Nonprofit Chief Operating Officer Salary in the Arts, Culture & Humanities Sector
See how Chief Operating Officer pay compares across Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofits — by budget size. Built from IRS Form 990 filings across 181,829 nonprofits.
Where does your pay land?
Pick a role, your geography, and your organization's budget. Enter what you pay (or what you're considering) and we'll show where it sits against peer organizations.
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How Chief Operating Officer pay scales in the Arts, Culture & Humanities sector
| Sample size | 118 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $13K |
| 25th percentile | $28K |
| Median | $45K |
| 75th percentile | $62K |
| 90th percentile | $80K |
| Sample size | 81 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $20K |
| 25th percentile | $44K |
| Median | $61K |
| 75th percentile | $90K |
| 90th percentile | $125K |
| Sample size | 124 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $39K |
| 25th percentile | $77K |
| Median | $106K |
| 75th percentile | $124K |
| 90th percentile | $150K |
| Sample size | 58 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $166K |
| 25th percentile | $208K |
| Median | $327K |
| 75th percentile | $460K |
| 90th percentile | $691K |
Across peer organizations in the Arts, Culture & Humanities sector in this budget bracket, the median Chief Operating Officer earns $106K. Half the field falls between $77K and $124K.
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What you get
Free, interactive nonprofit pay benchmarks — refreshed every year.
Built from the public IRS Form 990 Part VII filings, refreshed as the IRS publishes new batches.
How we built these benchmarks
- Source: IRS Form 990 Part VII filings (the public disclosure of nonprofit officer pay).
- Positions classified by an AI model into 14 standard nonprofit leadership roles.
- Peer cells require at least 5 filings; smaller samples are suppressed.
- Updated annually as IRS publishes new 990 batches. Latest data: May 2026.
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