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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 798 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Rocky Horror Club at UC DavisDavisCA$10k0
AMERICAS LIVING HISTORY FOUNDATIONCommerce TownshipMI$10k0
EX OPHIDIA PRESS INCOmahaNE$10k0
THE KHALIL COLLECTIVE CORPViennaVA$10k0
URASENKE BOSTON INCBostonMA$10k0
Princeton Early Keyboard Center IncKingstonNJ$10k0
SOCIAL MEDIA HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUMSanta MariaCA$10k0
THEOSOPHY FOUNDATION INCBlue RidgeGA$10k0
The Jerry Garcia FoundationSan RafaelCA$10k0
Polish Cultural Society of Indiana IncNoblesvilleIN$10k0
Be the Change NE FL IncJacksonvilleFL$10k0
KALA BHAVAN INCKendall ParkNJ$10k0
SARBON COMMONWEALTH UZBEKISTAN NATIVESPhiladelphiaPA$10k0
BRADLEY COUNTY VETERANS INCWarrenAR$9k0
KENNETT HERITAGE CENTERKennett SquarePA$9k0
Cercle Amis Bamileke Atlanta IncStone MountainGA$9k0
MEACT INCMissouri CityTX$9k0
KAMMA ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA INCSmyrnaGA$9k0
ASOCIACION DE ESCRITORES DE OHIONew AlbanyOH$9k0
DETROIT ART REVIEW INCRochester HillsMI$9k0
NEW ILLINOISTrevorWI$9k0
KnoxmediaKnoxvilleTN$9k0
MCMINNVILLE PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATIONMcMinnvilleOR$9k0
CONIFER HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUMConiferCO$9k0
FRIENDS OF THE 4TH OF JULY INCSouth OrleansMA$9k0
UTAH CHORAL COLLECTIVEBountifulUT$9k0
PURCELL MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INCPurcellOK$9k0
SPRAGUE ORCHESTRA BOOSTERSalemOR$9k0
HARTLAND COMMUNITY BANDNew BerlinWI$9k0
CAG Community Support CorporationDaltonGA$9k0
ANZA CIVIC IMPROVEMENT LEAGUEAnzaCA$9k0
THE SWEETWOOD FAMILY FOUNDATION INCFairfieldNJ$9k0
OROMO CENTERWashingtonDC$9k0
Denver American Indian FestivalCentennialCO$9k0
Madison County Courthouse Preservation FundWintersetIA$9k0
American Institute of Graphic ArtsLos AngelesCA$9k0
INSTITUTE FOR RELEASING INITIATIVEBrooklynNY$9k0
MARQUETTE FRINGEMarquetteMI$9k0
Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival IncJim ThorpePA$9k0
THE STP CREATIVE FOUNDATIONMontaukNY$9k0
BLOOMINGTON - NORMAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAMilwaukeeWI$9k1
SEBROF FORBES FOUNDATION INCKensingtonMD$9k0
ST ANDREWS SOCIETY OF SW FL INCNaplesFL$9k0
ART J FOUNDATIONPortlandOR$9k0
ATHENAEUM THEATRE PRODUCTIONSChicagoIL$9k1
RIVERSIDE OPERA GUILD INCWildomarCA$9k0
DENTON ELKINS FOUNDATION FOR MUSIC EDUCATIONJacksonvilleFL$9k0
CAMP INSPIRATION G NYC INCNew YorkNY$9k0
FRIENDS OF PINECREST DANCE PROJECTMiamiFL$9k0
Inner Directions Foundation IncAgoura HillsCA$9k0