Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $45k and $180k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $301k, roughly 2.9 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $301,021 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $179,836 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $105,044 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $45,074 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $10,000 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 725 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (33% of the 2,231 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.
District of Columbia pays $107,009 more than the median Executive Director compensation in employment nationally.
The ten highest-paid employment Executive Directors by filing.
| # | Organization | Location | Total compensation | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | American Investment Council | Washington, DC | $6,725,007 | 2024 |
| 02 | The Business Roundtable Inc | Washington, DC | $4,540,528 | 2024 |
| 03 | National Music Publishers Association Inc | Washington, DC | $2,394,275 | 2023 |
| 04 | Screen Actors Guild-American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists | Los Angeles, CA | $1,315,058 | 2023 |
| 05 | American Society For Training And Development | Alexandria, VA | $1,287,018 | 2023 |
| 06 | American Financial Services Association | Washington, DC | $1,171,280 | 2023 |
| 07 | Pandion Healthcare Advocacy Inc | Fairport, NY | $1,077,230 | 2024 |
| 08 | Social Vocational Services Inc | Torrance, CA | $972,050 | 2023 |
| 09 | Cambria County Association For The Blind And Handicapped | Johnstown, PA | $957,283 | 2024 |
| 10 | Edison Welding Institute | Columbus, OH | $943,850 | 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 Executive Director compensation for employment nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.
{sector} {role} pay, answered
- How much does a Employment nonprofit Executive Director make?
- The median total compensation for a Executive Director at a employment nonprofit is $105,044, based on 2,231 organizations in IRS Form 990 filings. The middle 50% fall between $45,074 and $179,836.
- What is the salary range for a Executive Director in Employment nonprofits?
- Pay ranges from $45,074 at the 25th percentile to $179,836 at the 75th and $301,021 at the 90th. The spread reflects differences in organization size, budget, and region within the sector.
- Is this Employment compensation data reliable?
- Yes. It comes from IRS Form 990 filings, legal documents filed under penalty of perjury, not self-reported surveys. Figures cover 2,231 employment nonprofits reporting a Executive Director.
- Why does Employment nonprofit Executive Director pay differ from other sectors?
- Compensation reflects the typical organization size, revenue, and operating complexity of each sector. Larger, better-funded employment organizations pull the upper percentiles higher, while smaller ones anchor the lower end.