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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 823 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
JIJNYASA RESEARCH & EDUCATION FOUNDATIONINCOrlandoFL$5k0
G QUINLEY & FRIENDSKennewickWA$5k0
NUESTRA AMERICA FOUNDATION INCTampaFL$5k0
PROJECT ATTICA COMMUNITY THROUGH THE ARTS INCEast ElmhurstNY$5k1
SLOWFIRE ART FOUNDATIONOak ParkIL$5k0
THE ZELMA BASHA SALMERI ART FOUNDATION INCChandlerAZ$5k0
Montclair Music ClubLittle FallsNJ$5k0
WV Jazz Society IncWestonWV$5k0
The Dalles OvergroundThe DallesOR$5k0
THE NEW SOUNDS OF JOY INCVirginia BeachVA$5k0
GO FURTHER INCTarzanaCA$5k0
THE BLACK CANON COLLECTION CORPORATIONSouthfieldMI$5k0
GYGAX MEMORIAL FUND INCOmahaNE$5k0
Hungarian-American Cultural Association IncSarasotaFL$5k0
JOHNNY AND LINDA RAMONE FOUNDATIONLos AngelesCA$5k0
WATERMAN AREA HERITAGE SOCIETYWatermanIL$5k0
India Health And Heritage Foundation of USA IncPotomacMD$5k0
HENRY COUNTY VETERANS MEMORIAL PARKShortervilleAL$5k0
MARKAZUL HUDA INCBrooklynNY$5k0
GATEWAY HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC BOOSTERSAuroraCO$5k0
SEVEN YEARS WARIndianapolisIN$5k0
THE GOVERNOR'S RESIDENCE CONSERVANCY INCHartfordCT$5k0
THEATRE WORKS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA INCDavenportFL$5k0
GREENBELT CONCERT BANDEllicott CityMD$5k0
US-CHINA OVERSEAS STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS ALLIANCE INCNew YorkNY$5k0
THE IOWA ACADEMY OF OTOLARYNGOLOGY- HEAD & NECK SURGERY INCDes MoinesIA$5k0
ART OF CANTONESE OPERA ASSOCIATION INCNew YorkNY$5k0
BROOKLYNS THREE KINGS DAY PARADE INCBrooklynNY$5k0
COASTAL BALLET GUILD INCEncinitasCA$5k0
ESECASalisburyMD$5k0
Irish Culture in ChicagoLake ForestIL$5k0
LEGACY ARCHIVE FOUNDATION INCIrvineCA$5k0
LEXINGTON VETERANS ASSOCIATION INCLexingtonMA$5k0
MAULDIN CULTURAL COUNCILMauldinSC$5k0
NUDGERS INCPerryIA$5k0
FRIENDS OF THE KEEP HOMESTEAD MUSEUM IN CARE OF CAROL STRUMMonsonMA$4k0
FOUNDATION FOR THE IDAHO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL INCBoiseID$4k0
LOCFUL EDUTAINMENT ARTS FOUNDATIONBrooklynNY$4k0
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF GRAPHIC ARTS DBA AIGA SEATTLESeattleWA$4k0
VANDALIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCVandaliaIL$4k0
PodularPort TownsendWA$4k0
AFRICAN-ATLANTIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETYFreeportNY$4k0
NEPALI COMMUNITY CENTER ORLANDO INCOrlandoFL$4k0
BLACK ROCK COALITION INCNew YorkNY$4k0
HISTORIC PURSUITSPalmyraNY$4k1
ASIAN AMERICAN ART & CULTURE INITIATIVEHoustonTX$4k0
Cultural Fluency InitiativeMinneapolisMN$4k0
Thread - HaChutCherry HillNJ$4k0
TAILDRAGGER INN INCHammontonNJ$4k0
Riverside Sheriffs MuseumRiversideCA$4k0