The ranks of junior professionals in non-leadership positions at local arts agencies are more diverse than current senior leadership, a new report from Americans for the Arts finds.

Based on a national survey of the salaries, benefits, and demographics of local arts agency employees conducted earlier this year, including responses from 267 CEOs, the report, Local Arts Agencies Salaries 2013 (90 pages, PDF), found that local arts agency heads earned an average annual salary of $78,394 in 2012, up from $54,309 in 2001 — and on pace with the rate of inflation over that period. The study also found that women were more likely to hold the CEO position at a local arts agency (69 percent) than at a non-arts-related nonprofit (62 percent), but less likely to hold the CEO position at larger agencies. Due in part to their underrepresentation at the largest agencies, women CEOs earned an average of $16,000 less than their male counterparts in the field. And while the vast majority of CEOs who responded to the survey were Caucasian, the report found greater racial and gender diversity among non-senior employees than at the senior leadership level.

"The survey suggests that the younger professionals in our sector's ranks are more diverse than current senior leadership," said Randy Cohen, vice president of research and policy at Americans for the Arts. "To ensure arts organizations remain relevant to their communities, it is essential that we keep these younger leaders engaged and create opportunities for them to grow their careers in the arts."

To learn more about the survey and findings, visit the Americans for the Arts Web site.