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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 833 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
THE NEW YORK SOCIETY FOR GENERAL SEMANTICS INCHastings On HudsonNY$3k0
DAVID T HANSON FOUNDATIONFairfieldIA$3k0
National Alliance Leading the Acceleration of STEMSt LouisMO$3k0
WOMEN OF THE WORLD FOUNDATIONNew OrleansLA$3k0
Oklahoma Comics Foundation IncNormanOK$3k0
JAZZ ON THE SQUAREWoodstockIL$3k0
MUSIC FARMING INCSausalitoCA$3k0
CRAFTON HERITAGEPittsburghPA$3k0
ARCHWAY DAYS FESTIVAL INCCentervilleIN$3k0
BERNICE MAGALNICK THEATRE CO INCSanta FeNM$3k0
WESTLAKE-WESTSHORE ARTS COUNCILWestlakeOH$3k0
CRAGSMOOR CONTEMPORARY ARTSCragsmoorNY$3k0
THE ROBERT & MARILYN FRIEDSON FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$3k0
BIHAR AND JHARKHAND ASSOCIATION OF OREGONHillsboroOR$3k0
New Media Arts IncBerkeleyCA$3k0
WESTERN STATES JEWISH HISTORYPomonaCA$3k0
BACKYARD STAGES INCBrooklynNY$3k0
FRIENDS OF MUSICAL ARTS INCRancho Santa FeCA$3k0
BRIDGELIGHT ARTS INCNew YorkNY$3k0
BLENDING CULTURES SOCIETY CORPORATIONSalisburyMD$3k0
EARLY ARKANSAW REENACTORS ASSOCIATIONSweet HomeAR$3k0
Gerod dove foundationJacksonvilleFL$3k0
MUSIC FOR FAITH INCMendhamNJ$3k0
San Diego Double Ten CommitteeSan DiegoCA$3k0
THE LOIS WEBER FILM FESTIVALOstervilleMA$3k0
SOUNDS OF MUSIC INCAransas PassTX$3k0
4th Pennsylvania BattalionLanghornePA$3k0
ALEXANDER THE GREAT FOUNDATION INCWhitestoneNY$3k0
SOUTH SPARTA COMMUNITY CHURCH INCMoores HillIN$3k0
SOUTH LOUISIANA WILDFOWL CARVERSThibodauxLA$3k0
SWINGANOVA JAZZ ENSEMBLE INCDallasTX$3k0
SANTOS CHAMBER SINGERSAmerican ForkUT$3k0
INVESTIGATION STATION INCNew Port RicheyFL$3k0
BITS TO BYTES MUSEUMKyleTX$3k0
THE MUSIC AND MORE FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$3k0
Frankton History ClubFranktonIN$3k0
Solid Brass Chamber Music Guild IncChathamNJ$3k0
IMMEDIATE THEATRE PROJECTAshevilleNC$3k1
ENLIGHTENMENT MUSIC INCBurbankCA$3k0
THE KOREAN ASSOCIATION OF OKLAHOMA INCMooreOK$3k0
NYC HISTORIC FLORAL DISTRICT MUSEUM INCNew YorkNY$3k0
CINDY TAYLOR HANSEN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION FOR LIVE ARTSKingsburgCA$3k0
FOUNDATION FOR INDIA STUDIESHoustonTX$3k0
MOVEWESTSanta FeNM$3k0
WISCONSIN HISTORICAL REAL ESTATE FOUNDATION INCMadisonWI$3k1
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CS LEWIS SOCIETSan Juan CapistranoCA$3k0
GREATER LONGVIEW CHILDRENS CHOIR ASSOCIATIONHallsvilleTX$3k0
NATIONAL CATHOLIC BAND ASSOCIATIONDowningtownPA$3k0
UAYA STAMFORD INCStamfordCT$3k0
DALY MANSION PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INCHamiltonMT$3k0