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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 85 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
NATIVE ARTS AND CULTURES FOUNDATION INCPortlandOR$1.7M4
SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS (NFP)ChicagoIL$1.7M1
PARAMOUNT THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS INCAustinTX$1.7M2
AMERICAN CIVILIZATION FOUNDATIONNewportRI$1.7M0
NEW YORK CITY OPERANew YorkNY$1.7M1
WOLFMoorparkCA$1.7M2
HARNESS RACING MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAMEGoshenNY$1.7M1
Jackson Symphony AssociationJacksonTN$1.7M1
DORCHESTER HERITAGE CENTER INCSaint GeorgeSC$1.7M0
The Morikami IncDelray BeachFL$1.7M1
GROUP I ACTING COMPANY INCNew YorkNY$1.7M1
THE 418 PROJECTSanta CruzCA$1.7M2
PROJECT FOR EMPTY SPACE INCNewarkNJ$1.7M3
Seattle Shakespeare FestivalSeattleWA$1.7M1
FLORIDA THEATRICAL ASSOCIATION INCOrlandoFL$1.7M1
Carl Maxey CenterSpokaneWA$1.7M1
Midwest Young ArtistsHighwoodIL$1.7M2
THE COLLEGE LIGHT OPERA COMPANY INCFalmouthMA$1.7M0
SAMSATSan AntonioTX$1.7M2
THE EARLE BROWN MUSIC FOUNDATIONAtlantaGA$1.7M0
Opera SouthwestAlbuquerqueNM$1.7M1
CALIFORNIA ANIME FOUNDATIONGranada HillsCA$1.7M4
Rutgers Learning Network IncLakewoodNJ$1.7M1
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF GREEN BAY INCGreen BayWI$1.7M1
Renfrew Committee IncWaynesboroPA$1.7M0
GLENVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CORPORATIONGlenvilleWV$1.7M0
MINDPOPAustinTX$1.7M2
STUDIO EAST TRAINING FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSKirklandWA$1.7M2
CENTRAL VALLEY CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCModestoCA$1.7M7
WOLF PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INCBryn MawrPA$1.7M2
SOULS GROWN DEEP FOUNDATION INCAtlantaGA$1.7M3
DANIEL'S MUSIC FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$1.7M2
SEATTLE JAPANESE SCHOOLBellevueWA$1.7M1
Metropolitan Opera Endowment TrustCentennial Fund Endowment TrustNew YorkNY$1.7M1
Concert Artists Guild IncNew YorkNY$1.7M1
United Photo Industries IncBrooklynNY$1.7M2
Canton Museum of ArtCantonOH$1.7M1
TIMBER LAKE PLAYHOUSEMt CarrollIL$1.7M0
SV ArchiveSeattleWA$1.7M2
CLEMMONS FAMILY FARM INCCharlotteVT$1.7M2
FITTON CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTSHamiltonOH$1.7M2
A LONG WALK HOME INC C/O SCHEHERAZADE TILLETChicagoIL$1.7M1
Liberty Hall Museum IncUnionNJ$1.7M1
WOOD LIBRARY - MUSEUM OF ANESTHESIOLOGYSchaumburgIL$1.7M4
WIENER MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTS INCHollywoodFL$1.7M1
GADSDEN CULTURAL ARTS FOUNDATION INCGadsdenAL$1.7M0
LUNDA COMMUNITY CENTER INCBlack River FallsWI$1.7M0
PREMIER ARTS INCElkhartIN$1.7M2
THE LEWES HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCLewesDE$1.7M1
SALT LAKE ACTING COMPANYSalt Lake CityUT$1.7M1