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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 90 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
AMERICAN CABARET THEATRE INCIndianapolisIN$1.6M1
THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM AT SARATOGASaratoga SpringsNY$1.6M0
Abbe MuseumBar HarborME$1.6M1
Terrain ProgramsSpokaneWA$1.6M1
AMERICAN AIR MUSEUM IN BRITAINWashingtonDC$1.6M2
The Washington Chorus IncWashingtonDC$1.6M2
THE EMELIN THEATREMamaroneckNY$1.6M0
STATE THEATRE INCState CollegePA$1.6M1
FROM THE TOP INCBostonMA$1.6M2
MUNCIE CIVIC THEATREMuncieIN$1.6M1
Youth in ArtsSan RafaelCA$1.6M1
RADIUS BOOKS INCSanta FeNM$1.6M1
WHEELING SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCWheelingWV$1.6M1
CONSPIRARE INCAustinTX$1.6M3
FRIENDS OF VICKSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK & CAMPVicksburgMS$1.6M0
FRIENDS OF PERRY MANSFIELDSteamboat SpringsCO$1.6M2
GREATER CHARLOTTE CULTURAL TRUSTCharlotteNC$1.6M2
BOULDER BALLETBoulderCO$1.6M1
WORCESTER CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY INCWorcesterMA$1.6M1
MARYHILL MUSEUM OF ARTGoldendaleWA$1.6M1
NATIONAL CIVIC ART SOCIETYWashingtonDC$1.6M1
BRIC FOUNDATIONNorth HollywoodCA$1.6M3
NEVADA RURAL COUNTIES RSVP INCCarson CityNV$1.6M1
INDIAN AMERICAN MUSLIM COUNCILMorton GroveIL$1.6M0
National Hellenic MuseumChicagoIL$1.6M1
PROJECT STEP INCBostonMA$1.6M1
BRONX ARTS ENSEMBLE INCBronxNY$1.6M1
CLEAR SPACE THEATRE COMPANYRehoboth BeachDE$1.6M3
Kala Art InstituteBerkeleyCA$1.6M2
HAHA HEHE GLOBALLos AngelesCA$1.6M0
MAINE MUSEUM OF INNOVATION LEARNING AND LABORLewistonME$1.6M1
KENTUCKY GOLF FOUNDATION INCLouisvilleKY$1.6M3
THE FRIDA CINEMASanta AnaCA$1.6M2
GO FOR BROKE NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL CENTERLos AngelesCA$1.6M2
CLASSIC MOTOR MUSEUM OF ST MICHAELS INCSt MichaelsMD$1.5M0
TEXAS PANHANDLE HERITAGE FOUNDATIONCanyonTX$1.5M0
BreakthroughBT Media IncNew YorkNY$1.5M1
AUBURN PUBLIC THEATER INCAuburnNY$1.5M1
UNIQUE PROJECTS INCNew YorkNY$1.5M1
SOCIETY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARTSNewburyportMA$1.5M0
InterVol IncRochesterNY$1.5M0
HUI MALAMA O KE KAI FOUNDATIONWaimanaloHI$1.5M1
HORIZON THEATRE COMPANY INCAtlantaGA$1.5M2
OUR GENERATION SPEAKS INCWalthamMA$1.5M3
ARTS COUNCIL OF GREATER KALAMAZOOKalamazooMI$1.5M1
BURMESE AMERICAN INITIATIVE INCSpringfieldMI$1.5M0
Theatrical Arts International FoundationSan BernardinoCA$1.5M0
AMERICAN HONOR FOUNDATION INCMelbourne BeachFL$1.5M0
Shotgun PlayersBerkeleyCA$1.5M2
TRUE COLORS THEATRE COMPANYAtlantaGA$1.5M0