Percentile distribution
Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $46k and $172k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $295k, roughly 3.2 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
10th
$20k
25th
$46k
50th · median
$94k
75th
$172k
90th
$295k
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $295,308 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $171,535 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $93,518 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $45,995 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $19,926 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How pay is structured
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 2,217 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (30% of the 7,296 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%.
$226,065
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.
87%
Base salary
87.4% of total
$197,581
Bonus & incentive
5.5% of total
$12,434
Retirement & deferred
3.3% of total
$7,460
Benefits
4.2% of total
$9,495
Other reportable
0.9% of total
$2,035
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.
All figures are median total reported compensation · IRS Form 990, Schedule J
Geography
Pay varies by state.
District of Columbia pays $138,456 more than the median Executive Director compensation in community improvement & capacity building nationally.
Top 10 states · Community Improvement & Capacity Building Executive Director median
01
District of Columbia
260 orgs
$231,974
→
02
Virginia
258 orgs
$126,024
→
03
California
565 orgs
$125,000
→
04
Maryland
175 orgs
$112,500
→
05
New York
534 orgs
$109,840
→
06
Nevada
41 orgs
$106,297
→
07
Arizona
107 orgs
$104,969
→
08
Massachusetts
219 orgs
$104,320
→
09
Colorado
179 orgs
$102,957
→
10
Utah
45 orgs
$102,428
→
Top-paying organizations
The ten highest-paid community improvement & capacity building Executive Directors by filing.
| # | Organization | Location | Total compensation | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Edison Electric Institute Inc | Washington, DC | $14,400,618 | 2023 |
| 02 | Society For Human Resource Management | Alexandria, VA | $4,001,668 | 2024 |
| 03 | Consumer Technology Association | Arlington, VA | $3,871,628 | 2023 |
| 04 | Ll Global Inc | Windsor, CT | $3,203,447 | 2024 |
| 05 | Brown University | Providence, RI | $3,177,590 | 2023 |
| 06 | American Property Casualty Insurance Association | Chicago, IL | $3,076,054 | 2024 |
| 07 | Association Of International Certified Professional Accountants | Durham, NC | $3,060,655 | 2023 |
| 08 | Credit Union National Association Inc | Washington, DC | $2,984,778 | 2024 |
| 09 | American Clean Power Association | Washington, DC | $2,892,608 | 2024 |
| 10 | Global Association Of Risk Professionals Inc | Jersey City, NJ | $2,881,962 | 2023 |
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 Executive Director compensation for community improvement & capacity building nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.
Your organization's revenue
$1M or less
annual revenue
$0$10M$100M$1B+
Median Executive Director comp · Under $1M
$63,884
4,158 organizations in this band
Percentile range for your band
25th percentile$37,053
50th percentile$63,884
75th percentile$94,548
Questions
{sector} {role} pay, answered
- How much does a Community Improvement & Capacity Building nonprofit Executive Director make?
- The median total compensation for a Executive Director at a community improvement & capacity building nonprofit is $93,518, based on 7,296 organizations in IRS Form 990 filings. The middle 50% fall between $45,995 and $171,535.
- What is the salary range for a Executive Director in Community Improvement & Capacity Building nonprofits?
- Pay ranges from $45,995 at the 25th percentile to $171,535 at the 75th and $295,308 at the 90th. The spread reflects differences in organization size, budget, and region within the sector.
- Is this Community Improvement & Capacity Building compensation data reliable?
- Yes. It comes from IRS Form 990 filings, legal documents filed under penalty of perjury, not self-reported surveys. Figures cover 7,296 community improvement & capacity building nonprofits reporting a Executive Director.
- Why does Community Improvement & Capacity Building nonprofit Executive Director pay differ from other sectors?
- Compensation reflects the typical organization size, revenue, and operating complexity of each sector. Larger, better-funded community improvement & capacity building organizations pull the upper percentiles higher, while smaller ones anchor the lower end.
Keep exploring
Related benchmark pages
Education
Executive Director
Health Care
Executive Director
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Executive Director
Mental Health & Crisis Intervention
Executive Director
Community Improvement & Capacity Building
CFO
Community Improvement & Capacity Building
COO
Community Improvement & Capacity Building
Development Director