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Updated through 2024NTEE A · Arts, Culture & Humanities

Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 16,157 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
$59,800
The typical arts, culture & humanities nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $59,800 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$24k
75th pct
$107k
90th pct
$194k
16,157 organizations · 2019 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $24k and $107k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $194k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$193,685Top 10% of earners
75th$107,34225% earn more than this
50th · median$59,800The typical executive
25th$23,76025% earn less than this
10th$7,50010% 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$15k$38,108$67k11,178
$1M – $10M$87k$125,336$180k4,194
$10M – $100M$242k$341,128$522k736
$100M – $500M$562k$771,220$1.3M45
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Arts, Culture & Humanities role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within arts, culture & humanities nonprofits.

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 40,937 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

40,937 organizations · Page 9 of 819

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE INCNew YorkNY$21M13
ARIZONA AEROSPACE FOUNDATIONTucsonAZ$20.9M2
Atlanta Educational Telecommunications CollabAtlantaGA$20.9M12
THE JOAN MITCHELL FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$20.9M14
DETROIT OPERADetroitMI$20.8M5
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
PBS FoundationArlingtonVA$20.7M11
GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUMGrand RapidsMI$20.6M3
HARPER HOUSE MUSIC FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$20.6M1
UNION STATION KANSAS CITY INCKansas CityMO$20.5M6
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF NW ARKANSASBentonvilleAR$20.4M2
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
CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF MINOT INCMinotND$20.1M1
PENNON ORGANIZATIONHarrisburgPA$20M10
KANSAS CITY SYMPHONYKansas CityMO$20M13
Brothers for LifeSeattleWA$19.9M4
THE GILCREASE MUSEUM MANAGEMENT TRUSTTulsaOK$19.8M2
PERFORMING ARTS FORT WORTH INCFort WorthTX$19.8M6
The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach IncPalm BeachFL$19.8M1
RADIANT LIFE MINISTRIES INCMarionIL$19.7M5
WISCONSIN HISTORICAL FOUNDATION INCMadisonWI$19.6M1
BLAIR HOUSE FOUNDATION COMPANY LLCWashingtonDC$19.5M2
NATIONAL COAST GUARD MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INCNew LondonCT$19.5M7
ORDWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSSaint PaulMN$19.4M7
MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM INCMysticCT$19.4M8
THE PHILBROOK MUSEUM OF ART INCTulsaOK$19.4M4
COLORADO SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIONDenverCO$19.4M19
NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL F/K/A LIBERTY MEMORIAL ASSOCIATIONKansas CityMO$19.3M6
ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM INCBostonMA$19.3M7
NEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCECoronaNY$19.2M9
SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM INCSt PetersburgFL$19.2M4
NEW ENGLAND FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS INCORPORATEDBostonMA$19.2M9
Nevada Museum of ArtRenoNV$19.1M8
HAMILTON-MADISON HOUSE INCNew YorkNY$19.1M7
COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS CALIFORNIAAnaheimCA$18.9M11
FORT WORTH ART ASSOCIATIONFort WorthTX$18.9M11
BOSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS INCBostonMA$18.9M3
WISCONSIN YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAINCMadisonWI$18.9M1
HISTORIC TENNESSEE THEATRE FOUNDATIONKnoxvilleTN$18.7M2
BARBER VINTAGE MOTORSPORTS MUSEUMBirminghamAL$18.7M2
ATLANTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCAtlantaGA$18.7M7
ORANGE COUNTY MUSIC AND DANCE INCIrvineCA$18.6M2