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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 95 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
McKinney Downtown Business Re-Development CorpMcKinneyTX$1.5M0
The Art Association of Jackson HoleJacksonWY$1.5M2
CEDILLE CHICAGO NFPChicagoIL$1.5M3
TCB FOUNDATIONSaint LouisMO$1.5M3
ARTS SERVICES INITIATIVE OF WESTERN NEW YORK INCBuffaloNY$1.5M1
VEIT FOUNDATIONBuffaloMN$1.5M0
Assemble IncPittsburghPA$1.5M1
The Media FactoryBurlingtonVT$1.5M2
NHSCOTConcordNH$1.5M1
THE NATIONAL THEATRE FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$1.5M2
Sheldon Swope Art Museum IncTerre HauteIN$1.5M1
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART ARLINGTONArlingtonVA$1.5M1
West Indian American Carnival Association IncBrooklynNY$1.5M0
ARTS CLUB OF WASHINGTON INCWashingtonDC$1.5M1
MARCH FIELD MUSEUM FOUNDATIONMarch Air Reserve BaseCA$1.5M1
Multicultural Education and Counseling Through the ArtsHoustonTX$1.5M1
MALTZ JUPITER THEATRE FOUNDATION INC FORMERLY MALTZ JUPITER ENDOWMENT INCJupiterFL$1.5M2
ENLACE LATINO NC INCRaleighNC$1.5M1
ALEXA ROSE ARTS FOUNDATION INCBoiseID$1.5M0
Upstate Preservation TrustGreenvilleSC$1.5M0
CAPITAL REPERTORY COMPANYSchenectadyNY$1.5M3
FRIENDS OF BERRYVILLE LIBRARY INCBerryvilleAR$1.5M1
GERALD R JORDAN FOUNDATIONQuincyMA$1.5M0
Israel Empowered IncWoodmereNY$1.5M0
CAROGA ARTS COLLECTIVE INCCaroga LakeNY$1.5M1
STUDIO CREATIVE PLAYBrooklynNY$1.5M0
FREEDOM SHIELD FOUNDATIONLewisvilleTX$1.5M0
SCOA INCSouthamptonNY$1.5M2
DISCOVERY SPACE OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA INCState CollegePA$1.5M0
HISTORIC INDIAN AGENCY HOUSE ASSOCIATIONPortageWI$1.5M0
PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S COTTAGE AT THE SOLDIERS HOMEWashingtonDC$1.5M3
The Institute of Public ScholarshipKalamazooMI$1.5M5
WYLDE CENTER INCDecaturGA$1.5M2
ARTREACHSan DiegoCA$1.5M0
DOWNTOWN TOLEDO DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONToledoOH$1.5M1
GERMANTOWN CULTURAL ARTS CENTERINCGermantownMD$1.5M1
OPERA HOUSE ARTSStoningtonME$1.5M1
HILTON HEAD ISLAND CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE INCHilton Head IslandSC$1.5M2
HURLEYVILLE PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE INCHurleyvilleNY$1.5M3
SERIESFESTDenverCO$1.5M1
National Film Preservation FoundationSan FranciscoCA$1.5M1
CAROLINA CHRISTIAN RADIO INCWilmingtonNC$1.4M3
TRINITY DATTA YOGA CENTERCarpentersvilleIL$1.4M0
FREDERICK R KOCH FOUNDATION OF AUSTRIA GEMEINNUTZIGE PRIVATSTIFTUNGNew YorkNY$1.4M0
DEADWOOD HISTORY INCDeadwoodSD$1.4M0
Arizona Academy of the Performing Arts IncTempeAZ$1.4M0
Lake Worth Playhouse IncLake WorthFL$1.4M2
GATEWAY TO SCIENCE CENTER INCBismarckND$1.4M1
Hyde Park School of DanceChicagoIL$1.4M2
STOCKTON SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION INCStocktonCA$1.4M2