Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $101k and $203k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $264k, roughly 1.8 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $263,956 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $203,414 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $144,954 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $101,339 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $39,069 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 117 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (47% of the 251 orgs in this slice). Each share is the average across orgs of the fraction of total comp that goes to this component, so the bar fills 100%.
The number in context.
Every row links to its own dedicated benchmark page.
All figures are median total reported compensation · IRS Form 990, Schedule J
Pay varies by state.
California pays $13,148 more than the median COO compensation in environment nationally.
The ten highest-paid environment COOs by filing.
| # | Organization | Location | Total compensation | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Iso New England Inc | Holyoke, MA | $2,471,096 | 2024 |
| 02 | World Wildlife Fund Inc | Washington, DC | $704,659 | 2023 |
| 03 | New York Botanical Garden | Bronx, NY | $543,018 | 2023 |
| 04 | Sustainable Ocean Alliance Inc | San Francisco, CA | $526,787 | 2023 |
| 05 | Clearpath Inc | Washington, DC | $431,398 | 2023 |
| 06 | Elemental Excelerator Inc | Honolulu, HI | $423,544 | 2023 |
| 07 | Us Green Building Council Inc | Washington, DC | $419,438 | 2024 |
| 08 | Rare | Arlington, VA | $407,242 | 2023 |
| 09 | United States Endowment For Forestry | Greenville, SC | $389,538 | 2023 |
| 10 | The Wilderness Society | Washington, DC | $386,266 | 2023 |
Total includes base, bonus, other reportable, and deferred/retirement compensation per Schedule J.
What does a $X org pay?
Adjust the slider to your organization's revenue. The median COO compensation for environment nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.