Executive directors (EDs) of nonprofits play a crucial leadership role, and their compensation varies widely across the United States. This analysis compiles state-by-state base salary figures for nonprofit EDs (excluding hospitals and trade associations) using the most recent data available. We draw on public data (IRS Form 990 disclosures aggregated by Candid) and private salary surveys (e.g. Salary.com and industry reports) to provide a comprehensive picture. All figures refer to annual base salary (excluding bonuses or benefits).
Nationwide, nonprofit ED pay has been on a steady rise. According to Candid’s analysis of Form 990 filings, the median CEO/ED compensation reached ~$132,000 in 2022, up from about $118,500 in 2018 prweb.com. This median reflects all nonprofit sizes and sectors (with staff >0) and helps set a benchmark for “reasonable” compensation. However, individual salaries vary greatly by organization size, mission, and location. Private surveys that often focus on larger nonprofits report higher averages – for example, Salary.com estimates the national average ED base salary around $178,100 as of 2025 salary.com. The discrepancy underscores that many small nonprofits pay modest salaries (bringing down the median), while larger nonprofits (or high-cost regions) elevate the average.
Cost of living and nonprofit density in each state are major factors in these differences. Generally, states in the Northeast and West Coast, which host many large, well-funded nonprofits and have higher living costs, offer higher ED salaries, whereas states in the South and Midwest tend to have lower averages. Below, we present a state-by-state breakdown and then highlight key trends.
The table below shows the average annual base salary for nonprofit executive directors in each U.S. state (and D.C.), using recent salary survey data. These figures focus on charitable nonprofits and exclude hospital and association CEOs to avoid skewing the data. (For most states, median salaries would be a bit lower than these averages due to a few highly paid executives at large nonprofits.)
| State | Avg. ED Base Salary (USD) |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $197,200 salary.com |
| California | $196,400 salary.com |
| Massachusetts | $193,800 salary.com |
| Washington | $193,100 salary.com |
| New Jersey | $193,000 salary.com |
| Alaska | $192,800 salary.com |
| Connecticut | $190,300 salary.com |
| New York | $189,300 salary.com |
| Hawaii | $186,100 salary.com |
| Rhode Island | $184,600 salary.com |
| Maryland | $183,600 salary.com |
| Minnesota | $182,200 salary.com |
| Illinois | $181,500 salary.com |
| Colorado | $181,700 salary.com |
| Delaware | $180,300 salary.com |
| Oregon | $180,800 salary.com |
| Virginia | $179,300 salary.com |
| Vermont | $174,800 salary.com |
| North Dakota | $175,900 salary.com |
| Michigan | $175,400 salary.com |
| Nevada | $176,300 salary.com |
| Pennsylvania | $177,300 salary.com |
| New Hampshire | $180,000 salary.com |
| Maine | $173,600 salary.com |
| Ohio | $173,400 salary.com |
| Arizona | $173,500 salary.com |
| Georgia | $171,800 salary.com |
| Indiana | $170,900 salary.com |
| Wisconsin | $175,200 salary.com |
| Iowa | $170,400 salary.com |
| Utah | $170,500 salary.com |
| Kansas | $169,600 salary.com |
| Louisiana | $169,300 salary.com |
| Missouri | $169,200 salary.com |
| North Carolina | $169,200 salary.com |
| Kentucky | $167,600 salary.com |
| Nebraska | $167,800 salary.com |
| Tennessee | $166,400 salary.com |
| South Carolina | $166,900 salary.com |
| Idaho | $166,200 salary.com |
| Florida | $168,500 salary.com |
| Montana | $168,100 salary.com |
| New Mexico | $164,900 salary.com |
| Alabama | $163,600 salary.com |
| Oklahoma | $164,700 salary.com |
| Arkansas | $160,900 salary.com |
| West Virginia | $160,400 salary.com |
| Mississippi | $158,800 salary.com |
(Source: Salary.com average pay for “Executive Director, Non-Profit Organization,” Aug 2025. Figures rounded to nearest hundred.)
