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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 752 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FIRE DEPT EMERALD SOCIETYWashingtonDC$21k0
ASAS INTERNATIONAL INCLawrencevilleGA$21k0
THE TREEHOUSE PROJECTPortlandOR$21k0
Spires Brass Band IncFrederickMD$21k0
US MILITIA NATIONAL CHAPTER RIDINGChesterlandOH$21k0
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD MUSEUM OF BURLINGTON COUNTYWillingboroNJ$21k0
STARBASE VERMONT INCORPORATEDSouth BurlingtonVT$21k0
Aviva ArtsSan FranciscoCA$21k0
LUMINARY COMITYLouisvilleKY$21k0
SUNAV ASSOCIATION USA INCEast BrunswickNJ$21k0
LOUISIANA BELLY DANCE ASSOCIATION RADCLIFFLafayetteLA$21k0
THE JESSE N SMITH HERITAGE FOUNDATIONChesterfieldMO$21k0
MUSEUM OF OUR INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE INCGreenfieldMA$21k0
VIVA PANAMA ORGANIZATION INCLong BeachCA$21k0
PIRANDELLO LYCEUM INCEast BostonMA$21k0
BURLINGTON CITY BAND BOOSTERS ASSOCIATION IncBurlingtonNJ$21k0
Family Promise of Yucaipa-CalimesaYucaipaCA$21k0
THE NORTHERN FAIRFIELD COUNTY ASSOC OF REALTORS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INCBethelCT$21k0
HOOSIER HEARTLAND TROLLEY COMPANYRussiavilleIN$21k0
MARIN CHINESE CULTURAL ASSOCIATION INCNovatoCA$21k0
THE ENDOWMENT FUND OF THE LITERACY CENTER OF HARLINGEN INCHarlingenTX$21k0
TOSSAROSEChicagoIL$21k0
SAN CLEMENTE HISTORICAL SOCIETYSan ClementeCA$21k0
NELA PRIDEWest MonroeLA$21k0
The Federation of Italian American Societies of Western New YorkBuffaloNY$21k0
CULTURAL DYNAMICS INCPowder SpringsGA$21k0
GREATER AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ART INC DBA GAIAClovisCA$21k0
Lulapin Chumash FoundationOjaiCA$21k0
ANTIQUE TRACTOR CLUB OF TRUMBULL COUNTY INCCortlandOH$21k0
MUCE EDUCATES CORPMiamiFL$21k0
TRIANGLE JAINSCaryNC$21k0
HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS ASSOCIATION OF CELTIC GATHERGulfportMS$21k0
MCNEELEY LIBRARY FOUNDATION INCOlmsted FallsOH$21k0
FITZGERALD GRIFFIN FOUNDATIONViennaVA$21k0
HEART OF ILLINOIS CHORUS CHAPTER OF SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL CORPORATIOWashingtonIL$21k0
Litvak Dance Arts FoundationEncinitasCA$21k0
SANTA MARIA VALLEY RAILWAY HISTORICAL MUSEUM INCSanta MariaCA$21k0
Greater Worcester OperaIncWest BoylstonMA$21k0
KNIGHTS OF ENCHANTED DREAMSJamestownNY$21k0
MAIDEN HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC BOOSTERSMaidenNC$21k0
RAICES CULTURALES LATINOAMERICANAS INCAldanPA$21k2
CAROLINE GILBERT HINCHEE HOUSE RESTORATION MAINTENANCE & MANAGEMENTBeaumontTX$21k0
THE KERNERSVILLE MUSEUM FOUNDATIONKernersvilleNC$21k0
4 CHAIRS THEATREBuffalo GroveIL$21k0
ONE HUMAN FAMILY WORKSHOPRaleighNC$21k0
WordsforLife IncWoodstockGA$21k0
SWINE PALACE PRODUCTIONS INCBaton RougeLA$21k0
JAZMINES JOURNEYPhoenixAZ$21k0
Downey Foundation for Independent JournalismDowneyCA$21k0
HUNTSVILLE SWING DANCE SOCIETYMadisonAL$21k0