Skip to main content
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 96 of 861

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MUSEO DE LAS AMERICASDenverCO$1.4M1
Lamplighters Music TheatreSan FranciscoCA$1.4M1
AMARILLO ART CENTER ASSOCIATIONAmarilloTX$1.4M0
MENSA EDUCATION AND RESEARCH FOUNDATIONHurstTX$1.4M1
HOOGLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS INCSpringfieldIL$1.4M1
THE ALBANY MUSEUM OF ART INCORPORAAlbanyGA$1.4M1
Health World Education Ltd dba Health World SouthwestScottsdaleAZ$1.4M0
RIVERVIEW FOUNDATIONBrunswickME$1.4M3
THE VAN WERT AREA PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATIONVan WertOH$1.4M2
THEATRE UPLittletonNH$1.4M0
HOPE THROUGH EDUCATION - A FUND FOR BETTER FUTURES INCGladstoneNJ$1.4M1
BODYVOX INCPortlandOR$1.4M3
The Dixon Gallery & Gardens Endowment FundMemphisTN$1.4M2
HISTORIC MITCHELVILLE FREEDOM PARK INCHilton Head IslandSC$1.4M1
MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORY AT THE MCPHERSON CENTERSanta CruzCA$1.4M2
WYOFILELanderWY$1.4M1
LAKE SUPERIOR RAILROAD MUSUEMDuluthMN$1.4M1
SOUTH CAROLINA CHILDREN'S THEATREGreenvilleSC$1.4M2
FOUNDATION FOR LOS ANGELES JOURNALISMLos AngelesCA$1.4M1
SUN RADIO FOUNDATIONAustinTX$1.4M0
LIU SHIMING ART FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$1.4M0
NEWPORT CAR MUSEUM INCORPORATEDPortsmouthRI$1.4M0
JOY OF MUSIC PROGRAM INCWorcesterMA$1.4M2
YOUTH OASISBaton RougeLA$1.4M0
SING FOR HOPE INCNew YorkNY$1.4M3
AMERICAN AIRPOWER HERITAGE MUSEUM INCDallasTX$1.4M0
JACKSONVILLE EDUCATORS BROADCASTINGFort WorthTX$1.4M10
COLORADO HUMANITIESGreenwood VillageCO$1.4M1
RED BULL THEATER INCNew YorkNY$1.4M1
A Step BeyondEscondidoCA$1.4M2
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY BALLET INCLos AngelesCA$1.4M2
CHALLENGER LEARNING CENTER OF ALASKA SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY INCKenaiAK$1.4M1
MONTHLY REVIEW FOUNDATIONNew YorkNY$1.4M2
SOUTHEASTERN THEATRE CONFERENCEINCGreensboroNC$1.4M0
FLAGSTAFF ARTS COUNCIL INCFlagstaffAZ$1.4M2
WELCOME HOME MINISTRIESNashvilleTN$1.4M2
VAN ALEN INSTITUTE PROJECTS IN PUBLIC ARCHITECTUREBrooklynNY$1.4M2
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BAND AND ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATIONVistaCA$1.4M0
JACKSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION INCJacksonMI$1.4M2
EAST-WEST PLAYERS INCLos AngelesCA$1.4M3
Project Liberty Ship IncBaltimoreMD$1.4M0
DELAWARE SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION INCWilmingtonDE$1.4M1
KINGDOM AIR CORPSSuttonAK$1.4M2
THE PRINCESS THEATREDecaturAL$1.4M0
La Crosse Community TheatreLa CrosseWI$1.4M1
WHEATLAND MUSIC ORGANIZATION INCRemusMI$1.4M0
MUSIC FORWARDBrooklynNY$1.4M6
Oklahoma Humanities Council IncOklahoma CityOK$1.4M1
LATINO SERVICE PROVIDERSSanta RosaCA$1.4M1
THE JAZZ GALLERYNew YorkNY$1.4M2