Skip to main content
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 88 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MUSEUM OF ART OGUNQUIT D/B/A OGUNQUIT MUSEUM OF ARTOgunquitME$1.6M0
ALHAMBRA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCAlhambraCA$1.6M0
APPLE HILL CENTER FOR CHAMBER MUSIC INCSullivanNH$1.6M2
Josephy Center for Arts and CultureJosephOR$1.6M1
The Bob and Barb Buker Collections IncMoore HavenFL$1.6M0
LAMBDA LITERARY FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$1.6M2
USA 250 IncorporatedPhiladelphiaPA$1.6M1
THOMAS R SCHIFF FOUNDATION C/O THOMAS R SCHIFFCincinnatiOH$1.6M1
REHABILITATION THROUGH THE ARTS INCPurchaseNY$1.6M1
ARTS FOR LEARNING CONNECTICUTHamdenCT$1.6M1
YELLOW DOT STUDIOS INCLos AngelesCA$1.6M4
NEW ART CENTER IN NEWTON INC (FKA) NEWTON ARTS CENTER INCNewtonvilleMA$1.6M1
THE BEVERLY THEATER LLCLas VegasNV$1.6M0
THE CALDWELL COLLECTION INCOklahoma CityOK$1.6M0
CINCINNATI SCENIC RAILWAYLebanonOH$1.6M0
TULALIP FOUNDATIONTulalipWA$1.6M0
MIDWAY VILLAGE & MUSEUM CENTERRockfordIL$1.6M1
EXPLORING THE ARTS INCAstoriaNY$1.6M2
300 STEWART AVENUE CORPORATIONLas VegasNV$1.6M6
COOL CULTURE INCBrooklynNY$1.6M3
Memphis Rock N Soul Museum IncMemphisTN$1.6M1
MILLER FAMILY AUTOMOBILE FOUNDATIONSandyUT$1.6M0
NO LIMITS THEATER GROUP INCCulver CityCA$1.6M1
LYRIC ARTS COMPANY OF ANOKA INCAnokaMN$1.6M1
IDABEL MUSEUM SOCIETY INCIdabelOK$1.6M1
Seattle Chamber Music Society FoundationSeattleWA$1.6M1
BALTIMORE CLAYWORKS INCBaltimoreMD$1.6M7
BFFOUNDATIONBentonvilleAR$1.6M2
THE SCHOOL FOR STRINGS INCNew YorkNY$1.6M1
CAMERA NEWS INCNew YorkNY$1.6M1
OREGON RAIL HERITAGE FOUNDATIONPortlandOR$1.6M0
ANATOLIA CULTURAL CENTERS INCLake ForestCA$1.6M3
MARINE DISCOVERY CENTERNew Smyrna BeachFL$1.6M1
THE BUFFALO TRANSPORTATION PIERCE-ARROW MUSEUMBuffaloNY$1.6M0
SANDY SPRING MUSEUM INCSandy SpringMD$1.6M1
MUSIC HAVEN INCNew HavenCT$1.6M1
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL RESOURCE & EDUCATION CENTER OF FLORIDA INCMaitlandFL$1.6M2
LIGHTHOUSE FOUNDATION OF CHICAGOLANDChicagoIL$1.6M2
PRINCE GEORGES COMMUNITY TELEVISION INCUpper MarlboroMD$1.6M0
DANCE PLACEWashingtonDC$1.6M1
Sweetwater Art CenterSewickleyPA$1.6M1
THE WALLS PROJECTBaton RougeLA$1.6M1
MINNESOTA MARINE ART MUSEUMWinonaMN$1.6M1
Mercury Chamber Orchestra IncHoustonTX$1.6M2
710 MAIN STREET INCBuffaloNY$1.6M1
NATIVE ACTION NETWORKSeattleWA$1.6M1
The Vera ProjectSeattleWA$1.6M0
MAKAH CULTURAL AND RESEARCH CENTERNeah BayWA$1.6M0
LONG BEACH ISLAND FOUNDATION OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCESLoveladiesNJ$1.6M1
CLAIRVAUX INSTITUTEElmhurst TownshipPA$1.6M4