NONPROFIT CEO SALARY GUIDE

Nonprofit CEO Salary Guide

Gain strategic insight into executive pay within the nonprofit sector with our comprehensive Nonprofit CEO Salary Guide.

Built specifically for charity boards, nonprofit recruiters, and executive leaders, this guide offers a detailed analysis of average salary for nonprofit CEOs across a wide variety of mission-driven organizations.

Whether you’re recruiting a new CEO, benchmarking your organization’s pay scale, or preparing for compensation reviews, our guide provides actionable, up-to-date information tailored to the nonprofit space.

Why Use Our Nonprofit CEO Salary Guide?

Unlike generic compensation reports, our guide is backed by data from an extensive network of nonprofit recruiters, charity boards, and registered nonprofit executives.

Through salary disclosures, trustee reports, and verified data from our executive network, we present one of the most accurate views of nonprofit CEO compensation available.

This guide has been developed specifically for organizations that fall under the nonprofit and charity umbrella, including foundations, humanitarian groups, health-related nonprofits, arts and culture institutions, and more.

How We Gather Our Data

Our insights are informed by:

• hundreds of nonprofit CEOs across North America
• Board-reported pay disclosures for registered charitable organizations
• Real-time salary inputs from our proprietary nonprofit recruitment portal

Our data captures not only base salaries, but also performance-based bonuses, non-cash benefits (like housing or travel stipends), and long-term incentives offered to nonprofit CEOs.

Average Salary for a Nonprofit CEO: Key Influencing Factors

Nonprofit CEO salaries are shaped by several key variables:

• Organization Size: Larger nonprofits with national or global reach tend to pay higher executive salaries than small, local charities.
• Annual Revenue: The average salary nonprofit CEO receives increases with organizational revenue, ranging from under $1M to over $100M.
• Sector Focus: Health-related nonprofits and large foundations often report higher CEO salaries compared to arts, education, or community service organizations.
• Location: Compensation varies widely by region. Nonprofits in metropolitan areas such as New York, San Francisco, or Washington D.C. report some of the highest nonprofit executive pay due to local market demands and cost of living.
• Governance Structure: Nonprofits with complex governance, multiple funding streams, or affiliated entities tend to offer more competitive CEO compensation.

Nonprofit CEO Salary by Region & Organization Type

Use our salary data to:

• Benchmark pay by charity size and mission
• Attract high-impact leaders with realistic, competitive offers
• Ensure pay alignment with board expectations and donor scrutiny

We offer insights by region, helping you understand how a CEO salary in a small Midwestern nonprofit compares to one in a large coastal foundation.

What’s Included in Our Guide:

• Average salary nonprofit CEO by revenue tier
• Salary ranges for nonprofit CEOs by size and subsector
• Insights into bonuses, pensions, and benefits
• Breakdown by region and state
• Data on CEO pay in health, education, arts, and humanitarian nonprofits
• Trends shaping the future of nonprofit executive compensation

Download the Nonprofit CEO Salary Guide

Ensure your board is equipped with the most relevant and accurate compensation data in the nonprofit sector.

Whether you’re a trustee, founder, or nonprofit recruiter, this guide will help you make informed, mission-aligned hiring and pay decisions.