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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 827 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
DJDM FOUNDATIONBaytownTX$4k0
Latino Vision AssociationNewtonKS$4k0
FLING TOGETHER COLLECTIVEEnglewoodCO$4k0
AMERICAN ARTIST FOUNDATIONSan RamonCA$4k0
NLUS COMMISSIONING COMMITTEENovatoCA$4k0
Central Park ArtistsDenverCO$4k0
INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART FOUNDATIOLouisvilleKY$4k0
PERFORMING ARTS INITIATIVEHood RiverOR$4k0
Dee Pace Memorial FoundationFort MillSC$4k0
FONTANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY CORPFontanaCA$4k0
MID-SOUTH SCIENCE AND FICTION CONVENTIONS INCMemphisTN$4k0
Sweet Adelines InternationalClermontFL$4k0
Artesanos de QuestaQuestaNM$4k0
MONGOLIAN CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONGlenviewIL$4k0
THE ITALIAN AMERICAN WRITERS ASSOCIATION INCAstoriaNY$4k0
JESSIE'S DREAM INCLincolnRI$4k0
WAUCONDA BAND BOOSTERSWaucondaIL$4k0
JACK TERRICLOTH FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$4k1
BARN KEEPERSBloomingtonIL$4k0
PULSE PROUD PARENTSKansas CityMO$4k0
GLOBAL ALLIANCE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES GENDER JUSTIBronxNY$4k2
ART SKOOLIESan FranciscoCA$4k0
MOFUNDAMENTALSLos AngelesCA$4k0
Indian Christian Association Of North AmericaVernon HillsIL$4k0
MESSENGER'S OLD WEST MUSEUMCheyenneWY$4k0
Artist Guild of NolensvilleNolensvilleTN$4k0
JULIAN RACHLIN & FRIENDS MUSIC FESTIVALS INCNew YorkNY$4k0
THE FLORENCE CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY MUSICFlorenceSC$4k0
ANCHORAGE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETYAnchorageAK$4k0
HOUSEOFSOUND ORGPortlandOR$4k0
LOS ALTOS MARIACHI ARTS COUNCIL INCSan AntonioTX$4k0
ZOOM SHORTS FILMS INCBomoseenVT$4k0
SOUTHWEST MISSOURI MUSEUM ASSOCIATES INCSpringfieldMO$4k0
LAFESTA INCNorth AdamsMA$4k0
BANDON ARTS COUNCIL INCBandonOR$4k0
HARLOW G FARMER TR UW FBO NORTH NY COMM FDNNorwichNY$4k1
SAINT LOUIS HAITIAN HERITAGEBallwinMO$4k0
DAVID COATS ACADAMY FOR THE CREATIOIndianapolisIN$4k0
GO SHIKI KAN INTERNATIONAL INCNew YorkNY$4k0
HEREANDNOW THEATRE COMPANYEl MonteCA$4k0
Inspired Nation IncYorkME$4k0
BLUELACES THEATER COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$4k0
AKANU FAMILY ASSOCIATION TEXASKatyTX$4k0
Wednesday ClubCamp HillPA$4k0
VENTURE SHAKESPEAREAshevilleNC$4k0
WOLAKOTA - THE SPACE OF HARMONY AND POWERYpsilantiMI$4k0
Greater Philadelphia Lianjiang Association IncPhiladelphiaPA$4k0
LETS QUESTHudsonFL$4k0
AMERICAN SCANDINAVIAN ASSOCIATION OF THE GREAT PLAINSLindsborgKS$4k0
SYNAESTHETIC THEATRE CO CHRIS NICHOLSBrooklynNY$4k0