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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 804 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Afghan School IncWhitestoneNY$8k1
THE ANAHEIM HISTORICAL SOCIETYAnaheimCA$8k0
FRIENDS OF KENNEDY MUSEUM LIN HALLAthensOH$8k0
Palestinian American Cultural CenterHoustonTX$8k0
OCEAN COUNTY SOCIETY OF MODEL RAILROADERSLakewoodNJ$8k0
COW CREEK HISTORICAL SOCIETYGlendaleOR$8k0
IGNITE PERFORMING ARTS INCIndianapolisIN$8k0
SALLY E DEAN PERFORMING ARTS INCWoodsideCA$8k0
SPARTA TRAIN STATION C/O WILLIAM E DERMODY IVSpartaNJ$8k0
NORTHEAST YOUTH BALLET INCReadingMA$8k0
THE VOIGT FAMILY SCULPTURE FOUNDATIONGeyservilleCA$8k0
SR SANTO NINO SINULOG OF MIAMI INCMiamiFL$8k0
THE CARL SCHMITT FOUNDATION INCWiltonCT$8k0
CHILDRENS FILM ACADEMY OF MADISON INCMadisonWI$8k0
WOOD RIVER REFINERY HISTORY MUSEUMRoxanaIL$8k0
Self Empowerment Through EducationCentre HallPA$8k0
BADGER CLARK FOUNDATIONSioux FallsSD$8k0
MISSION MEGHNAVillage Of LakewoodIL$8k0
GEORGE B VASHON CULTURAL RESEARCHSaint LouisMO$8k0
GUJARATI SOCETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIACerritosCA$8k0
NEVADA GAY MEN'S CHORUS INCRenoNV$8k0
BIG WALNUT CIVIC ASSOCIATION INCSunburyOH$8k0
NEW MEXICO MUSIC HALL OF FAMEAlbuquerqueNM$8k0
DUTCH HOLLOW HANGER CEMETERYMiddlebrookVA$8k0
VICTORIAN FRONT PORCH CHRISTMAS TOUR OF OPELIKAOpelikaAL$8k0
BATAK COMMUNITY OF COLORADOAuroraCO$8k0
KALA SEVA ARTS & CULTURAL SOCIETY INCAmherstNY$8k0
Chicago Acting in Film Meetup c/o Steve ScholzChicagoIL$8k0
CEW CollaborativePawleys IslandSC$8k0
BALLET FOLKLORICO QUETZALCOATLSpringvilleUT$8k0
Radost Folk EnsembleSeattleWA$8k0
COURAGE PROJECTCincinnatiOH$8k0
NORTH HALL ASSOCIATION INCHuntingtonMA$8k0
HARRINGTON REPERTORYWilmingtonNC$8k0
Fender Play FoundationLos AngelesCA$8k0
CENTER FOR EMERGING MEDIA INCSparksMD$8k0
READING'S VOCAL ORGANIZATION INSPIRING CHORAL EXCELLENCE INCReadingMA$8k0
BARRY & PEGGY GOLDWATER FOUNDATIONScottsdaleAZ$8k0
Mutable Studio IncLos AngelesCA$8k0
PROJECT PEACE BY PIECENewbury ParkCA$8k0
BRIDGEWATER ANTIPHONAL BRASS SOCIETY INCRaynhamMA$8k3
Space Coast Childrens Museum IncMelbourneFL$8k0
THOMAS DORSEY NCGCC NEW ORLEANS METROPOLITAN UNIONNew OrleansLA$8k0
GREAT NORTHERN FILMWORKSSeattleWA$8k0
THRESHOLD SINGERS OF THE NORTH SHORESalemMA$8k1
ROMANIAN CULTURAL CENTERChicagoIL$8k0
HISTORIC WAYNESBOROUGHPaoliPA$8k0
TAKE ACTION HOLLYWOOD C/O HCVT LLPLos AngelesCA$8k0
HISTORICAL PRESERVATION GROUPKinstonNC$8k0
MUSIC DEFYING BOUNDARIESUrbanaIL$8k1