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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 91 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
Concordant Publishing ConcernAlmontMI$1.5M1
ILLINOIS PRESS FOUNDATION INCSpringfieldIL$1.5M1
Palm Springs Opera Guild of the DesertPalm SpringsCA$1.5M1
Bay of Pigs Museum and Library of the 2506 Brigade IncMiamiFL$1.5M1
Canton Symphony Orchestra AssociationCantonOH$1.5M1
ISRAELNOW EDUCATION FOUNDATIONChicagoIL$1.5M0
NANTUCKET FILM FOUNDATION INCNew YorkNY$1.5M1
SS United States ConservancyPhiladelphiaPA$1.5M0
ANN'S CIRCLE INCSolomonsMD$1.5M0
THE SOUTH TEXAS HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONHarwoodTX$1.5M0
SAMMONS CENTER FOR THE ARTSDallasTX$1.5M1
Independent Media InstituteNew YorkNY$1.5M1
SHERIDAN ARTS FOUNDATIONTellurideCO$1.5M2
ASTRONAUTS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCKennedy Space CenterFL$1.5M1
Enriching Lives Through MusicSan RafaelCA$1.5M2
Historic Paramount TheatreAbileneTX$1.5M1
Flying House ProductionsSeattleWA$1.5M2
FORT LIGONIER ASSOCIATIONLigonierPA$1.5M1
RADIO WORKSHOP US INCNew YorkNY$1.5M1
CONGRESS FOR THE NEW URBANISM INCWashingtonDC$1.5M2
SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$1.5M1
KEYSTONE TRACTOR MUSEUM INCColonial HeightsVA$1.5M1
BOCA BALLET THEATRE COMPANYBocaFL$1.5M2
ILLINOIS MUSIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONPalos HeightsIL$1.5M1
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF QUINCY & ADAMS COUNTYQuincyIL$1.5M0
VIRGINIA WAR MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCRichmondVA$1.5M2
VOLUNTEER LAWYERS FOR THE ARTS INCNew YorkNY$1.5M2
MINNESOTA LAKES MARITIME SOCIETYAlexandriaMN$1.5M0
VOICES OF ASCENSIONINCNew YorkNY$1.5M3
CHILDRENS CREATIVE PROJECTSanta BarbaraCA$1.5M0
TYLER MUSEUM OF ARTTylerTX$1.5M1
BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM & CLT CTRRichmondVA$1.5M1
SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATIONSan AntonioTX$1.5M1
THE WASSAIC PROJECT INCWassaicNY$1.5M3
Berkeley Ballet Theater IncBerkeleyCA$1.5M1
VALLEY YOUTH THEATREPhoenixAZ$1.5M1
NUMERICA PERFORMING ARTS CENTERWenatcheeWA$1.5M1
SCIENCE CENTRAL INCFort WayneIN$1.5M1
THE WHIDBEY INSTITUTEClintonWA$1.5M3
MUSEUM FOUNDATION OF PACIFIC GROVE INCPacific GroveCA$1.5M1
THE WORKSBloomingtonMN$1.5M1
THE MUSE KNOXVILLEKnoxvilleTN$1.5M1
THEATRE THREE PRODUCTIONS INCPort JeffersonNY$1.5M0
CLEMENTE SOTO VELEZ CULTURAL AND EDUCATION CENTERNew YorkNY$1.5M1
MODERN ARTLIFE FOUNDATIONMontvaleNJ$1.5M3
MID AMERICA FLIGHT MUSEUM NON PROFIT CORPORATIONMt PleasantTX$1.5M0
BBC News USA IncWashingtonDC$1.5M4
Desert TheatreworksIndioCA$1.5M0
TEXAS COWBOY HALL OF FAME INCFort WorthTX$1.5M0
MARIN SHAKESPEARE COMPANYSan RafaelCA$1.5M1