Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of executive director salary by state for the United States:
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New York has the highest executive director salary of $145,940
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Wyoming has the lowest executive director salary of $67,978
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The national average salary for executive directors is $127,956
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The national hourly pay for executive directors is $61.52
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do executive directors get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for executive director by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for executive directors after this adjustment? That would be New York.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for executive director salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Executive Directors By State
| Rank | State | Average Executive Director Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $145,940 | $94,000 | $226,000 |
| 2 | California | $129,291 | $79,000 | $209,000 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $126,816 | $79,000 | $202,000 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $126,558 | $79,000 | $202,000 |
| 5 | Hawaii | $125,620 | $80,000 | $196,000 |
| 6 | Delaware | $120,413 | $74,000 | $194,000 |
| 7 | Arizona | $117,149 | $70,000 | $193,000 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $116,692 | $72,000 | $188,000 |
| 9 | Texas | $116,508 | $69,000 | $194,000 |
| 10 | Georgia | $111,151 | $67,000 | $184,000 |
| 11 | New Hampshire | $110,946 | $67,000 | $181,000 |
| 12 | Maryland | $108,396 | $66,000 | $177,000 |
| 13 | Florida | $108,310 | $64,000 | $181,000 |
| 14 | Nevada | $105,159 | $62,000 | $176,000 |
| 15 | Illinois | $105,049 | $63,000 | $173,000 |
| 16 | Massachusetts | $104,966 | $64,000 | $172,000 |
| 17 | Alabama | $103,543 | $61,000 | $173,000 |
| 18 | Ohio | $103,017 | $62,000 | $170,000 |
| 19 | Virginia | $101,956 | $61,000 | $168,000 |
| 20 | North Carolina | $100,523 | $60,000 | $167,000 |
| 21 | New Mexico | $99,779 | $58,000 | $168,000 |
| 22 | West Virginia | $98,874 | $59,000 | $164,000 |
| 23 | Vermont | $97,188 | $58,000 | $161,000 |
| 24 | Washington | $97,091 | $59,000 | $158,000 |
| 25 | Arkansas | $95,952 | $57,000 | $161,000 |
| 26 | Wisconsin | $95,587 | $57,000 | $159,000 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $95,032 | $57,000 | $157,000 |
| 28 | Minnesota | $94,781 | $57,000 | $156,000 |
| 29 | Tennessee | $94,067 | $55,000 | $158,000 |
| 30 | South Carolina | $93,366 | $55,000 | $157,000 |
| 31 | Kentucky | $93,152 | $55,000 | $156,000 |
| 32 | Maine | $90,594 | $54,000 | $151,000 |
| 33 | North Dakota | $90,540 | $55,000 | $146,000 |
| 34 | Michigan | $89,277 | $53,000 | $149,000 |
| 35 | Utah | $88,836 | $53,000 | $148,000 |
| 36 | Colorado | $87,792 | $52,000 | $145,000 |
| 37 | Indiana | $86,093 | $51,000 | $144,000 |
| 38 | Louisiana | $84,841 | $49,000 | $146,000 |
| 39 | Missouri | $84,002 | $50,000 | $140,000 |
| 40 | Oregon | $83,691 | $49,000 | $140,000 |
| 41 | South Dakota | $81,450 | $50,000 | $132,000 |
| 42 | Mississippi | $81,366 | $47,000 | $139,000 |
| 43 | Iowa | $80,997 | $48,000 | $134,000 |
| 44 | Montana | $79,966 | $50,000 | $127,000 |
| 45 | Kansas | $79,838 | $47,000 | $133,000 |
| 46 | Nebraska | $77,935 | $47,000 | $128,000 |
| 47 | Alaska | $77,434 | $46,000 | $127,000 |
| 48 | Idaho | $72,772 | $44,000 | $119,000 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $71,605 | $42,000 | $121,000 |
| 50 | Wyoming | $67,978 | $41,000 | $110,000 |
Methodology: Executive Director Salary By State
To better understand executive director pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for executive directors by state.
We took the average annual salary data for executive directors from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for executive directors.
Executive Director Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for executive directors?
The highest-paid state for executive directors is New York with an average salary of $145,940 per year.
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What city pays executive directors the most?
New York, NY pays executive directors the most with an average salary of $150,937 per year.
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What is the worst state for executive directors?
The worst state for executive directors is Wyoming with an average salary of $67,978 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
