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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 745 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
NEWBERRY THEATER PRESERVATION FOUNDCovingtonOH$23k0
WEST OK CO-OP INCClintonOK$23k0
NM BAND BOOSTERSTownsendMA$23k0
SCRANTON PUBLIC THEATRE INCScrantonPA$23k0
SEEDS OF LIGHT FOUNDATIONWilliamsOR$23k2
CLAUDE HEATER FOUNDATIONBelvedere TiburonCA$23k1
NORTH CAROLINA VETERANS' WRITING ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INCAshevileNC$23k0
INNASTARAllentownPA$23k0
FRIENDS OF FORT SILL INCFort SillOK$23k0
SILVER SPIRIT BANDS INCORPORATEDAikenSC$23k0
ICF Orange County Charter ChapterLaguna NiguelCA$23k0
NORDHOFF DANCE ALLIANCEOjaiCA$23k0
STARZ BOOSTERZ STARZ BOOSTERZWythevilleVA$23k0
Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas IncTopekaKS$23k0
NISEI BASEBALL RESEARCH PROJECTFresnoCA$23k0
ATHOLTON HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC BOOSTERSColumbiaMD$23k0
VAN THEATRE BOOSTER CLUBVanTX$23k0
City Gate Productions IncForest HillsNY$23k0
SOCK & BUSKIN THEATRE COMPANYState CollegePA$23k0
MANCHESTER MUNICIPAL ARTS COMManchesterTN$23k0
PEYVANDKirklandWA$23k0
BRICKTOWN MODEL RAILROADERS ASSOCIATIONMount UnionPA$23k0
WHITE MOUNTAINS PRIDENorth ConwayNH$23k0
HISTORIC ELEUTHERIAN COLLEGE INCMadisonIN$23k0
Mel O Musical INCMiltonMA$23k1
THIRD COAST BAROQUE NFPChicagoIL$23k1
DILRUBA MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$23k0
MUDPIE INCLeverettMA$23k0
TROUT VALLEY PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION SOCIETYTrout ValleyIL$23k0
MATUCA CHAPTER 1849 E CLAMPUS VITUS INCColumbiaCA$23k0
DECORATIVE ARTS SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$23k0
NELSONVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPTNelsonvilleOH$23k0
HAMPTON BAYS HIBERNIANS INCHampton BaysNY$23k0
HUNTINGDON LANDMARKS INCHuntingdonPA$23k0
Mantorville Art GuildMantorvilleMN$23k0
NEW ENGLAND HINDI MANCH INCLexingtonMA$23k0
HELENE AND EDWARD COLE FAMILY FOUNDATIONLivingstonMT$23k0
MUSEUM OF RAILWAY WORKERSBoulderCO$23k0
TOMORROWS FILMAKERS TODAYStudio CityCA$23k0
WEST SIDE CONNECTBeavertonOR$23k0
EGBE OMO ODUDUWA INC MINNESOTA USALake ElmoMN$23k0
The Approach InstituteGlendaleCA$23k3
MUSIC MOVES ME INCArcadiaMI$23k0
AUTHENTIC LEARNING ALLIANCEKey WestFL$23k0
SYMPHONY LEAGUE ENDOWMENT FUNDColumbiaSC$23k0
PRATIDHWANIKirklandWA$23k0
FRIENDS OF THE LANCASTER TOWN LIBRARYLancasterMA$23k0
MONO BASIN HISTORICAL SOCIETYLee ViningCA$23k0
CHAMBERDANCE INCSan FranciscoCA$23k0
ECO THEO COLLECTIVEAustinTX$23k0