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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 732 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
SITKA FINE ARTS ENDOWMENTSitkaAK$27k0
MAISON D ART FOUNDATION INCFort LauderdaleFL$27k0
Ridgeway ArtsBerkeleyCA$27k0
THE MASTER'S VINEYARDRockfordMI$27k0
NEW PLAYERS THEATRE GUILD INCFitchburgMA$27k0
CHRISTIAN SERVICES OF THE SOUTHWEST FOUNDATION INCIrvingTX$27k0
Southwest Womens ChorusMurrietaCA$27k0
MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL OF FOLK ARTS INCNatchezMS$27k1
FISHING FOR OTHERS CORPORATIONSanta Fe SpringsCA$27k0
PORTLAND INTERFAITH GOSPEL CHOIRPortlandOR$27k1
JOHN VAN BUREN PERRY FOUNDATIONS Lake TahoeCA$27k0
HISTORIC BIROME CHURCH AND COMMUNITY CENTERBiromeTX$27k0
HASTINGS PUBLIC ACCESS CORPORATIONHastingsNE$27k0
BIKE CITY THEATRE COMPANYDavisCA$27k2
CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY CAREGlendaleCA$27k0
Great Falls Theatre CompanyGreat FallsMT$27k0
ROSELLE HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONRoselleIL$27k0
PEABODY CULTURAL COLLABORATIVE INCPeabodyMA$27k0
THE HISTORIC SOCIETY INCMiamiFL$27k0
SINGING RIVER LITTLE THEATREPascagoulaMS$27k0
ROCHESTER MUSIC GUILDRochesterMN$27k0
OHIO SOCIETY OF MILITARY HISTORY INMassillonOH$27k0
The Yappie IncPrincetonNJ$27k0
COMMUNITY COMMONSSan DiegoCA$27k0
PERSIAN CENTERRedwood CityCA$27k0
BRONX COMMUNITY SERVICES CORPBronxNY$27k0
POE STUDIES ASSOCIATIONCumberlandMD$27k0
Hutchinsons Historic Fox Theatre Found co Carol BergerHutchinsonKS$27k0
PERRY BAND BOOSTERS OF STARK COUNTY INCCantonOH$27k0
STRING ORCHESTRA OF BROOKLYN INCBrooklynNY$27k0
PADUCAH SINGERS INCPaducahKY$27k0
CHENGZHONG CULTURE AND EDUCATION FOCUS FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$27k0
INDIAN SENIOR ASSOC OF ARIZONAPhoenixAZ$27k0
HAND PICKED INCRichmondTX$27k0
Mojave River Valley MuseumBarstowCA$27k0
Livonia Historical SocietyLivoniaMI$27k0
Benton Harbor Arts AssociationBenton HarborMI$27k0
SALEM MOON MUSICSalemOR$27k0
XENIA AREA COMMUNITY THEATER INCXeniaOH$27k0
OMD MUSEUMSan BernardinoCA$27k0
WISCONSIN FIRE & EMS MEMORIAL INCWisconsin RapidsWI$27k0
Citizens Against Racism in ErieEriePA$27k1
PHILIP & MASAKO TOGO KASLOFF FOUNDATIONCalabasasCA$27k0
MASS ISLAND CORPWalthamMA$27k0
THE SAVE-THE-LYON COMMISSION INCBathNY$27k0
SHS MUSIC BOOSTERS INCFort LoramieOH$27k0
PEACHTREE CORNERS FESTIVAL INCPeachtree CornersGA$27k0
ROBERT & GAYE SWABACK FOUNDATIONPhoenixAZ$27k0
DRAMATIC COFFEE BEANS INCFlorenceSC$27k0
NORTHERN INDIANA JOHNNY POPPERS INCNew ParisIN$27k0