Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $58k and $164k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $256k, roughly 2.6 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $256,033 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $164,334 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $99,893 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $58,208 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $26,861 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 789 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (29% of the 2,757 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 $119,502 more than the median Executive Director compensation in environment nationally.
The ten highest-paid environment Executive Directors by filing.
| # | Organization | Location | Total compensation | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Iso New England Inc | Holyoke, MA | $3,250,419 | 2024 |
| 02 | Alliance To End Plastic Waste Inc | Austin, TX | $1,357,309 | 2024 |
| 03 | Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated | New York, NY | $1,302,005 | 2023 |
| 04 | World Wildlife Fund Inc | Washington, DC | $1,290,569 | 2023 |
| 05 | The Urban Land Institute | Washington, DC | $1,061,231 | 2023 |
| 06 | Us Green Building Council Inc | Washington, DC | $998,915 | 2024 |
| 07 | Solutions Project Inc | Oakland, CA | $990,734 | 2023 |
| 08 | Center For Diversity And The Environment | Portland, OR | $959,602 | 2023 |
| 09 | Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc | Washington, DC | $896,874 | 2023 |
| 10 | The Atlanta Botanical Garden Inc | Atlanta, GA | $883,709 | 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 environment nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.