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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 72 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FOLKSBIENE YIDDISH THEATRE INCNew YorkNY$2.1M4
CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER INCCambridgeMA$2.1M2
Friends Of Emblaze Academy Charter School IncBronxNY$2.1M0
Life-Line ColoradoDenverCO$2.1M1
YELLOW BARN INCPutneyVT$2.1M1
UKRAINIAN ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON STATERentonWA$2.1M3
Women in DSO IncKansas CityMO$2.1M3
VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF TRANSPORTATION INCRoanokeVA$2M1
MONADNOCK MEDIA INCHatfieldMA$2M2
PUBLIC LANDS INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATIONLos Ranchos De AbqNM$2M1
CLEVELAND MUSIC FOUNDATION INCClevelandMS$2M3
WATCH HILL LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS ASSOCWesterlyRI$2M0
ACTIVE IMPLEMENTATION RESEARCH NETWORK INCAlbuquerqueNM$2M3
American Friends of Biala Institutions IncTeaneckNJ$2M0
YOUTH MUSIC PROJECTWest LinnOR$2M1
STAGE WEST THEATRE FORMERLY ALLIED THEATRE GROUP INCFort WorthTX$2M0
THE RABBIT ROOMAntiochTN$2M4
OTV Open Television IncChicagoIL$2M1
INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL OF CENTRAL FLORIDA INCOrlandoFL$2M2
TEXARKANA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCTexarkanaAR$2M1
INDEPENDENT CURATORS INTERNATIONALNew YorkNY$2M0
FRIENDS OF CHIEFTAINS MUSEUM INCRomeGA$2M2
RAGAZZI BOYS CHORUSRedwood CityCA$2M1
THE BROADWAY LEAGUE FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$2M3
3ARTS INCChicagoIL$2M1
MISSIONS 316 (FORMERLY TITUS INTERNATIONAL MISSION)CharlestonWV$2M2
SULTANA EDUCATION FOUNDATION INCChestertownMD$2M1
BALLET MAGNIFICAT INCJacksonMS$2M3
THE LOVE STATION INCPonca CityOK$2M3
Green Branch Management GroupUpper MarlboroMD$2M1
TOLEDO CULTURAL ARTS CENTER INCToledoOH$2M2
DR CARTER G WOODSON AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM INCSaint PetersburgFL$2M1
BALLET SAN ANTONIOSan AntonioTX$2M1
Boris Lurie Art FoundationWilmingtonDE$2M4
Jackson Hole Childrens Museum IncJacksonWY$2M1
NORTH CAROLINA ARTS IN ACTION INCDurhamNC$2M1
EARLY CHILDHOOD CONNECTIONSRapid CitySD$2M1
THOMAS S KENAN INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTS SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONWinstonsalemNC$2M6
RHINEBECK AERODROME MUSEUMRhinebeckNY$2M4
PAUL REVERE MEMORIAL ASSOCIATIONBostonMA$2M1
AVALON THEATRE PROJECT INCWashingtonDC$2M1
ZEITGEIST CENTER FOR ARTS AND COMMUNITYDuluthMN$2M1
New DramatistsIncNew YorkNY$2M2
MAHONING VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETYYoungstownOH$2M1
PRICE AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMSalt Lake CityUT$2M0
IMAGINE MUSEUM CORPORATIONSt PetersburgFL$2M1
LINCOLN CHILDREN'S MUSEUMLincolnNE$2M2
THEATRE WINTER HAVEN INCWinter HavenFL$2M1
Portland Youth Philharmonic AssociationPortlandOR$2M2
GATEWAY FILM FOUNDATIONColumbusOH$2M1