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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 844 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CENTURA FOUNDATIONSan DiegoCA$2k0
COLUMBIA COUNTY WIND SYMPHONY INCEvansGA$2k0
COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICES INTERNATIONAL INCAtlantaGA$2k0
DanceOne FoundationLos AngelesCA$2k0
ELKHORN STATION MAIN STREETElkhornNE$2k0
ERIC J GEWIRZ FOUNDATION INCBethesdaMD$2k0
GIVESANKOFA INCChicagoIL$2k0
KOTELNICKI ARTS FOUNDATIONHamilltonNJ$2k0
Krewe Du KanavalNew OrleansLA$2k0
Kurt Cobain Music Education ProjectAberdeenWA$2k0
Opera Fayetteville IncFayettevilleAR$2k0
The Bishop Reverdy C & Emma S Ransom Foundation IncWilberforceOH$2k0
THE ITALIAN AMERICAN CIVIC ASSOC OF MINEOLA NYMineolaNY$2k0
Tysen Knight Scholarship FundPalm SpringsCA$2k0
VOCES EN ACCION OR VOICES IN ACTION VEAWillisTX$2k0
RIDGEWOOD PRESERVATION INCORPORATEDCantonOH$1k0
MICANOPY HISTORIC PRESERVATION TRUST INCMicanopyFL$1k0
QUILT HERITAGE MUSEUM INCBlackfootID$1k0
GOWRIE AREA ARTS COUNCILGowrieIA$1k0
HSTL Foundation for the Piano IncCrown PointIN$1k0
HOLLISTON MILL STUDIOS INCHollistonMA$1k0
KANSAS FLUTE SOCIETYHutchinsonKS$1k0
CHILDREN CAN COME CLOSER INCGreenbeltMD$1k0
BILLERICA ADVENTURE SERIES CORPBillericaMA$1k0
SUZUKI ROYAL OAK - INST OF MUSICMadison HeightsMI$1k0
Confluence Jazz IncDenverCO$1k0
FYRE INK INCEagle MountainUT$1k0
American Dance MovementBurbankCA$1k0
Woodshed ArchiveColumbiaSC$1k0
CULTURAL BRIDGES MUSIC GROUP INCNew YorkNY$1k0
SEATTLE IDEASSeattleWA$1k0
MILWAUKEE RADIO AMATEUR CLUBMilwaukeeWI$1k0
THE MISSOURI MORMON FRONTIER FOUNDATIONLibertyMO$1k0
HELLS KITCHEN CULTURAL CENTERNew YorkNY$1k0
BRUCE BEASLEY FOUNDATIONOaklandCA$1k0
EASTERN FRONTIER EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INCAddisonME$1k0
CLASSICAL ACTING INSTITUTE INCBrooklynNY$1k0
CREATIVE ODYSSEYChino HillsCA$1k0
AD ASTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL INCRussellKS$1k0
Wheatfield Veterans Memorial IncorporatedSanbornNY$1k0
Cape Cod Museum Trail IncFairhavenMA$1k0
My Roots FoundationDurhamNC$1k0
Tiz Media FoundationEvanstonIL$1k0
Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale FoundationNew OrleansLA$1k0
BALLARE DANCERS DREAM FUNDSan JoseCA$1k0
THE ARTS COUNCIL OF MISSISSIPPI CO THE ARTS COUNCIL OF MISSISSIPPI COBlythevilleAR$1k0
REAL STORIES GALLERY FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$1k0
GOD & CEYLAN 3DumontNJ$1k0
NORTHWEST SCOTS GUARDAlbanyOR$1k0
Bechdel GroupAstoriaNY$1k0