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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 723 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
LONDON COMMUNITY ORCHESTRALondonKY$30k0
HONEST BROOK MUSIC FESTIVAL INCDelhiNY$30k1
Walter H Everett FoundationNapaCA$30k1
NEW EPOCH CULTURE CENTERPortlandOR$30k0
Pearl Street Market NFPWoodstockIL$30k0
COLRAIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCColrainMA$30k0
SPARKMAN & STEPHENS MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTERNewportRI$30k0
WARREN PRESERVATION SOCIETYWarrenRI$30k0
FRIENDS OF HISTORIC SPRING CITYSpring CityUT$30k0
OREGON PIANO INSTITUTEEugeneOR$30k0
WAUKEE AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETYWaukeeIA$30k0
NEW PARADISE LABORATORIES THEATRE INCPhiladelphiaPA$30k1
MERCHANT STREET ART GALLERY OF ARTISTS WITH AUTISMKankakeeIL$30k1
PREMIERE COMMISSION INC C/O KS MANAGEMENTNew YorkNY$30k0
THE WALTER O EVANS FOUNDATIONSavannahGA$30k0
CLAY ARTS GUILD CO CIVIC ARTS EDUCATIONWalnut CreekCA$30k0
NORTH POCONO BAND PARENT ORGANIZATIMoscowPA$30k0
THE RECOVERY GATHERINGGrand RapidsMI$30k0
JUNEAU SYMPHONY FOUNDATIONJuneauAK$30k0
EARLY MUSIC FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$30k2
Friends of Glendale CemeteryAkronOH$30k0
THE NORTHEAST IOWA ANTIQUE ENGINE AND POWER GROUP INCSumerIA$30k0
Theatresquare Art AllianceMariettaGA$30k0
FRIENDS OF THE MARENGO BIG SPRINGS OLD TOWN CHURCH INCFloyds KnobsIN$30k0
VOLCANO LOVE INCCallicoonNY$30k0
NORTHEAST HYDROGEN FOUNDATION INCAlexandriaVA$30k0
NORTHWOODS FRIENDS OF THE ARTSCookMN$30k0
KINGDOM COME FOUNDATION INCHoustonTX$30k0
THE DANCERS THEATREJohnstonIA$30k0
FABRICATORZ FOUNDATIONBridgetonMO$30k0
SISSETON ARTS COUNCIL INCSissetonSD$30k0
PUNCTUATE4 INCBradfordMA$30k0
Forward Motion Dance Company IncWilmingtonNC$30k0
ARIZONA ART ALLIANCEPhoenixAZ$30k0
Santa Clara Valley RR Historical SocietyFillmoreCA$30k0
TABERNACLE PRODUCTIONS INCMount TaborNJ$30k0
THE KAY AND BYRON COOK MARIPOSA FOUNDATIONCorsicanaTX$30k0
STATE THEATRE FOUNDATION INCIthacaNY$30k0
CABRILLO INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC FOUNDATIONLompocCA$30k0
Cornhusk Collective IncDe PereWI$30k0
New Spark Performing Arts IncMemphisTN$30k0
ORANGE COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS EMERALD SOCIETYTustinCA$30k0
ALCO Historical & Technical SocietyAmsterdamNY$30k0
VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL COMMITTEE INCFall RiverMA$30k0
WRIGHT CENTENNIAL MUSEUMWrightWY$30k0
ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL INCMiami BeachFL$30k0
AVNEI NEIZER SOCHOTSHOV TRUSTBrooklynNY$30k0
BATTIN HERITAGE ASSOCIATIONOgdenIA$30k0
St Louis Jazz ClubSaint LouisMO$30k0
Sanford Historic Trust IncSanfordFL$30k0