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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 744 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
US-CHINA LANGUAGE & CULTUREFOUNDATIONDanvilleCA$24k2
Barnwell District 45 Band Booster ClubBarnwellSC$24k0
BEST LITTLE COWBOY GATHERING IN TEXASLa GrangeTX$24k0
FLYING ELEPHANT PRODUCTIONSChicagoIL$24k0
MCDONOUGH COUNTY HISTORICMacOmbIL$24k0
FAMILY FRIENDS OF THE BILLERICA LIBRARY INCBillericaMA$24k0
CENTRALIA JUNETEENTHCentraliaIL$24k0
RHAPSODY IN TAPS INCLong BeachCA$24k0
Art Education Gathering IncSaint PetersburgFL$24k0
GSPC OF NEW JERSEY INCEast BrunswickNJ$24k0
LIFE NEWS TODAY CORPFairfaxVA$23k0
THE NOTICE FOUNDATION INCRidgewoodNY$23k1
GULF COAST COMMUNITY CHOIR INCSarasotaFL$23k0
UR ARTS & CULTURE INCAlbuquerqueNM$23k1
A FREE BIRD CORPORATIONBrooklynNY$23k0
THAI TOWN COUNCIL OF LOS ANGELESLos AngelesCA$23k0
IRONBOUND IRISH-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION INCNewarkNJ$23k0
BULGARIAN CULTURAL AND LANGUAGE CENTER-PATILANSKO TZARSTVO INCMyrtle BeachSC$23k0
Nomad Theatre Company NFPNormalIL$23k0
PEMBROKE HISTORICAL SOCIETYPembrokeMA$23k0
SPRING VALLEY HISTORIC ASSOCIATIONSpring ValleyIL$23k0
VETERANS ALLIANCE FOR HOLISTIC ALTERNATIVESGretnaLA$23k0
Aviation Structural Mechanic AssociationPensacolaFL$23k0
COKER MUSEUMChattanoogaTN$23k0
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF NORTH GEORGIA INCCummingGA$23k0
PROCLAIM EVANGELISTIC MUSIC MINISTRY INCPittsfordNY$23k0
TIN PAN ALLEY AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$23k0
Osceola Historical SocietyOsceolaWI$23k0
Denver JazzDenverCO$23k1
Flow Museum of Art & CultureMemphisTN$23k0
TIFFIN HISTORIC TRUST INCTiffinOH$23k0
THE HARRIET TUBMAN FOUNDATION OF HOWARD COUNTY INCColumbiaMD$23k0
THE BIRDSONG SOCIETYHickoryNC$23k0
SIPSYS ENTERTAINMENTLos BanosCA$23k0
OLGA DUNN DANCE COMPANYGreat BarringtonMA$23k0
INTERNATIONAL BASAVA CENTER INCORPORATEDHopkintonMA$23k0
NAT 28MonroevillePA$23k0
ASSOC OF HISTORIANS OF AMERICAN ARTFort WorthTX$23k0
EKHAGUOSA AISIEN FOUNDATIONColliervilleTN$23k0
Historical and Preservation Society of WellsvilleWellsvilleMO$23k0
The Dreams Team IncBealetonVA$23k0
LAURA AND ROBERT PENN FOWLER FAMILY FOUNDATIONAustinTX$23k0
MEADOWLANDS MUSEUMRutherfordNJ$23k0
Alan I W Frank House FoundationRadnorPA$23k0
BACH WITH VERSENelsonNH$23k0
GETTYSBURG BRASS BAND FESTIVAL INCGettysburgPA$23k0
WASHINGTON COMMUNITY CONCERTS INCWashingtonIN$23k0
Friends of DanceGeorgetownSC$23k0
CHICAGO NAVY MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCChicagoIL$23k0
LOCKPORT PUBLIC ARTS COUNCIL INCLockportNY$23k0