Nonprofit salary benchmark
Head of School / Principal pay at U.S. nonprofits
Median reported total compensation, nationally. Based on 26,955 IRS Form 990 filings, fiscal years 2021–2025. Figure as filed, rounded to the nearest $1,000.
Data updated .
What the filings show
- Of the 108 executive roles CauseComp reports nationally, this one ranks 63 by median pay.
- Across the 51 states with enough filings to report this role, the median runs from $83,000 (Montana) to $235,000 (Massachusetts).
- Between fiscal years 2024 and 2025 — the two most recent complete filing years — the national median moved from $169,000 to $173,000.
These figures come from what filers reported on Schedule J and Part VII; what each Schedule J column captures explains what a reported total includes. Head of School / Principal is not among the thirteen position families that published nonprofit pay surveys concentrate on. Our analysis of the unbenchmarked roles shows how much reported pay sits in roles like this one.
Head of School / Principal pay by state
| State | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $235,000 | 926 |
| Connecticut | $205,000 | 739 |
| Hawaii | $195,000 | 135 |
| Maine | $193,000 | 148 |
| Maryland | $187,000 | 573 |
| New York | $186,000 | 3,431 |
| New Jersey | $182,000 | 900 |
| California | $180,000 | 4,246 |
| Nevada | $174,000 | 224 |
| Alabama | $173,000 | 146 |
| Kansas | $172,000 | 45 |
| Vermont | $170,000 | 115 |
| Georgia | $167,000 | 850 |
| Pennsylvania | $166,000 | 1,600 |
| New Hampshire | $165,000 | 163 |
| Washington | $165,000 | 541 |
| New Mexico | $163,000 | 98 |
| District of Columbia | $162,000 | 476 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | $162,000 | 24 |
| Rhode Island | $159,000 | 189 |
| Tennessee | $159,000 | 484 |
| Delaware | $158,000 | 164 |
| Virginia | $157,000 | 675 |
| Illinois | $153,000 | 650 |
| South Dakota | $151,000 | 41 |
| Missouri | $150,000 | 337 |
| Colorado | $147,000 | 584 |
| Arkansas | $146,000 | 109 |
| Texas | $145,000 | 1,520 |
| Utah | $144,000 | 177 |
| North Carolina | $142,000 | 765 |
| Michigan | $138,000 | 245 |
| Kentucky | $137,000 | 115 |
| Louisiana | $137,000 | 339 |
| Oklahoma | $136,000 | 87 |
| South Carolina | $133,000 | 328 |
| Indiana | $132,000 | 349 |
| Minnesota | $132,000 | 259 |
| Wisconsin | $131,000 | 229 |
| Florida | $130,000 | 1,362 |
| Oregon | $127,000 | 284 |
| Idaho | $124,000 | 78 |
| Ohio | $122,000 | 611 |
| Mississippi | $120,000 | 87 |
| Arizona | $119,000 | 493 |
| Nebraska | $117,000 | 26 |
| Puerto Rico | $112,000 | 57 |
| Iowa | $105,000 | 50 |
| West Virginia | $104,000 | 20 |
| Wyoming | $100,000 | 23 |
| Montana | $83,000 | 58 |
Every state listed clears the 20-filing minimum. States with fewer filings are not shown, because a median built on a handful of returns is not a benchmark.
What this page does not tell you
A national median flattens two things that move nonprofit pay: budget size and sector. It is a starting point, not an answer for a particular organization, and it is not §4958 comparability data — see how intermediate sanctions reach both the executive and the board that approves the pay.
Where the Head of School / Principal is the organization's chief executive, the board's test for whether a chief executive is overpaid applies directly. A figure for one organization needs a peer group for the Head of School / Principal role, matched on budget size first, then mission and geography.
Need a figure matched to your organization? The Executive benchmark tool adjusts for budget, sector and location and names the comparable filers behind the number. See plans and pricing.
Which best describes you?
Recorded: .
Method: the median of reported total compensation across matching IRS Form 990 Schedule J and Part VII filings, no cell published below 20 filings, figures as filed with no adjustment or projection — full methodology. Browse every role from the salary benchmark index.
Documented comparability data 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.