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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 74 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GALLERY NORTH INCEast SetauketNY$2M1
KSMQ PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA INCAustinMN$2M0
GATEWAYS MUSIC FESTIVAL INCRochesterNY$2M0
PALM SPRINGS FRIENDS OF PHILHARMONICPalm SpringsCA$2M0
RACINE ART MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCRacineWI$2M1
RAGDALE FOUNDATIONLake ForestIL$2M1
INGENUITY INCORPORATED CHICAGOChicagoIL$2M4
STUHR MUSEUM OF THE PRAIRIE PIONEERGrand IslandNE$2M1
FORT WAYNE RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCFort WayneIN$2M1
Dad's Garage IncAtlantaGA$2M2
NYAH PROJECT INCMiamiFL$2M0
CREATIVE TIME INCNew YorkNY$2M2
NU DECO ENSEMBLE INCMiamiFL$2M2
Sowing Seeds Health IncIrvineCA$2M3
Center for the Arts Evergreen IncEvergreenCO$2M1
UPTOWN KNAUER PERFORMING ARTS CENTERWest ChesterPA$2M1
Asian Arts InitiativePhiladelphiaPA$2M1
ARTS COUNCIL OF PRINCETONPrincetonNJ$2M2
THE OPERA SAN ANTONIO D/B/A OPERA SAN ANTONIOSan AntonioTX$2M1
NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY FOUNDATIONRaleighNC$2M2
STATE STREET BALLETSanta BarbaraCA$2M2
LYMAN HOUSE MEMORIAL MUSEUMHiloHI$2M1
I CAN DO THAT THEATRE COMPANYDanvilleCA$2M4
KASHIF INCUBATOR INCBrooklynNY$2M6
UKRAINIAN EDUCATIONAL & CULTURAL CENTERJenkintownPA$2M0
Jewish Film InstituteSan FranciscoCA$2M4
GURU KRIPA FOUNDATIONBoca RatonFL$2M0
THE TOBIN ENDOWMENTSan AntonioTX$2M1
DANCE SERVICE NEW YORK CITY INCNew YorkNY$2M3
MUSEUM OF SOUTH TEXAS HISTORYEdinburgTX$2M2
THE EXPLORE CENTER INCMobileAL$2M0
PATRICK HENRY MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCBrooknealVA$2M0
MICHIGAN HUMANITIES COUNCILOkemosMI$2M2
FESTIVALS FOR GOOD CORPORATIONNew OrleansLA$2M0
EL RANCHO DE LAS GOLONDRINAS INCSanta FeNM$2M2
WESTERN FOLKLIFE CENTER INCElkoNV$2M1
THE BRAUNTEX PERFORMING ARTS THEATRE ASSNew BraunfelsTX$2M0
THE MORRISON THEATER COMPANYGoldenCO$2M1
ROSE BLUMKIN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FOUNDATIONOmahaNE$2M0
YOUTH FINANCIAL LITERACY FOUNDATIONFarmington HillsMI$2M2
Great Plains Christioan Radio IncMeadeKS$2M1
HISTORIC MORVEN INCPrincetonNJ$2M2
PETERBOROUGH PLAYERS INCPeterboroughNH$2M0
ARTISTS SPACE INCNew YorkNY$2M2
THEATRE MEMPHISMemphisTN$2M1
SEACOAST SCIENCE CENTER INCRyeNH$2M1
DEEP CENTER INCORPORATEDSavannahGA$2M1
Spirit Life Church of Jesus ChristSimi ValleyCA$2M1
ALL NEWTON MUSIC SCHOOL INCWest NewtonMA$2M2
KOIHONUAPearl CityHI$2M2