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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 740 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AUSTIN BRASS COLLECTIVELeanderTX$25k0
RANCHO BUENA VISTA CHEER BOOSTERSVistaCA$25k0
THANK YOU 5 PRODUCTIONSPrincetonNJ$25k0
CARMEL GALLERY ALLIANCECarmel By The SeaCA$25k0
SHINE ON FOUNDATIONSpringfieldPA$25k0
MUSEUM OF SPECIAL ARTSeattleWA$25k0
THE JAZZ JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION INCNew YorkNY$25k0
SWEDISH WOMENS EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALRoyal Palm BeachFL$25k0
MIDDLEBURY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCMiddleburyIN$25k1
SAVE THE NORTHFIELD DEPOTNorthfieldMN$25k0
Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina IncWashingtonDC$25k1
PIKES PEAK HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCFlorissantCO$25k0
ERSKINE HAWKINS-TUXEDO JUNCTION PARK ASSOCIATION INCBirminghamAL$25k0
FRIENDS OF WALLISCH HOMESTEADWest MilfordNJ$25k0
KALAMANDAPAM INCManassasVA$25k0
Ormond Yacht Club IncOrmond BeachFL$25k0
Superstar Art FoundationDallasTX$25k0
BUFFALO UNITED ARTISTS INCBuffaloNY$25k0
Uniquely Union Festival BoardUnionSC$25k0
TEREZIN-CHILDREN OF THE HOLOCAUST INC C/O ALAN SCHUTZ TREASURERAmesburyMA$25k1
CARSON & COLORADO RAILWAY INCIndependenceCA$25k0
THEATRE DISTRICT ASSOCIATION OF WNYBuffaloNY$25k0
Lake Oswego Preservation SocietyMarylhurstOR$25k0
QI SHU FANGS PEKING OPERA ASSOCIATION INCWoodhavenNY$25k2
DANCE SPOTLIGHT INCNew YorkNY$25k0
INDO-UNIVERSAL COLLABORATION FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATIONAthertonCA$25k0
Route 66 Association of IllinoisPontiacIL$25k0
Garland Symphony OrchestraGarlandTX$25k0
BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL OF LOUISIANALake CharlesLA$25k0
PINE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY CENTERRemlapAL$25k0
CHOTEAU COMMUNITY ART STUDIOChoteauMT$25k0
Southern Illinois Irish FestivalCarbondaleIL$25k0
ALL SEASONS CHAMBER PLAYERSDemarestNJ$25k0
DALLAS TAMIL PALLIIrvingTX$25k0
YELLOW TREE PROJECTWashingtonDC$25k0
OROMO CULTURAL CENTERSeattleWA$25k0
PLANT CITY ENTERTAINMENT INCPlant CityFL$25k0
SMITH VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETYSmithNV$25k0
MEXICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL EDUCATION FOUNDATIONBurbankCA$25k0
Liberal Democrat Party of Iran MashrouteTarzanaCA$25k0
ENRICH LOCALCorpus ChristiTX$25k0
PATTY MARSH BIDDLE ARCHIVES INCParisKY$25k0
SUZANNA COHEN LEGACY FOUNDATIONMount KiscoNY$24k0
THE TIME IN CHILDRENS ARTS INITIATIVE INCNew YorkNY$24k1
1334 MEDIA INCAlbanyGA$24k0
FLAT ROCK COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONFlat RockMI$24k0
SAG HARBOR COMMUNITY BAND INCSag HarborNY$24k0
SOURCE ONE FIVEFranklinTN$24k0
ISLAND TREASURE FOUNDATIONKirklandWA$24k0
Bill Blanchard MemorialYoungsvilleLA$24k0