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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 8 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE AYN RAND INSTITUTE THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF OBJECTIVISMSanta AnaCA$25.1M12
SCOTTSDALE ARTSScottsdaleAZ$25.1M7
CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING INCHartfordCT$25.1M14
TEACH INCLos AngelesCA$25M7
CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSICPhiladelphiaPA$24.9M14
10 SOUTH STREET CLUB OPERATOR INCNew YorkNY$24.9M0
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF JAPANESE ANIMATIONCoronaCA$24.7M11
VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETYRichmondVA$24.6M6
Maine Public Broadcasting CorporationLewistonME$24.6M9
ATLANTA BELTLINE PARTNERSHIP INCAtlantaGA$24.5M4
GREATER AUSTIN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCAustinTX$24.5M7
ARTS CENTER AND THEATRE OF SCHENECTADY INCSchenectadyNY$24.4M7
NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIALKansas CityMO$24.4M5
MIAMI CITY BALLET INCMiami BeachFL$24.2M9
EXPLORATION PLACE INCWichitaKS$24.2M3
ALLIED MEDIA PROJECTS INCDetroitMI$24.1M9
FENIMORE ART MUSEUMNew YorkNY$24M2
ROOF ABOVE INCCharlotteNC$24M5
5TH AVENUE THEATRE ASSOCIATIONSeattleWA$23.9M9
JOSLYN ART MUSEUMOmahaNE$23.8M5
THE NEWARK MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONNewarkNJ$23.8M11
THE NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER OF GREENSBORO INC DBA GREENSBORO SCIENCE CENTERGreensboroNC$23.7M2
CINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONCincinnatiOH$23.7M7
BARBER VINTAGE MOTORSPORTS MUSEUMBirminghamAL$23.6M2
THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART LOS ANGELESLos AngelesCA$23.6M8
ROCKY MOUNTAIN PUBLIC MEDIA INCDenverCO$23.5M7
AMON CARTER MUSEUM OF WESTERN ARTFort WorthTX$23.5M9
CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYClevelandOH$23.5M10
VIZCAYA MUSEUM AND GARDENS TRUST INCMiamiFL$23.4M11
SKIRBALL CULTURAL CENTERLos AngelesCA$23.4M13
INDIANA SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCIndianapolisIN$23.4M8
SAVE OUR MUSICIANS FOUNDATION INCJupiterFL$23.3M0
Friends of the Cultural Center IncPalm DesertCA$23.3M9
BATTLESHIP TEXAS FOUNDATIONHoustonTX$23.2M4
STARLIGHT THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF KANSAS CITY INCKansas CityMO$23.2M7
SOUTH FLORIDA PBS INCBoynton BeachFL$23.1M9
Lorraine Civil Rights Museum FoundationMemphisTN$23.1M8
MUNSON-WILLIAMS-PROCTOR ARTS INSTITUTEUticaNY$23.1M5
FILOLI CENTERWoodsideCA$22.9M10
OMAHA CHILDREN'S TRUSTOmahaNE$22.9M0
TAMPA MUSEUM OF ART INCTampaFL$22.8M4
PHILLIP AND PATRICIA FROST MUSEUM OF SCIENCE INCMiamiFL$22.8M12
KANSAS CITY SYMPHONYKansas CityMO$22.7M12
INDEPENDENT TELEVISION SERVICES INCSan FranciscoCA$22.6M9
HAMILTON-MADISON HOUSE INCNew YorkNY$22.6M9
VICTORIA THEATRE ASSOCIATIONDaytonOH$22.6M8
WJO FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$22.6M1
NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTERPhiladelphiaPA$22.5M8
BALLET WESTSalt Lake CityUT$22.5M7
VPM MEDIA CORPORATIONRichmondVA$22.5M10