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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 77 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
PEOPLE'S THEATRE PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$1.9M1
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF WOODTURNERSSt PaulMN$1.9M1
Printing United FoundationFairfaxVA$1.9M2
UNION COUNTY ARTS CENTER INCRahwayNJ$1.9M1
THE OLD NAVAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$1.9M1
Braddock Carnegie Library AssocBraddockPA$1.9M1
SOHO PLAYHOUSE INCNew YorkNY$1.9M0
SANTA MONICA UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB INCSanta MonicaCA$1.9M3
Pioneer Courthouse Square of Portland IncPortlandOR$1.9M1
Seattle Center FoundationSeattleWA$1.9M1
SAM BEAUFORD WOODWORKING INSTAdrianMI$1.9M0
MOUNT VERNON PLACE CONSERVANCY INCBaltimoreMD$1.9M1
LINCOLN HILLS CARES FOUNDATIONDenverCO$1.9M1
THE ARTS COUNCIL OF KERNBakersfieldCA$1.9M1
CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF YORK COUNTYYorkPA$1.9M1
GRAND CENTRAL ATELIER INCRidgewoodNY$1.9M1
New Conservatory Theatre CenterSan FranciscoCA$1.9M3
KANSAS CITY FRIENDS OF ALVIN AILEYKansas CityMO$1.9M0
RHODE ISLAND ARTS FOUNDATION AT NEWPORTNewportRI$1.9M1
PICKFORD FILM CENTERBellinghamWA$1.9M1
CARPENTERS' COMPANY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$1.9M1
SCOTTSDALE RAILROAD & MECHANICAL SOCIETYScottsdaleAZ$1.9M0
SULTANA HISTORICAL PRESERVATION SOCIETY INCMarionAR$1.9M3
THE MUSIC ACADEMY OF NORTH CAROLINA INCGreeensboroNC$1.9M1
MENDOCINO MUSIC FESTIVALMendocinoCA$1.9M5
WASHINGTON TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATIONSeattleWA$1.9M1
MONTICELLO RAILWAY MUSEUM INCMonticelloIL$1.9M0
MERCATOR CHARITABLE TRUSTJacksonWY$1.9M1
JACKSONVILLE ARTS AND MUSIC SCHOOLJacksonvilleFL$1.9M0
GOODTIME CHINESE CENTERPortlandOR$1.9M1
GILDA'S CLUB METRO DETROITRoyal OakMI$1.9M0
STUDIOS FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS OPERATING COMPANYSacramentoCA$1.9M1
THE WHEELWRIGHT MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIANSanta FeNM$1.9M2
Floodlight IncWashingtonDC$1.9M5
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF THE MOV INCParkersburgWV$1.9M1
RAGTAG FILM SOCIETYColumbiaMO$1.9M2
Hopkinton Center for the ArtsHopkintonMA$1.9M0
M GORMAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATES INCNewtonMA$1.9M3
Cihuapactli CollectivePhoenixAZ$1.9M3
WESTERN INTERNATIONAL BAND CLINICSpringfieldOR$1.9M4
Rockport Art Association IncRockportTX$1.9M1
MATCH Midtown Arts & Theater Center HoustonHoustonTX$1.9M2
TED WILLIAMS MUSEUM AND HITTERS HALL OF FAME INCHernandoFL$1.9M3
SANTA CRUZ MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYSanta CruzCA$1.9M2
FRIENDS OF THE LOBKOWICZ COLLECTIONS INCDoverMA$1.9M0
ALBANY INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND ARTAlbanyNY$1.9M2
FOSTER ART & WILDERNESS FOUNDATIONPalo AltoCA$1.9M0
THE WILLIAM BREMAN JEWISH HERITAGE MUSEUM INCAtlantaGA$1.9M1
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PALM BEACH COUNTY INCWest Palm BeachFL$1.9M1
DAKOTA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYSouth St PaulMN$1.9M1