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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 9 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM INCBostonMA$22.3M7
Technology Review IncCambridgeMA$22.3M16
TIDEWATER AND BIG BEND FOUNDATIONHoustonTX$22.2M9
NEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCECoronaNY$22.2M11
EDITORIAL PROJECTS IN EDUCATION INCBethesdaMD$22.2M9
SEATTLE OPERASeattleWA$22.2M11
Conner Prairie Museum IncFishersIN$22.1M7
ORDWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSSaint PaulMN$22.1M5
Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of ArtChadds FordPA$22M7
AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATRE FOUNDATIONSan FranciscoCA$22M12
UTAH FILM CENTERSalt Lake CityUT$22M2
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIAPittsburghPA$22M5
THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM INCORPORATEDNorfolkVA$21.9M4
American Indian Health & ServicesSanta BarbaraCA$21.9M15
PEN AMERICAN CENTER INCNew YorkNY$21.8M8
INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHYNew YorkNY$21.7M9
JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL INCBecketMA$21.6M6
THE DA VINCI DISCOVERY CENTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INCAllentownPA$21.6M5
MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM INCMilwaukeeWI$21.6M10
NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCRaleighNC$21.5M8
THE NEUE GALERIE NEW YORKNew YorkNY$21.3M3
INTERLOCHEN ARTS CAMPInterlochenMI$21.3M3
CREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATIONMalibuCA$21.2M2
FILM INDEPENDENTLos AngelesCA$21.1M7
BISHOP MUSEUMHonoluluHI$21.1M6
EXPERIENCE LEARNING COMMUNITYSeattleWA$21M11
ARIZONA AEROSPACE FOUNDATIONTucsonAZ$20.9M2
THE JOAN MITCHELL FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$20.9M14
KUOW PUGET SOUND PUBLIC RADIOSeattleWA$20.9M8
BROADWAY SACRAMENTOSacramentoCA$20.8M4
MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORYDetroitMI$20.8M6
ILLUMINATIVE INCBoulderCO$20.8M10
HILLWOOD ESTATE MUSEUM & GARDENSWashingtonDC$20.8M8
CHEEKWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN AND MUSEUM OF ARTNashvilleTN$20.7M7
JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUMLos AngelesCA$20.7M8
HARPER HOUSE MUSIC FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$20.6M1
WORLD WAR II THEATRE INCNew OrleansLA$20.5M4
UNION STATION KANSAS CITY INCKansas CityMO$20.5M6
THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART INCBostonMA$20.4M10
THE SHAKESPEARE THEATREWashingtonDC$20.4M8
THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND INCNew YorkNY$20.4M8
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETYPhiladelphiaPA$20.4M9
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCMilwaukeeWI$20.4M8
NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART FOUNDATIONRaleighNC$20.3M5
THE MURRAY BURNSTINE CHARITABLE TRUSTStonehamMA$20.3M2
COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ARTColumbusOH$20.2M6
CAPITAL OF TEXAS PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCILAustinTX$20.2M8
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University IncChicagoIL$20.2M9
Museum of Science and History of Jacksonville IncJacksonvilleFL$20.2M1
PENNON ORGANIZATIONHarrisburgPA$20M10