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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 848 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
PRESERVE HISTORIC ST MARYS INCNewportRI$1k0
KENTUCKIANA MARCHING PRIDE INCLouisvilleKY$1k0
SHINJINBUKAN FOUNDATION INCYonkersNY$1k0
Appalachian Authors GuildAbingdonVA$1k0
UPTEMPO INCHyattsvilleMD$1k0
GOSPEL MUSICIANS FELLOWSHIPJacksonvilleFL$1k0
Lets Shake the TableCharlotteNC$1k1
We the WomenLos AngelesCA$1k0
JESLYN DANCE GALLERY INCHuntingtonWV$1k0
TITANIC THEATRE COMPANY INCCambridgeMA$1k0
BOSTON CHINESE DANCE INCQuincyMA$1k0
THE MICA FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$1k0
GREEN FROG STUDIOMeadvillePA$1k0
MOUNTAINTOP RETREAT AND DISCOVERY CENTERAntiochCA$1k0
IMAGINE JUST PEACE FOUNDATIONWheelingWV$1k0
BUTTERFLY GENIUS INCSedonaAZ$1k0
Redman Family Foundation IncOakwoodGA$1k0
FRIENDS OF PUPPET AND OBJECT THEATREAlbuquerqueNM$1k0
PACIFIC COAST REPERTORY THEATREPleasantonCA$1k0
US JIANGMEN WUYI CULTURE FOUNDATIONSouth San FranciscoCA$1k0
YALIKS AFRICAN AMERICAN ART & CULTURAL MOVEMENTJamestownNC$1k0
JAL COMMUNITY VISIONS INCBronxNY$1k0
SACRAMENTO TAIWANESE CULTURE FOUNDATIONSacramentoCA$1k0
NATIONAL FORT DAUGHTERS OF 98LebanonPA$1k0
JENNIFER AND BILLY FRIST FOUNDATIONNashvilleTN$1k0
PATRICIA FRIST ELCAN FAMILY FOUNDATIONNashvilleTN$1k0
TOMMY AND JULIE FRIST FOUNDATIONNashvilleTN$1k0
THE TESSLER HERITAGE FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$1k0
Truth in Media Foundation IncEagleID$1k0
ANCESTRYBrightonMI$1k0
BLACKSTOCK SOUTHERN HERITAGE AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM INCCalhounGA$1k0
FOUNDATION FOR LIFE & ARTChester SpringsPA$1k0
KR8TIV JUSTICEBrooklynNY$1k0
MAHARISHI DAYANAND VEDIC MISSION INCChappaquaNY$1k0
ACADEMY OF HAWAIIAN CULTURE MUSIC AND THE ARTSWailukuHI$1k0
Allen Parkway Arts Center IncHoustonTX$1k0
ART FROM THE ASHES INCAzusaCA$1k0
ART HEALS FOUNDATIONMarina Del ReyCA$1k0
ART-Z GROUP LTDBrooklynNY$1k0
BEACON HILL SCHOLARS INCBostonMA$1k0
BostonApp-LabBostonMA$1k0
CAPITAL AREA STATUES INCAustinTX$1k0
CLASS A FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$1k0
COLMAR VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATIONTelfordPA$1k0
DEDE DANCE STUDIOLos AngelesCA$1k0
Empowerment EssenceBowieMD$1k0
Friends of the German American Hall of Fame IncAtlantic BeachNY$1k0
GANDHI MEMORIAL TRUST FUND NFPLincolnwoodIL$1k0
GOD'S GIFT 2 URichton ParkIL$1k0
Heritage CorpHudsonNH$1k0