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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 704 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
IUL SMITHVILLE SCHOOL MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTERSilver SpringMD$37k0
THE 7TH POWERCascoME$37k0
THE TEASLEY FOUNDATIONSaint LouisMO$37k3
CENTER FOR HISTORICALLY INF PERFORMANCEBerkeleyCA$37k0
OLAF WIEGHORST MUSEUM FOUNDATIONEl CajonCA$36k0
PIANO CRAFT GALLERY INCBostonMA$36k3
PARTNERS AND PARENTS FOR THE ARTSElkhornNE$36k0
MAKE ART WORKDetroitMI$36k0
ADDISON CENTER FOR THE ARTSAddisonIL$36k3
SCAPA CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCLexingtonKY$36k0
SANTA LUCIA FESTIVAL COMMITTEEOmahaNE$36k0
FRIENDS OF TYNGSBOROUGH THEATER INCTyngsboroughMA$36k0
FRIENDS OF CERRO GORDOTujungaCA$36k0
CALKINS FAMILY ASSOCIATIONNorwichCT$36k0
FRONTIER ALLIANCE CORPORATIONHill CityKS$36k0
ARCHIPELAGO INCTraverse CityMI$36k3
FREDERICK DOUGLASS MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTER INCHighland BeachMD$36k0
FRIENDS OF FORT FREDERICKBig PoolMD$36k0
Sea Grape Artists Gallery Cooperative IncPunta GordaFL$36k0
NEW AMERICAN CASTLE MUSEUM INCChesterMA$36k0
VENUE OF MERGING ARTSJohnstownPA$36k0
FRIENDS OF MARLAND'S GRAND HOMEPonca CityOK$36k0
PROMUSIC CENTER INCWilsonNC$36k0
JOYFUL ART CENTERVacavilleCA$36k0
LAWRENCE FOUNDATION FOR BUFFALO PRESERVATION AND AGRICULTURAL HERITCliftonKS$36k0
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AVIATION ARTMorris PlainsNJ$36k0
PANSAMIAN BROTHERHOOD PYTHAGORAS OF NEW YORK INCAstoriaNY$36k0
JASPER COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUMJasperTX$36k0
CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY ART AND CULTUREAikenSC$36k0
NAMRON PLAYERS THEATRE INCORPORATED dba Oklahoma StoryWorksNormanOK$36k0
ARTS LEARNING INCHanoverMA$36k1
JEFFERSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUM INCMadrasOR$36k0
BRIDGE ARTS FOUNDATION INCSan GabrielCA$36k0
PARENT COLLECTIVE INCManhattan BeachCA$36k0
BRIDGE INITIATIVETempeAZ$36k0
Network of Ensemble Theaters IncPortlandOR$36k1
WESTERN JAZZ PRESENTERS NETWORKLa JollaCA$36k0
GGWANGA MUJJE BOSTON CHAPTER INCWalthamMA$36k0
HARRY AND OVSANNA CHITJIAN FAMILY FOUNDATIONBurbankCA$36k0
SAVE OUR SHIP INCDuluthMN$36k0
CENTER ON MODERNITY IN TRANSITIONDurhamNC$36k1
ARIZONA PEACE CENTER INCMesaAZ$36k0
NISEI VETERANS LEGACY CENTER INCHonoluluHI$36k0
Espressivo Chamber Orchestra IncFeltonCA$36k0
Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District IncBethesdaMD$36k0
CANTILENA CC CORPORATIONLenoxMA$36k0
FOOTPRINTS TAP ENSEMBLE OF TALENT FORUMLibertyvilleIL$36k1
FRIENDSHIP KNOT QUILTERS GUILD INCSarasotaFL$36k0
COLBY CHOIR PARENTS INCColbyWI$36k0
MILE HIGH JAZZ BAND ASSOCIATION INCCarson CityNV$36k0