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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 791 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
GILLESPIE FOUNDATIONBloomsburgPA$11k0
BEMUS BAY POPS INCBemus PointNY$11k0
BRAZILIAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTERNew York CityNY$11k0
CARL HEIDENREICH FOUNDATIONBerkeleyCA$11k0
LOCKE PRIOR RESIDENTS DESCENDANTS AND ASCENDANTS CORPORATIONWalnut GroveCA$11k0
MAMA AFRIKA FESTIVALRaleighNC$11k0
THE CUYONON LANGUAGE & CULTURE PROJECT INCSaratoga SpringsNY$11k0
WEISS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION TRPlainviewNY$11k0
City Dance IncHoustonTX$11k1
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ALADDIN LAMP COLLECTORS INCAndersonIN$11k0
Society for Design & Process SciencesPlanoTX$11k0
FILIPINO AMERICAN ASSN OF S OHIOFairfieldOH$11k0
NORTHERN CROSS RIVER ASSOCIATIONMissouri CityTX$11k0
BERGER FAMILY FOUNDATIONBostonMA$11k0
Philippine American AssocTulsaOK$11k0
WATERMARK ARTS INCRed HookNY$11k0
Matt's Music Charitable Foundation IncNorth TonawandaNY$11k0
SHIKKARICON ENTERTAINMENT INCEast PittsburghPA$11k0
BCAI Cultural Arts and HumanitiesBloomingtonIL$11k0
YUCAIPA HIGH SCHOOL BAND BOOSTERSYucaipaCA$11k0
Resonance FoundationSanta BarbaraCA$11k0
ST NICHOLAS CENTERHollandMI$11k0
MONTGOMERY ART CENTER INCMontgomeryAL$11k0
Glorias Joy FoundationMelissaTX$11k0
THE CRANBERRY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INPlymouthMA$11k0
MASTERWORKS CHORALE INCSwanseaIL$11k3
EXSULTET INCDedhamMA$11k0
ALL FOR ONE THEATER FESTIVAL INCNew YorkNY$11k0
Texas Living History AssociationMexiaTX$11k0
PHELPS ART CENTER INCPhelpsNY$11k0
DURAZZANESE SOCIETA ITALO AMERICANO DI MUTO SOCORSO INCWestburyNY$11k0
GEYSERVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETYGeyservilleCA$11k0
EL PASO JAZZ GIRLSEl PasoTX$11k1
KROSSROADS PLAYHOUSE INCKernersvilleNC$11k0
HOUSTON UNITED MALAYALEE SOCCER CLUMissouri CityTX$11k0
BELIEVER'S TRUST FOR BALLET MAGNIFICATBirminghamAL$11k1
MAYHEM SNAIL ART COLLECTIVE LTDFort CollinsCO$11k0
DANTE ALIGHIERI SOCIETY OF CHARLESTONCharlestonSC$11k0
Indigenous NOWSalemOR$11k0
MACDONALD CENTER FOR THE ARTS & HUMANITIESHendersonNV$11k0
Friends Of Sunrise MillSchwenksvillePA$11k0
SAINT LOUIS POLONIA INCSt LouisMO$11k0
PRAGATHI ART FOUNDATION INCORPORATEDRancho CucamongaCA$11k0
Aquilon Music FestivalSherwoodOR$11k0
V ATKINS FOUNDATION INCJupiterFL$11k0
NORTH VILLAGE ARTS DISTRICTColumbiaMO$11k0
FIRST SPECIAL SERVICE FORCE MEMORIAL TRUSTGreat FallsMT$11k0
EDWARD B EVANS AND RUTH TODD EVANS FAMILY FOUNDATIONRancho Santa FeCA$11k0
SCULPTURE IN THE SOUTHSummervilleSC$11k0
HANCOCK COUNTY MUSEUMNew CumberlandWV$11k0