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 89 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING FOUNDATIONMetairieLA$1.6M2
The Oikos Institute For Social ImpactChicagoIL$1.6M3
REDLANDS COMMUNITY MUSIC ASSOCIATIONRedlandsCA$1.6M3
PRESERVATION ALLIANCE FOR GREATER PHILADELPHIAPhiladelphiaPA$1.6M1
CAPE COD MODERN HOUSE TRUSTSouth WellfleetMA$1.6M1
TEXARKANA REGIONAL ARTS & HUMANITTexarkanaTX$1.6M1
ODYSSEY DANCE THEATREOremUT$1.6M0
THE TROY ANDREWS FOUNDATIONNew OrleansLA$1.6M1
THE BAKKENMinneapolisMN$1.6M2
Charlotte Film SocietyCharlotteNC$1.6M1
MAKAUILA INCHonoluluHI$1.6M1
THE COTERIE INCKansas CityMO$1.6M0
PENSACOLA OPERA INCPensacolaFL$1.6M0
THIRD COAST PERCUSSION NFPChicagoIL$1.6M2
STAGECOACH FOUNDATION INCLos AngelesCA$1.6M1
LANDMARK ON MAIN STREET INCPort WashingtonNY$1.6M0
NATIONAL CENTER FOR FRONTIER COSilver CityNM$1.6M1
SOUTHERN NEVADA PUBLIC TELEVISIONLas VegasNV$1.6M2
BURRITT MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONHuntsvilleAL$1.6M0
COALITION OF ASIAN PACIFICS IN ENTERTAINMENT FOUNDATION INCLos AngelesCA$1.6M0
TALENT MAKER CITYTalentOR$1.6M1
MAE JANE MCGUIRE MEMORIAL FUNDChicagoIL$1.6M1
BOULDER COMMUNITY BROADCAST ASSOC INC C/O TIM RUSSOBoulderCO$1.6M1
Mancos Common Press IncMancosCO$1.6M0
NTDTV LOS ANGELESEl MonteCA$1.6M1
THE RICARDO MONTALBAN FOUNDATION INCHollywoodCA$1.6M1
BALLET ARKANSAS INCLittle RockAR$1.6M0
THE OPPORTUNITY AGENDA INCNew YorkNY$1.6M8
CURATIONIST FOUNDATION INCRichmondVA$1.6M10
Playhouse Theatre Group IncWest HartfordCT$1.6M1
SOUTHEASTERN MINNESOTA ARTS COUNCIL INCRochesterMN$1.6M8
NORTH CAROLINA OPERARaleighNC$1.6M1
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF IDAHO INCMeridianID$1.6M0
PHOTO CENTER NWSeattleWA$1.6M1
Metropolitan Youth SymphonyPortlandOR$1.6M0
THE CONNECTICUT RIVER FOUNDATION AT STEAMBOAT DOCK INCEssexCT$1.6M1
PRESERVATION AUSTINAustinTX$1.6M1
GREAT LAKES SHIPWRECK HISTORICAL SOSault Sainte MarieMI$1.6M1
KANSAS CITY AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM INCOlatheKS$1.6M2
The Andrew Keegan Theatre Company The Keegan TheatreWashingtonDC$1.6M3
SEATTLE OPERA FOUNDATIONSeattleWA$1.6M0
THE CHELSEA FACTORY INCNew YorkNY$1.6M2
FOUNDATION FOR MINORITY INTERESTS IN MEDIA INCKatonahNY$1.6M3
NORTHWEST FOLKLIFESeattleWA$1.6M0
RENO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCHutchinsonKS$1.6M0
I'M READY FOUNDATION INCHoustonTX$1.6M0
LATINO MEDIA COLLABORATIVELos AngelesCA$1.6M3
BURTON HANDELSMAN FOUNDATION INCPalm BeachFL$1.6M0
HANDICRAFT CLUB INCProvidenceRI$1.6M0
INSTITUTE OF SOUTHERN JEWISH LIFEJacksonMS$1.6M2