What $100K to $250K in revenue means for Executive Director pay
Nonprofits with $100K to $250K in annual revenue are small community organizations, usually with a few paid staff. An Executive Director here typically runs day-to-day operations directly, and the job is often a first dedicated paid role.
Across all nonprofit executive directors nationally, the median is $89,386. At organizations with $100K to $250K in revenue, executive directors earn about $49,953 less than that.
Executive Director pay across organization sizes
How median Executive Director compensation scales with nonprofit revenue. Each size band is its own benchmark.
| Org revenue | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $100K | $9,600 | $21,850 | $39,972 | $63,515 | 9,875 |
| $100K–$250K | $18,508 | $39,433 | $62,308 | $85,000 | 18,356 |
| $250K–$500K | $30,000 | $57,925 | $84,119 | $116,008 | 21,088 |
| $500K–$1M | $47,017 | $78,000 | $110,255 | $154,872 | 21,850 |
| $1M–$3M | $70,597 | $107,342 | $154,387 | $218,017 | 30,897 |
| $3M–$10M | $105,973 | $157,068 | $225,295 | $328,234 | 23,826 |
| $10M–$30M | $150,596 | $221,445 | $318,549 | $464,604 | 12,560 |
| $30M–$100M | $209,398 | $325,331 | $481,567 | $717,574 | 6,725 |
| Over $100M | $263,533 | $542,017 | $966,326 | $1,808,411 | 4,149 |
Explore other sizes
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a nonprofit Executive Director at $100K–$250K organizations make?
- The median total compensation is $39,433, based on 18,356 IRS Form 990 filings from nonprofits with $100K to $250K in annual revenue. The middle range runs from $18,508 to $62,308.
- Why does organization size affect Executive Director pay so much?
- Larger nonprofits handle bigger budgets, larger teams, and more complex operations, so the Executive Director role scales with them. Comparing pay within the same revenue band, rather than across all sizes, gives a far more accurate benchmark.
- What is the full pay range for an Executive Director at $100K–$250K organizations?
- The 25th percentile is $18,508, the median is $39,433, the 75th is $62,308, and the 90th percentile reaches $85,000. Where a specific role lands depends on region, tenure, and how complex the organization is.
- How does this compare to the national Executive Director median?
- The national median across all nonprofit sizes is $89,386. Filtering to organizations with $100K to $250K in revenue isolates the size effect, which is one of the strongest drivers of nonprofit compensation.