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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 715 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Second Face Museum of Cultural MasksPhoenixAZ$33k0
GREAT LAKES AND SEAWAY SHIPPING ONLINE INCGrand LedgeMI$33k0
COSHOCTON COUNTY ARTIST COLLECTIVECoshoctonOH$33k0
ARBOR GALLERY INCMercedCA$33k0
PLAIN TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETYMiddlebranchOH$33k0
YALL ROCK COMMUNITYCarbondaleIL$33k0
CARMI CHRISTMAS ELVES INCCarmiIL$33k0
SAN DIEGO HARMONICS CHORALESan DiegoCA$33k0
O TEAM INCLong Island CityNY$33k0
Livermore Art AssociationLivermoreCA$32k0
Providence St Patricks Day Parade Committee IncProvidenceRI$32k0
HISTORICAL INSTITUTE OF CULTURE AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE INCEriePA$32k0
OHIO VALLEY RAILROAD HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INCLaGrangeKY$32k0
KIRKWOOD ARTS FOUNDATIONKirkwoodMO$32k0
MINNESOTA MUSIC COALITIONSaint PaulMN$32k0
Art Dealers Association Foundation IncNew YorkNY$32k0
NEW YORK COMPOSERS CIRCLEBrooklynNY$32k0
FOUNDATION FOR INDEPENDENT MEDIA ARTSHoustonTX$32k0
ABINGTON CELEBRATES INCAbingtonMA$32k0
ARTS ALONG THE BIGHORNSBuffaloWY$32k0
THE INSTITUTE OF TRANSACTIONAL PHILWoodland HillsCA$32k0
JJ'S HOUSEDetroitMI$32k0
CHEROKEE ART ENDOWMENT CORPORATIONAtlantaGA$32k0
FRIENDS OF SP4449 INCPortlandOR$32k0
COMMON NOTIONS MEDIA FOUNDATION INCBrooklynNY$32k0
COLLEGIUM VOCALE INCAtlantaGA$32k0
RADIO TALKING BOOK LEGACY FUND INCOmahaNE$32k0
BLOOMINGTON BOOK FESTIVAL INCBloomingtonIN$32k0
Art Mobile of MontanaDillonMT$32k0
Boston Arts & Entertainment Society IncThomasvilleGA$32k0
Custer Battlefield Historical and Museum Association IncHardinMT$32k0
OCEAN CITY HIGH SCHOOL THEATER BOOSTERSOcean CityNJ$32k0
BLACK MUSIC PRESERVATION INCPhiladelphiaPA$32k1
THE WISCONSIN LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM OF VALOR INCMadisonWI$32k0
FV MUZZLE LOADERS INCOshkoshWI$32k0
Contact Lens MuseumForest GroveOR$32k0
STAMFORD HOUSE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INCButlerMD$32k0
THE BRONX FREEDOM FUND INCVeniceCA$32k0
BOSTON SINGERS RESOURCE INCCambridgeMA$32k2
LIVE AT THE OPERA INCDothanAL$32k0
JUSTICE PARTNERS INCNew OrleansLA$32k0
FRIENDS OF WASHINGTON MUSICSeattleWA$32k0
SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ENDOWMENTMilwaukeeWI$32k1
Latin American Film Center IncNew YorkNY$32k2
The Southern Illinois Antique Power ClubSalemIL$32k0
Cinemama Previouslty Oakland Film CenterOaklandCA$32k0
Radcliffe Choral Society Foundation IncBostonMA$32k0
GALLIPOLIS RAILROAD FREIGHT STATION MUSEUM INCGallipolisOH$32k0
ABSOLUTE DANCE COMPANY INCGrand JunctionCO$32k0
BIG BEND BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATIONAlpineTX$32k0