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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 735 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CHRISTIAN BOOKS PUBLISHING HOUSEJacksonvilleFL$26k0
PIPELINE ARTS FOUNDATIONGreenwood VillageCO$26k0
MASS LAW ENFORCEMENT MEMORIALSpringfieldMA$26k0
Never Enough BooksEncinitasCA$26k0
Windy City Youth EnsembleWilmetteIL$26k0
SCHOOL OF KIDS ARTSCampbellCA$26k0
KETTLE CREEK BATTLEFIELD ASSOCIATION INCLawrencevilleGA$26k0
NORTH COAST PRODUCTIONSLong BeachWA$26k0
Tlangkhua Chungkhar FellowshipIndianapolisIN$26k0
African American Cultural Collaborative of MercerTrentonNJ$26k0
SEYMOUR AREA ARTS COUNCILSeymourMO$26k0
PANMACEDONIAN FEDERATION OF USA INCWhitestoneNY$26k0
WHITE PLAINS IRISH CONNECTION INCWhite PlainsNY$26k0
PRESERVATION BURLINGTON INCBurlingtonVT$26k0
CHICAGO FLUTE CLUBChicagoIL$26k0
NAPLES ARTCRAFTERSNaplesFL$26k0
INDEPENDENT FILMWORKS INCNew YorkNY$26k0
Pacific Railroad SocietySan DimasCA$26k0
MERRY SINGERS SOCIETYCerritosCA$26k0
GUJARATI SAMAJ OF METRO WASH INCBurtonsvilleMD$26k0
ART AIDS ARTAltadenaCA$26k0
GREENVILLE LITTLE THEATRE ENDOWMENT TRUSTGreenvilleSC$26k0
CENTER FOR APPLIED DRAMA AND AUTISMAkronOH$26k1
River Arts District Artists IncAshevilleNC$26k0
Michele Brangwen Dance EnsembleHoustonTX$26k2
CHAPPIE JAMES MUSEUM OF PENSACOLA INCPensacolaFL$26k0
GREATER CINCINNATI BLUES SOCIETY INC DBA Cincy Blues SocietyCincinnatiOH$26k0
DAYTONA 200 MONUMENT FUND INCThornvilleOH$26k0
HALE WILKINSON CARTER HOME RESTORATIONHillsvilleVA$26k0
VINOD SHARAN FOUNDATIONFriscoTX$26k0
GREATER BARTON ARTS INCORPORATEDBartonVT$26k0
POMMERSCHER VEREIN FREISTADT INCGermantownWI$26k0
TYLER ART LIFT INCTylerTX$26k0
INDIAN CULTURAL SOCIETY OF EAST BRUNSWICK INCEast BrunswickNJ$26k0
GLENWOOD HERITAGE FUNDFentonMI$26k0
AMERICAN HAND FIRE ENGINE SOCIETY INCNewburyMA$26k0
WHEATLAND DANCE THEATER INCPlainfieldIL$26k0
Alaska Center for the BookAnchorageAK$26k0
RAINBOW OASIIIS INCMiamiFL$26k0
FESTIVAL OF NATIONS INCORPORATEDCohoesNY$26k0
ARTS KAUAIKapaaHI$26k0
ARTS INN COLLECTIVEFleischmannsNY$26k1
MTF LEADERSHIP INSTITUTELas VegasNV$26k0
Bay Area Chinese Musician AssociationFremontCA$26k0
INTERNATIONAL LABOR AND WORKING- CLASS HISTORY INCNew YorkNY$26k0
Central Coast Catholic CultureAtascaderoCA$26k0
THE NUT BALLET INCCinnaminsonNJ$26k0
SWEET BLACKBERRY FOUNDATIONProvidenceRI$26k0
J OWENS ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS INCWinter HavenFL$26k0
FRIENDS OF BEAR'S MILL INCGreenvilleOH$26k0