A few notes on this data: These averages reflect full-time executives of nonprofits with at least one paid staff member. They exclude hospital systems and large associations, which often have significantly higher CEO pay. If those were included, states known for big nonprofit hospitals (e.g. Minnesota or Massachusetts) or many trade associations (e.g. D.C.) would show even higher averages. Conversely, many small community-based nonprofits (especially in rural states) pay their EDs well below these state averages – often in the $50K–$100K range – but those smaller salaries are offset by larger organizations in the data.
As expected, Washington D.C. tops the list for ED salaries, with an average base salary around $197K. D.C. is a unique case – it’s home to numerous national nonprofits, foundations, and advocacy groups, and the cost of living is very high. Candid’s Form 990 data confirms that D.C. had the highest median nonprofit CEO pay of any state (about $175K as of 2020)fundraisingcounsel.com. Following D.C., the top-paying states are mostly in the Northeast and West Coast:
Other states with notably high ED salaries include Alaska ($193K)salary.com – partly due to high cost of living and many nonprofits receiving oil revenue funding – and Hawaii ($186K)salary.com, which also has high living costs and a limited talent pool, necessitating competitive pay.
At the lower end, states with smaller economies and lower cost of living tend to have lower nonprofit executive pay. According to the data, Mississippi has the lowest average ED salary (around $159K base)salary.com. Other lower-paying states include:
These figures align with the fact that nonprofits in many Southern and Plains states tend to be smaller on average and have less revenue, leading to more modest executive salaries. It’s worth noting, however, that even in “lower” paying states, large outliers exist (for instance, a large university or statewide charity can still pay its CEO a six-figure salary well above the state’s median). The averages simply reflect that there are fewer of those high-budget nonprofits in those states.
When grouping states by region, clear patterns emerge:
Trends over time: Nonprofit ED salaries have been rising steadily in recent years. One private survey noted that half of nonprofits increased salaries by 20–25% in a recent year, as organizations faced a competitive job market philanthropy.com. Inflation and a tight labor market post-2020 have pushed many nonprofits to offer higher pay to attract and retain chief executives. Even smaller nonprofits are feeling pressure to raise salaries (where funding allows) because they are competing with both larger nonprofits and the for-profit sector for talent. The Form 990 data shows a roughly 4–5% annual growth in median CEO pay in the late 2010s, with a slight dip in 2020 for the largest organizations (during the pandemic) followed by resumed growth prweb.comphilanthropy.com. In short, the trend is upward across almost all states, though the gap between high-pay and low-pay states remains persistent.
In summary, base salaries for nonprofit executive directors vary significantly by state, generally reflecting the economic environment and scale of nonprofits in each region. States like Washington D.C., California, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington are at the high end (average ED pay in the high $100Ks), while states like Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arkansas are at the low end (mid/upper $100Ks on average). The national median base salary sits around $130K prweb.com, but about one-third of CEOs of smaller nonprofits earn well below $100K, while at the top end, CEOs of the largest nonprofits (excluding hospitals) can earn $300K+.
When evaluating these figures, it’s important to remember that nonprofit CEO compensation must be “reasonable” relative to an organization’s size, mission, and region (per IRS rules) councilofnonprofits.orgcouncilofnonprofits.org. Boards often use comparisons like the above to ensure their ED’s pay is competitive yet justifiable. The data shows that location matters – donors and boards in high-cost states accept higher executive pay as the norm fundraisingcounsel.com, whereas in smaller markets, salaries tend to be tempered by local economic conditions.
Finally, excluding outliers (like hospital and association CEOs) provides a clearer view of typical charitable organizations. While nonprofit EDs are rarely paid like their for-profit counterparts, their salaries are trending up, and regional differences are likely to persist. Nonprofits in lower-paying states may need to budget more for executive compensation in the future as remote work and national searches make the talent market more competitive, potentially narrowing these gaps over time.
Sources: Recent nonprofit compensation reports and surveys, including Candid’s 2024 Nonprofit Compensation Report (IRS Form 990 data) fundraisingcounsel.comprweb.com and Salary.com 2025 salary data for nonprofit executives salary.comsalary.com, among others. All data are focused on base salaries for full-time executive directors of nonprofits with at least one staff member, excluding hospitals and trade associations for accuracy and consistency.
Head over to the Nonprofit Leadership Hub to learn more about the Executive Director job market.