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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 788 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MOCA INCWausauWI$12k0
NEW ENGLAND FOUNDATION FOR PSYCHOANALYSISWellesleyMA$12k0
ELIZABETH H FREEMAN TR UWBuffaloNY$12k1
Hudson Highlands Pipe Band IncNewburghNY$12k0
Albanian Heritage Foundation of the Tampa Bay AreaClearwaterFL$12k0
BAY AREA KURAL KOODAMUnion CityCA$12k0
RIDGEWOOD ARTS FOUNDATION INCRidgewoodNJ$12k0
ADVANCING HOLOCAUST AWARENESSOceanNJ$12k0
Cosmo for Women Charity IncWestburyNY$12k0
DREAM COME TRUE PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION INCPasadenaCA$12k0
ANGELS OF HOPE INC NFPCoal CityIL$12k0
ART NEOClevelandOH$12k0
KEEP THE LONG TRAIN RUNNINGDublinOH$12k0
Adams Mill IncDelphiIN$12k0
PERPETUO FILMSArlingtonVA$12k3
Oldest Consecutive Veterans Celebration of America FoundationWarsawNC$12k0
UNITED NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER INCAyerMA$12k0
BROOKVILLE THEATREA BOOSTER CLUBLynchburgVA$12k0
Central Pennsylvania Ghanaian AssociationHarrisburgPA$12k0
ORGANIZACION DE DAMAS LIMONENAS EN NEW YORK INCBronxNY$12k0
BRISTOL BLACK COLLECTIVEFall RiverMA$12k2
Compassion Street Foundation IncClaytonDE$12k0
ENO PUBLISHERSHillsboroughNC$12k0
FOUNDATION OF IRANIANS OF CTFarmingtonCT$12k0
ORAUKWU DEVELOPMENT DYNAMIC UNION USARockville CentreNY$12k0
The Art of Living Well FoundationRedondo BeachCA$12k0
UMUADA IGBO FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAMoneeIL$12k0
GHANAIAN AMERICAN ALTERNATIVE HEALINGS ASSOCIATIONHempsteadNY$12k0
VIRGINIA INTERSCHOLASTIC ASSOCIATIONCharlottesvilleVA$12k0
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS PROGRAM SUPPORT CORPORATIONWinstonsalemNC$12k4
The Friends of the FoxStocktonCA$12k0
The Guild of Middle Eastern DanceSt PaulMN$12k0
AMES HIGH SPEECH & DRAMA BOOSTER CLUBAmesIA$12k0
GABLES HISPANIC CULTURAL FOUNDATION INCDeLandFL$12k0
THE WILD ORCHID FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$12k0
TATANKA OYATE PRESERVATION SOCIETYLake AndesSD$12k0
KNOBLAUCH SHAKESPEARE TRUSTSeattleWA$12k0
THE SNOWFLAKE HERITAGE FOUNDATIONSnowflakeAZ$12k0
ALBANY FIREFIGHTERS MUSEUMAlbanyNY$12k0
DIGESWARI PARIVAR USA INCSugar LandTX$12k0
SPARK FRIENDS INCNewarkNJ$12k0
JESSE JAMES FESTIVAL INCKearneyMO$12k0
SALINE AREA SCHOOLS HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATIONSalineMI$12k0
Stomptown Dance AssociationPortlandOR$12k0
HUMANITIES WESTSan FranciscoCA$12k0
POPLAR SPRINGS HISTORIC CEMETERY INCDallasGA$12k0
Swedish Women's Educational Association New York ChapterMiddle VillageNY$12k0
ROGERS COUNTY CHEROKEE ASSOCIATIONClaremoreOK$12k0
STEAM LOCOMOTIVE HERITAGE ASSOCIATION INCHartfordWI$12k0
RECONCILIATION POWER OF GOD MINISTRY INCHoustonTX$12k0