Guides · For boards

How to set an executive director's salary

Updated October 3, 2026

Setting the executive director's pay is one of the board's core jobs. Set it too low and you lose good candidates, or hire someone who leaves in two years. Set it too high and you strain the budget and invite hard questions from funders.

This guide walks through a simple, fair way to do it.

Who decides

The board sets the ED's pay. Usually a small group, like the executive or finance committee, does the research and brings a recommendation. The full board votes.

Anyone with a conflict should step out. That includes a board member who is related to a candidate or does business with them.

Look at what similar orgs pay

The best source is public. Every nonprofit that files a full IRS Form 990 lists what it pays its officers and top staff. You can look up 990s for free on sites like ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer and Candid.

Pick 10 to 20 orgs that are like yours:

Similar budget. This matters most. Pay tracks budget size closely.
Similar cause, if you can find enough.
Same region, or a region with similar costs.

Write down each ED's pay from their most recent 990. Use the reportable pay column. Leave out benefits for now so you're comparing like with like.

Sort the list and find the middle. That's your median. Note the lower and upper quarter too.

Our executive director salaries by state do this from 990s, by budget size. Use them as a starting point, then check orgs like yours.

Set a range, not a number

Use your research to set a range. A common approach:

Bottom of the range: around the lower quarter of your comparison group. For someone who meets the basics.
Middle: around the median. For someone who's done this job well before.
Top: around the upper quarter. For someone with rare skills you really need.

Then check it against your budget. If you can't afford the median, say so to yourselves plainly. Then decide what you'll trade: a smaller range, more time off, a flexible schedule, or a plan to raise pay as the budget grows.

Post the range in the job post. See how to write a nonprofit job post.

Think about the whole package

Pay is the biggest piece, but not the only one. Look at:

Health insurance, and how much the org covers.
Retirement contributions.
Paid time off and sabbaticals.
Flexibility: remote days, hours, schedule.
Professional development money.

A strong package can make up some of a pay gap. It can't make up all of it.

Watch for unfair gaps

If your last ED was paid far below the market, don't anchor on their pay. You may have been underpaying a long-time leader.
Check how the ED's pay compares to the next-highest paid staff. A big jump can be fine. Paying the ED less than senior staff usually isn't.
Set the range before you meet candidates. Don't adjust it based on who someone is or what they made before. Many places bar asking about pay history, and it carries old gaps forward.

Write it down

Record what you did in the board minutes:

The orgs you compared against, and where the data came from.
The range you set and why.
Who voted, and that anyone with a conflict stepped out.

This matters for the IRS. Boards that follow a careful process like this, using comparable data and keeping records, are on much firmer ground if pay is ever questioned. Ask your accountant or attorney about the details for your org.

Review it every year

Look at the ED's pay once a year, tied to their review. Update your comparison data every two or three years, or when your budget changes a lot.