Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $49k and $160k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $254k, roughly 2.7 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $253,790 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $159,782 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $92,383 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $48,894 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $21,128 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 4,181 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (27% of the 15,422 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 $48,255 more than the median Executive Director compensation in human services nationally.
The ten highest-paid human services Executive Directors by filing.
| # | Organization | Location | Total compensation | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mather | Evanston, IL | $2,531,605 | 2023 |
| 02 | Community Options Inc | Princeton, NJ | $2,420,283 | 2023 |
| 03 | National Youth Advocate Program Inc | Columbus, OH | $1,915,057 | 2024 |
| 04 | Eskaton Properties Inc | Carmichael, CA | $1,857,341 | 2023 |
| 05 | Samaritan Health Services | Corvallis, OR | $1,623,482 | 2023 |
| 06 | Immanuel Caring Ministries Inc | Peoria, AZ | $1,606,252 | 2023 |
| 07 | Young Men'S Christian Association Of | New York, NY | $1,575,762 | 2023 |
| 08 | Humangood Socal | Duarte, CA | $1,566,593 | 2024 |
| 09 | Scan Group | Long Beach, CA | $1,554,958 | 2023 |
| 10 | Lifespace Communities Inc | Dallas, TX | $1,415,732 | 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 human services nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.