STARLIGHT THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF KANSAS CITY INCKansas CityMO$25.4M11
TUACAHN CENTER FOR THE ARTSIvinsUT$25.2M4
THE AYN RAND INSTITUTE THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF OBJECTIVISMSanta AnaCA$25.1M12
TEACH INCLos AngelesCA$25M7
CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSICPhiladelphiaPA$24.9M14
10 SOUTH STREET CLUB OPERATOR INCNew YorkNY$24.9M0
VPM MEDIA CORPORATIONRichmondVA$24.8M9
SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTEJuneauAK$24.7M7
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF JAPANESE ANIMATIONCoronaCA$24.7M11
Maine Public Broadcasting CorporationLewistonME$24.6M9
CONNECTICUT HUMANITIES COUNCIL INCMiddletownCT$24.4M1
AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATRE CO INCCambridgeMA$24.3M14
MIAMI CITY BALLET INCMiami BeachFL$24.2M9
EXPLORATION PLACE INCWichitaKS$24.2M3
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts IncLibertyNY$24.1M6
ALLIED MEDIA PROJECTS INCDetroitMI$24.1M9
5TH AVENUE THEATRE ASSOCIATIONSeattleWA$23.9M9
THE NEUE GALERIE NEW YORKNew YorkNY$23.9M3
JOSLYN ART MUSEUMOmahaNE$23.8M5
THE NEWARK MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONNewarkNJ$23.8M11
Pacific SymphonyIrvineCA$23.7M11
NEW YORK CITY CENTER INCNew YorkNY$23.7M13
CINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONCincinnatiOH$23.7M7
NATIONAL CENTER FOR CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INCAtlantaGA$23.6M5
THE NEW 42ND STREET INCNew YorkNY$23.6M10
AMON CARTER MUSEUM OF WESTERN ARTFort WorthTX$23.5M9
BROADWAY SACRAMENTOSacramentoCA$23.5M3
SHEA'S O'CONNELL PRESERVATION GUILD LTDBuffaloNY$23.5M4
PROVIDENCE PERFORMING ARTS CENTERProvidenceRI$23.4M6
VIZCAYA MUSEUM AND GARDENS TRUST INCMiamiFL$23.4M11