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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 859 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Kirat Society Texas for Religion & CultureIrvingTX$2480
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY & CULTUREElkins ParkPA$2430
FRIENDS OF THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS LONDON INCBrooklynNY$2430
MUSEUM OF THE HARDWOOD TREEFort SmithAR$2430
SERGIO J PUIG DONALD J CANNAROZZI MUSIC FUND INCDania BeachFL$2430
NAWFIA DEVELOPMENT UNION USA INCRosedaleNY$2410
THE EL PASO BLACK ARTS ASSOCIATION INCEl PasoTX$2410
WHAT WE EXPERIENCEBellevueWA$2410
Moon Family FoundationMorgan HillCA$2400
SERBIAN MENS CHOIR KOSOVOAkronOH$2400
West of West Center for Narrative History of the Central Valley IncFresnoCA$2390
COLONEL SMITH SOCIETY OF 1859 INCMobileAL$2360
SALVATORE MARTIRANO FOUNDATIONChampaignIL$2360
FRIENDS OF THE HALF MOONLumbertonNC$2320
Artie Blues Boy White Youth Scholarship FoundationSouth HollandIL$2300
RUMAH BUDAYA INDONESIAKempnerTX$2290
Darshan Thakuri Society IncCoronaNY$2270
F8 FILMWORKS LTDOaklandCA$2260
Immigrants Theatre Project IncBrooklynNY$2250
Sixteen As One Music IncNew YorkNY$2250
Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center FoundationSeattleWA$2230
SUN TEN MUSEUM INCIrvineCA$2220
FRIENDS OF THE SUBMARINE MEMORIAL CHAPELAieaHI$2210
JUST BREATHE MUSICLeslieMI$2200
LIMITLESS PERFORMING ARTSCincinnatiOH$2200
Swintone Foundation IncFort CollinsCO$2200
DANNY LYON FOUNDATIONBernalilloNM$2160
FRIENDS OF THE MUSEUM OF THE GREAT PLAINS INCLawtonOK$2150
THE JOHANN JOHANNSSON FOUNDATIONWestlake VillageCA$2140
GAYAPOP MEDIA CREATIONS INCMiamiFL$2090
HAITIAN CREATIONS COEminenceMO$2080
PLAINFIELD INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL INCPlainfieldIN$2080
JOHN A SANTOS FOUNDATIONBelmontMA$2070
YOUNG IMAGINATIONSTempletonCA$2060
CLASSIC AIR INCPaso RoblesCA$2050
SACRAMENTO MODERNSacramentoCA$2050
PRESERVE - HONOR - CONNECTSouth JordanUT$2040
SOUTH DALLAS HISTORICAL PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION INCBirminghamAL$2030
THE INSTITUTE FOR CINEMA STUDIESSanta MonicaCA$2030
SOUTH FLORIDA PIONEER MUSEUM INCHomesteadFL$2020
UNCONFINED THE PROJECTRancho Santa FeCA$2020
WOODWARDVILLE PRESERVATION SOCIETYOdentonMD$2010
ANTELOPE VALLEY CHINESE EDUCATIONAL Ctr IncLancasterCA$2000
ARTS CREATE EXCELLENCE COMMUNITY OUTREACH NFPChicagoIL$2000
ATLANTA 1996 GAMES BLACK ORGANIZERS INCDecaturGA$2000
BEAUTIFUL CULTURESMantecaCA$2000
BELLWETHER PROJECTS INCTunbridgeVT$2000
DIAMOND ARTS WELLNESS PROJECTSt GeorgeUT$2000
Freedom Found Productions IncClearwaterFL$2000
FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL TO SHARE HAPPINESS INCIndianapolisIN$2000