How much does a nonprofit executive director make?
Executive director and chief executive officer are the same job at most nonprofits, so this page covers both titles, whether you searched for nonprofit executive director salary, non profit CEO salary, or how much an executive director of a nonprofit makes. Most of the gap between the low and high ends of the range comes down to organization size, so weigh the nonprofit's budget before leaning on any single average.
These figures come from the pay each organization most recently reported to the IRS on its annual return, which tax-exempt organizations sign under penalty of perjury. Each organization counts once, using its latest reported pay. Nothing here is modeled, estimated, or projected.
Why nonprofit executive director pay varies so widely
Budget size dominates. Leading a small community nonprofit and leading a large health system are different jobs with different pay, and that gap outweighs state, sector, and experience combined. In this data, the median executive director at a nonprofit with revenue under $1M earns $52k, while at organizations with revenue over $1B the median rises to $1.1M.
Sector and geography come next. Hospitals, universities, and large foundations pay top leaders more than grassroots nonprofits of similar size, and high cost-of-living metros pay more than rural areas. Use the breakdowns below to filter by the size, state, and sector that match the organization you are benchmarking. Among states with enough organizations to compare, District of Columbia reports the highest median nonprofit executive director pay at $186,221.
How does Executive Director pay scale with org size?
Median pay by nonprofit annual revenue. The shaded area shows the 25th to 75th percentile for executive directors, and the dashed lines show the other roles charted for comparison. Hover for details.
How does Executive Director pay compare to other roles?
Median pay for related nonprofit roles.
Executive director pay vs. corporate CEO pay
Because the role is often titled CEO, searches mix nonprofit and corporate figures, and the two are not comparable. Corporate chief executives earn many times the nonprofit median, much of it in stock that tax-exempt organizations cannot grant. The numbers here come only from what nonprofits reported to the IRS, so they reflect what nonprofits actually pay, which is the right benchmark for a nonprofit role.
Where are nonprofit Executive Director positions concentrated?
Cities with the most nonprofits that pay an Executive Director.
Executive Director Pay by State
States with the highest median pay for nonprofit executive directors.
Executive Director Pay by Organization Size
Median Executive Director pay at nonprofits grouped by annual revenue.
Executive Director Pay by Sector
Median Executive Director pay across nonprofit sectors with enough organizations to compare.
Compare Executive Director pay
Enter an Executive Director pay package to see how it ranks against other nonprofit executive directors nationally. We will also email you a detailed breakdown and set up a free account.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a nonprofit Executive Director make?
- The median pay for a nonprofit executive director is $89,386, based on 149,326 top executives nationwide. The middle half earn between $41,701 and $167,900, and the best-paid one in ten make $299,672 or more. Every number here is total pay: salary plus bonus and other reportable pay, not base salary alone.
- How does nonprofit Executive Director pay change with organization size?
- Pay rises with the size of the organization. At nonprofits with revenue under $1M, the median is $51,500. At nonprofits with revenue over $1B, it is $1,097,028.
- Why does organization budget matter so much for Executive Director pay?
- Larger nonprofits handle more complex finances, larger teams, and greater regulatory requirements, so the same role is a bigger job at a large organization. An Executive Director at a large health system or university has a fundamentally different job than one at a small community nonprofit. Reported pay reflects this: it scales with organizational complexity, not just revenue. Geographic cost of living and sector also play significant roles.
- Which states pay nonprofit executive directors the most?
- District of Columbia leads with a median of $186,221, followed by Massachusetts at $108,000 and California at $104,020. Higher-paying states generally have higher costs of living and larger concentrations of well-funded nonprofits.
- How is this data different from pay surveys?
- Most pay data online comes from self-reported surveys or job posting estimates. This data comes from the pay nonprofits report to the IRS on annual returns, which are legal documents filed under penalty of perjury. Every tax-exempt organization that files a full annual return must report pay for its officers, directors, trustees, and key employees, and for its highest-paid employees above a threshold. The result is a more complete and reliable dataset than voluntary survey responses.
- How does Executive Director pay compare to other nonprofit roles?
- The median nonprofit Executive Director earns $89,386. Related roles: COO at $141,083, CFO at $87,592, Development Director at $141,732, Chief Program Officer at $161,217. Differences reflect scope of responsibility, market demand, and typical organization size for each role.
- How do I know if I'm underpaid as a nonprofit Executive Director?
- Compare your total pay to the range. The median nonprofit Executive Director earns $89,386, with the middle half between $41,701 and $167,900. If your pay sits below $41,701, you are in the bottom quarter for the role nationally and may be underpaid; if it is above $167,900, you are in the top quarter. Organization size and location move these numbers a lot, so benchmark against nonprofits of similar budget and region before drawing conclusions.