Nonprofit salary benchmarks

What nonprofits pay, by role

One median per role, taken straight from IRS Form 990 filings — the compensation nonprofits actually reported, not a survey and not an estimate. Every figure below rests on at least 20 filings.

RoleMedianFilings
Executive Director / CEO $113,000 272,974
President $97,000 72,502
CFO / Head of Finance $155,000 61,866
Physician / Clinical Practitioner $402,000 42,092
COO $169,000 32,117
Head of School / Principal $161,000 23,374
Medical Director / CMO $299,000 16,324
Professor / Faculty $152,000 12,822
Deputy / Associate Director $147,000 11,161
Director of Finance $122,000 10,501
Chief Administrative Officer $143,000 9,277
Dean / Associate Dean $214,000 8,254
Director of Programs $125,000 7,342
General Counsel $271,000 7,147
Controller / Comptroller $143,000 6,794
CRNA / Advanced Practice Nurse $165,000 6,008
CIO / CTO $250,000 5,746
Director of Operations $121,000 5,607
Director of Nursing $202,000 5,530
Chief Development Officer $189,000 5,308
Senior Vice President $266,000 5,281
Director of Development $139,000 5,142
VP of Finance $179,000 4,914
Senior Director $168,000 4,263
VP of Development / Advancement $187,000 4,077
Executive Vice President $236,000 4,066
Chief Human Resources $231,000 3,909
Psychiatrist / Behavioral MD $280,000 3,666
VP of Operations $190,000 3,549
Chief of Staff $197,000 3,502
Artistic Director $73,000 3,496
Provost / Academic VP $230,000 3,349
Chief Program Officer $167,000 3,270
Director of HR $144,000 2,943
Director of IT $154,000 2,758
VP of Human Resources $213,000 2,381
General Manager $152,000 2,190
VP of Marketing $189,000 2,169
Surgeon $863,000 2,150
Chief Growth / Innovation Officer $208,000 2,076
Chief Strategy Officer $226,000 2,066
Labor / Union Representative $169,000 1,826
Director of Marketing $141,000 1,786
Program Manager $125,000 1,620
Athletic / Recreation Director $177,000 1,526
Chief Marketing / Communications Officer $222,000 1,479
Director of Communications $142,000 1,452
Business Manager $105,000 1,360
VP of Programs $164,000 1,297
Chief Compliance Officer $194,000 1,213
Director of Education $129,000 1,129
Regional Director $164,000 1,018
Licensed Practical Nurse $143,000 1,016
Operations Manager $105,000 1,005
Director of Advancement $162,000 923
VP of Communications $200,000 922
Office Manager $46,000 894
Director of Research $157,000 869
Director of Facilities $150,000 850
Director of Pharmacy $204,000 795
Chief Investment Officer $795,000 675
Training Director $177,000 655
VP of IT / Technology $206,000 630
Project Director $159,000 609
Director of Clinical Services $151,000 595
Director of Admissions $155,000 565
VP of Philanthropy $180,000 546
Chief Philanthropy Officer $204,000 545
Chief Science Officer $287,000 535
Music Director $125,000 510
Executive Producer $139,000 501
VP of Facilities $218,000 498
Chief Quality Officer $288,000 496
Psychologist / Therapist $144,000 492
VP of Strategy $193,000 473
VP of Medical Affairs $441,000 449
VP of Research $237,000 415
Director of Philanthropy $142,000 403
Director of Advocacy $141,000 386
Division Director $167,000 367
VP of Business Development $207,000 361
Membership Director $147,000 342
Academic Director $138,000 320
VP of Quality $211,000 311
Director of Quality $146,000 304
Principal Investigator $213,000 260
Associate / Senior Counsel $187,000 250
Chief Learning Officer $214,000 250
VP of Advocacy / Policy $188,000 249
Director of Planning / Strategy $152,000 224
Director of Grant Programs $136,000 222
Director of Outreach $116,000 176
Director of Community Relations $132,000 174
Director of Real Estate $151,000 173
Director of Engineering $173,000 160
Chief Risk Officer $264,000 157
VP of Compliance $198,000 155
Scout Executive $175,000 152
Director of Compliance $141,000 144
Director of Major Gifts $160,000 142
Chief Policy Officer $230,000 126
VP of Engineering $217,000 101
Chief Data Officer $237,000 98
Director of Government Affairs $148,000 93
Director of Alumni Relations $153,000 40
Director of Social Services $113,000 38

A few roles above carry a figure but no page of their own. Those are roles where no single state has enough filings to report separately, so a dedicated page could say nothing the row above does not already say.

Method: the median of reported total compensation across matching IRS Form 990 Schedule J and Part VII filings, rounded to the nearest $1,000, with no role published below 20 filings — full methodology. These are market reads, not comparability data: for a figure matched to one organization's budget, sector and location, and the peer filers behind it, use the Executive benchmark tool. New to the rules that govern nonprofit pay decisions? Start with the §4958 guides.

Documented comparability data like the above supports — but does not by itself establish — a board's rebuttable presumption of reasonableness under IRC §4958 (intermediate sanctions). The presumption also requires advance approval by an independent board body and contemporaneous documentation. CauseComp provides comparability data for informational purposes and does not provide legal or tax advice.