Skip to main content
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 721 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
The Glass Menagerie Downtown Community Chorus IncNew YorkNY$31k0
BABYLON MASONIC HISTORICAL SOCIETYBabylonNY$30k0
Northwest Narrative Medicine CollaborativePortlandOR$30k0
Louisiana DeafBlind RetreatLafayetteLA$30k0
FRIENDS OF THE EDWARD-DEAN MUSEUMBeaumontCA$30k0
TOUCHABLE STORIES INCCambridgeMA$30k0
Friends of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning ProgramSalt Lake CityUT$30k0
THE MO AND CHER WILLEMS FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$30k0
LIVE AT THE BANDSTAND INCSackets HarborNY$30k0
OPERA KANSASWichitaKS$30k1
THE PORTAGEVILLE CHAPELPortagevilleNY$30k0
Bright Rising Studio IncWaukeshaWI$30k0
TWIN CITIES CARIFEST INCMinneapolisMN$30k0
DOMINION VALLEY EVENTSStuartVA$30k0
Indian American ForumGarden CityNY$30k0
VIETNAM ARMY GRUNT MUSEUMSan AntonioTX$30k0
Sanniquillie Connection IncMagnoliaDE$30k0
ST PAULS FESTIVAL ASSOCIATIONMaplewoodMN$30k0
Good Spirits IncDetroitMI$30k0
POTOMAC RIVER JAZZ CLUBWashingtonDC$30k0
OHIO VALLEY SCHOOL OF CELTIC DANCE AND CULTUREAthensOH$30k0
BIRCH FESTIVAL INCLenoxMA$30k0
Latvian Organization Association of MinnesotaMinneapolisMN$30k0
LOBBY THEATRE INCAgoura HillsCA$30k1
MILWAUKEE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INCMilwaukeeWI$30k0
The Indian River Institute for the Creative Arts IncNew Smyrna BeachFL$30k1
ANAPHORA LITERARY ARTSSanta MonicaCA$30k0
VEDIC VIDYALAYSomersetNJ$30k0
PA JAZZ ALLIANCE INCArchbaldPA$30k0
DOME FEST WESTLos AngelesCA$30k0
Ralston Community Theatre IncRalstonNE$30k0
Houston Grand Opera Guild IncHoustonTX$30k0
JAZZ CHANGES INCCharlestonSC$30k0
HISTORIC GREELEY INCGreeleyCO$30k0
ARTS OF FASHION FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$30k0
MUSEUM OF CENTRAL AMERCIAN ARTDelray BeachFL$30k1
AETHEREAL JEST ARTS COUNCILPlain CityOH$30k0
RAVEN CHRONICLESShorelineWA$30k4
THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE FOUNDATIONDubuqueIA$30k0
New Mexico Film FoundationSanta FeNM$30k0
SOUND EXPLORATIONS INCFairhavenMA$30k2
SEYMOUR BAND BOOSTER ASSOCIATIONSeymourIN$30k0
CELEBRATE GRAFTON INCGraftonWI$30k0
SOUTHWEST COLORADO CONCERTSCortezCO$30k0
Armenian Cultural Conservance IncFresnoCA$30k0
Military Historical Society of MassachusettsWorcesterMA$30k0
INDIA ASSOCIATION OF BUFFALO INCWilliamsvilleNY$30k0
THE CARDOME RENAISSANCE CENTRE LLCGeorgetownKY$30k0
First Colony FoundationDurhamNC$30k0
HIST PRESERV WILSON AND DR BOB SSaint LouisMO$30k1