The median compensation for nonprofit CEOs was about $132,000 in 2022. While that figure has increased over the last five years, from about $119,000, it’s remained relatively flat compared to inflation over the same time.
Meanwhile, the historical and present gender pay gap remains, especially when it comes to larger, wealthier nonprofits, with female CEOs earning roughly 77 cents to every dollar of their male counterparts.
Those are among the findings of the 24th edition of the by Candid (formerly GuideStar), a nonprofit that monitors the sector. The report—a massive 6,000 pages of detailed figures categorized by region, subsector, and more—offers critical insights into the state of executive compensation within the nonprofit sector, highlighting trends across gender, geography, and organizational size.
The historical and present gender pay gap remains.
As Reina Mukai, senior data services manager at Candid, explained in a recent with NPQ, the report serves as an essential tool for organizations aiming to ensure that their compensation practices remain competitive and compliant with regulatory guidelines.
“One of the main use cases of the report is nonprofit organizations doing their due diligence on executive pay, making sure that they’re not overpaying their executives and they’re not underpaying,” said Mukai. “They can say, ‘Hey, in this report…the executive or the CEO is being paid this amount, so what we’re paying is reasonable’.”
Gender Gaps Persist
One of the most revealing aspects of Candid’s report is the persistent gender pay gap. While demonstrable progress has been made over the past decade, women in the nonprofit sector continue to face compensation disparities—especially in larger, wealthier nonprofits.
The report shows that in smaller organizations, women are the majority of CEOs. Yet, as organizational size increases, female representation in leadership roles declines sharply. At organizations with budgets over $50 million, women hold just one-third of CEO positions, and the gender pay gap widens significantly, with female CEOs earning about 77 cents for every dollar earned by males.
“For organizations within the largest budget category, the pay gap has actually increased,” Mukai said. “It shows that while progress is being made, there’s still a fairly large gap in leadership roles at these large organizations.”
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Variation across Subsectors and Geography
In smaller organizations, women are the majority of CEOs.
Behind the headline median of $132,000 in CEO compensation, according to the report, is wide variation in compensation by nonprofit subsector and geographical location.
Organizations focused on science and technology research, as well as health services, offer the highest median executive compensation, with figures surpassing $180,000. In contrast, arts, animal-related, and religious organizations lag far behind, with median executive compensation in these sectors falling below $100,000.
Geography is another key determinant of compensation, with organizations in the Northeast offering the highest median salaries ($143,000) compared to lower figures in the Midwest ($114,000) and South ($120,000).
Mukai said Candid will continue looking at how geographical differences in executive pay play out as more organizations offer work-from-home options.
“I will be curious in future years…especially with the rise of remote and hybrid work and the growth of smaller and even midsize cities which have seen significant increases in [the] cost of living,” Mukai said, “to see if those metropolitan areas will see higher increases in compensation.”
Nonprofits often compete for executive talent with the for-profit sector.
Putting Salaries in Context
The Nonprofit Compensation Report is widely used across the sector, particularly by boards and HR departments, to ensure competitive and fair compensation packages.
The report also serves as a resource for organizations required to explain or justify executive salaries during audits or when scrutinized by donors and grantmakers, as well as a trustworthy source of data for boards and HR departments seeking to provide context for proposed executive salaries.
“HR departments use this report to argue for more competitive compensation to retain and attract talent,” said Mukai, noting that nonprofits often compete for executive talent with the for-profit sector.