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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 73 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix IncPhoenixAZ$2M3
KARUNA CENTER FOR PEACEBUILDING INCGreenfieldMA$2M1
St Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust MuseumSt LouisMO$2M2
Community Arts Music AssociationSanta BarbaraCA$2M4
MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM INCSt PaulMN$2M0
DANCE KALEIDOSCOPE INCIndianapolisIN$2M1
THE YALE LAW JOURNAL FUND INCNew HavenCT$2M0
EMERALD COAST THEATRE COMPANYMiramar BeachFL$2M2
NARROWS CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCFall RiverMA$2M2
OLA OF EASTERN LONG ISLAND INCSagaponackNY$2M1
JAZZ ARTS GROUPColumbusOH$2M2
ARTS MID-HUDSON INCPoughkeepsieNY$2M2
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE MUSEE DORSAYNew YorkNY$2M0
The Commonwealth Shakespeare Co IncBostonMA$2M1
POLISH HERITAGE ALLIANCE INCFranklinWI$2M1
AREA STAGE INCMiamiFL$2M3
POWDER ART FOUNDATIONEdenUT$2M0
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FOUNDATION FOR JOURNALISM INCNew YorkNY$2M1
Southwest Folklife Alliance IncTucsonAZ$2M3
FORWARD THEATER COMPANYMadisonWI$2M2
WALTER ANDERSON MUSEUM OF ART INCOcean SpringsMS$2M1
NEW BEDFORD LIGHTNew BedfordMA$2M4
THE MILTON RESNICK AND PAT PASSLOF FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$2M1
GREATER PHILADELPHIA FALUN DAFA ASSOCIATIONHavertownPA$2M0
PETER MULLIN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM FOUNDATIONOxnardCA$2M0
HONOLULU THEATRE FOR YOUTHHonoluluHI$2M3
Atlanta Shakespeare Company IncAtlantaGA$2M4
PEARSON LAKES ART CENTEROkobojiIA$2M1
Bo's PlaceHoustonTX$2M2
National Association of Securities ProfessionalsWashingtonDC$2M1
SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCSpringfieldMA$2M2
Robert C Maynard Institute for Journalism EducationOaklandCA$2M2
NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA AND CHORALE OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY INCNorth BethesdaMD$2M1
Piedmont Choirs dba Piedmont East Bay Childrens ChoirOaklandCA$2M2
MUSIC WORCESTER INCWorcesterMA$2M1
TADA THEATRE AND DANCE ALLIANCE INCNew YorkNY$2M1
Americans for Public TrustAlexandriaVA$2M3
CHILDRENS MUSEUM CORPORATION OF RUTHERFORD COUNTY INCMurfreesboroTN$2M2
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA EDUCATIONAL TV ASSOCIATION INCReddingCA$2M2
PermRecord FoundationWest Lake HillsTX$2M4
THE FILM FOUNDATION INCLos AngelesCA$2M3
ROGUE VALLEY SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONAshlandOR$2M0
STREB INCBrooklynNY$2M2
ROSENBACH MUSEUM AND LIBRARY D/B/A THE ROSENBACH OF THE FREE LIBRARYPhiladelphiaPA$2M1
UNIONDOCS INCRidgewoodNY$2M2
HISTORIC BETHLEHEM MUSEUMS AND SITESBethlehemPA$2M1
PRESCOTT PARK ARTS FESTIVAL INCPortsmouthNH$2M1
Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts IncorporatedWilmingtonNC$2M1
The Byrd Theatre FoundationRichmondVA$2M1
NASHVILLE REPERTORY THEATRE INCNashvilleTN$2M1