Skip to main content
Updated through 2024NTEE H · Medical Research

Medical Research nonprofitDevelopment Director salaries

Based on 65 organizations from 2022 – 2024. Each org counted once at its most recent filing. Sourced directly from IRS Form 990, Schedule J.

Median total compensation
$155,966
The median medical research development director earns $155,966 in total reported compensation.
Median across all 65 medical research nonprofits filing a Form 990, from the smallest to the largest
25th pct
$126k
75th pct
$212k
90th pct
$304k
65 organizations · 2022 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $126k and $212k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $304k, roughly 2.0 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$304,174Top 10% of earners
75th$211,86625% earn more than this
50th · median$155,966The typical executive
25th$126,41625% earn less than this
10th$56,06110% of executives earn less than this
How pay is structured

How the package is built.

The typical pay structure across 37 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (57% of the 65 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%.

$200,130
typical total · 2024
Median total compensation in the subset. The dollar amounts below show what each share works out to on a package this size.
85%
Base salary
84.8% of total
$169,710
Bonus & incentive
4.0% of total
$8,005
Retirement & deferred
2.9% of total
$5,804
Benefits
6.0% of total
$12,008
Other reportable
1.1% of total
$2,201
Shares are averaged across organizations, so they sum to ~100%. Dollar amounts are illustrative (share% of typical total) and don't reflect any specific org.
How this compares

The number in context.

Every row links to its own dedicated benchmark page.

Development DirectorThis page
$155,966
Executive Director
$125,000
CFO
$131,060
COO
$211,850

All figures are median total reported compensation · IRS Form 990, Schedule J

Geography

Pay varies by state.

State-level medians for Development Directors in medical research, ranked by typical pay.

Top 10 states · Medical Research Development Director median
Top-paying organizations

The ten highest-paid medical research Development Directors by filing.

#OrganizationLocationTotal compensationFiling year
01The Jackson LaboratoryBar Harbor, ME$547,5282023
02The Broad Institute IncCambridge, MA$487,5102023
03The Michael J Fox Foundation For Parkinson'S ResearchNew York, NY$444,5872023
04Arc Research InstitutePalo Alto, CA$400,0422024
05The Institute For Cancer ResearchPhiladelphia, PA$397,8512023
06Steadman Philippon Research InstituteVail, CO$312,3282024
07Rady Children'S Hospital Research CenterSan Diego, CA$291,9442023
08The Foundation Fighting Blindness IncColumbia, MD$287,0172023
09International Society For Pharmacoeconomics Outcomes ResearchLawrenceville, NJ$259,5032024
10Usagainstalzheimer'SWashington, DC$247,8972024

Total includes base, bonus, other reportable, and deferred/retirement compensation per Schedule J.

Compare your organization

What does a $X org pay?

Adjust the slider to your organization's revenue. The median Development Director compensation for medical research nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.

Your organization's revenue
~$6M
annual revenue
$0$10M$100M$1B+
Median Development Director comp · $1M – $10M
$150,998
32 organizations in this band
Percentile range for your band
25th percentile$87,579
50th percentile$150,998
75th percentile$223,477
Questions

{sector} {role} pay, answered

How much does a Medical Research nonprofit Development Director make?
The median total compensation for a Development Director at a medical research nonprofit is $155,966, based on 65 organizations in IRS Form 990 filings. The middle 50% fall between $126,416 and $211,866.
What is the salary range for a Development Director in Medical Research nonprofits?
Pay ranges from $126,416 at the 25th percentile to $211,866 at the 75th and $304,174 at the 90th. The spread reflects differences in organization size, budget, and region within the sector.
Is this Medical Research compensation data reliable?
Yes. It comes from IRS Form 990 filings, legal documents filed under penalty of perjury, not self-reported surveys. Figures cover 65 medical research nonprofits reporting a Development Director.
Why does Medical Research nonprofit Development Director pay differ from other sectors?
Compensation reflects the typical organization size, revenue, and operating complexity of each sector. Larger, better-funded medical research organizations pull the upper percentiles higher, while smaller ones anchor the lower end.