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 727 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Greenpoint Monitor MuseumBrooklynNY$29k2
Bandjoun Community of TexasTexas CityTX$29k0
SIMMONS RESIDUARY TRUSTMilwaukeeWI$29k1
ONE FOR ALL MUSICAL THEATERCarter LakeIA$29k0
MERFOLK MEDIA ALLIANCE INCSt PetersburgFL$29k0
THE ROBERTA FLACK FOUNDATION co LEAR AND PANNEPACKERPrincetonNJ$29k0
SPOKANE VALLEY ARTS COUNCILSpokane ValleyWA$28k0
THE NEEDHAM CONCERT SOCIETY INCNeedhamMA$28k0
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY PRESERVATION ALLIANCEUrbanaOH$28k0
GILES COUNTY BAND BACKERS INCPulaskiTN$28k0
Ponce Project FoundationHoustonTX$28k0
BUKHARIAN HERITAGE SOCIETY INCRego ParkNY$28k0
NEWPORT BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETYNewport BeachCA$28k0
COLD SPRING AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETYCold SpringMN$28k0
LATVIAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION TILTS INCBedfordNY$28k0
RAINFOREST ART FOUNDATIONShreveportLA$28k0
ARIA GROUP KC INCOverland ParkKS$28k0
High Zero Foundation IncBaltimoreMD$28k0
DRY RIDGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONCameronWV$28k0
Apex Hs Dance Booster ProgramApexNC$28k0
MADE IN HER IMAGEMesaAZ$28k1
VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST CULTURAL CENTER PHAT TUE TEMPLERiversideCA$28k5
A Common Thread Theatre Company IncFraminghamMA$28k2
GREATER ANDERSON TOWNSHIP BETTERMENT COMCincinnatiOH$28k0
WAUPUN WISCONSIN CITY OF SCULPTURE CORP WAUPUN CITY OF SCULPTUREWaupunWI$28k0
Young Artists Philharmonic IncStamfordCT$28k0
ZUNZUN ARTS & EDUCATION INCMiamiFL$28k1
PALM BEACH COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS PIPE & DRUM CORPS INCWest Palm BeachFL$28k0
HURSTBOURNE FOUNDATION INCLouisvilleKY$28k0
FLORA MACDONALD LEGACY FOUNDATIONRed SpringsNC$28k0
Buffalo Music Hall of FameBuffaloNY$28k0
AGAINST THE GRAIN-MEN IN DANCESeattleWA$28k0
BUFFALO SOLDIERS OF SC INCFlorenceSC$28k0
COLORADO BLUES SOCIETY INCLittletonCO$28k0
ASSOCICAO NOSSA SENHORA DE FATIMA INCDelancoNJ$28k0
Alaska Aviation Museum EndowmentAnchorageAK$28k0
AMERICAN PATRIOT MUSIC PROJECTApple ValleyCA$28k0
NEBRADA FOUNDATION INCMiamiFL$28k1
AV CHILDRENS CHOIRPalmdaleCA$28k3
GURDJIEFF FOUNDATION OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINAAshevilleNC$28k0
PATERSON MUSEUM FOUNDATIONPatersonNJ$28k0
AMOS HERR HOUSE FOUNDATION & HISTORICAL SOCIETYLandisvillePA$28k0
HISTORIC ELLICOTT CITY INCEllicott CityMD$28k0
Cecile Clarke Trust FBO Cecile Clarke Memorial MuseumEurekaCA$28k0
The Unsung NYC Inc The Unsung CollectiveBrooklynNY$28k1
TEMECULA VALLEY MUSEUMTemeculaCA$28k0
KAIRU AIKIDO AND JAPANESE CULTURAL ARTSRosevilleCA$28k0
SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONALColoniaNJ$28k0
AIR CLASSICS INCSugar GroveIL$28k0
CULP-BEATY HALL TRUSTUnionSC$28k0