How much does an executive director make?

The average executive director salary in the United States is $127,956. Executive director salaries typically range between $76,000 and $213,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for executive directors is $61.52 per hour. Executive director salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Executive directors earn the highest average salary in New York.

Executive director salary

Q: What state pays Executive Directors the most?

New York pays Executive Directors the most in the United States, with an average salary of $145,940 per year, or $70.16 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an executive director?

You know if you are being paid fairly as an executive director if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in California you should be paid close to $129,291 per year.

Q: What is a good starting salary for an Executive Director?

A good starting salary for an executive director is $86,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for an executive director in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for executive directors is $152,532, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for an executive director can vary by state.

Q: How much are executive directors paid?

Executive directors are paid $106,000-225,00 per year, depending on their location and industry. In the private sector, executives in the Fortune 500 average salaries over $10,000,000 annually.

Q: How much does a CEO of a non-profit make?

Non-profit CEOs make $174,648 per year, on average. Salaries range between $131,000 to $223,000. The influential factors related to compensation relate to staff size, total expenses, board size, donor base, and impact measures.

Q: How much more should an executive director make?

The range of what executive directors make varies dramatically based on an organization's size, industry, and whether it is for-profit or non-profit. It is hard to calculate a number or percentage around how much more you should be making at this level.

Average executive director salary

$127,956

$61.52 hourly rate

Entry-level executive director salary

$76,000 yearly salary

Updated December 15, 2025

Average Executive Director Salary Overview

The current average salary for an Executive Director stands at $127,956 per year. This figure reflects a range of variables, including geographical location, industry, and the director's experience level. For instance, Executive Directors in nonprofit organizations may earn differently compared to those in corporate sectors.

Salary by State

In states like New York and California, salaries can be significantly higher than the national average, often exceeding $150,000 annually. Conversely, regions with lower costs of living may offer salaries around $100,000.

Industry Insights

Industries such as healthcare and technology tend to offer the highest salaries, reflecting the demand for experienced leadership in these fields. As organizations grow, the need for strategic oversight becomes crucial, often leading to increased compensation for qualified candidates.

Conclusion

As you explore career opportunities, consider these factors to better understand your potential salary as an Executive Director.

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Executive director salary by:

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Where can an Executive Director earn more?

Compare salary by location

165k

145k

125k

105k

85k

65k

Columbus, OH$150,937

Saint Paul, MN$94,870

Compare salary by company

274k

254k

234k

214k

194k

Genentech$259,417

Santander Private Banking International$224,382

Executive director salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, SalaryExpert, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for an executive director typically falls between $87,437 and $200,327.

zippia

$127,956yearly

glassdoor[1]

$200,327yearly

indeed[2]

$90,795yearly

comparably[3]

$100,268yearly

Salary.com[4]

$104,021yearly

payscale[5]

$87,437yearly

SalaryExpert[6]

$152,177yearly

Average executive director salary by state

The highest-paying states for executive directors are New York, California, and Connecticut. The lowest average executive director salary states are Kansas, Nebraska, and Alaska.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for executive directors

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Connecticut	$126,816	$60.97
2	New Jersey	$126,558	$60.85
3	Delaware	$120,413	$57.89
4	Texas	$116,508	$56.01
5	Arizona	$117,149	$56.32
6	Rhode Island	$116,692	$56.10
7	New York	$145,940	$70.16
8	Alabama	$103,543	$49.78
9	Georgia	$111,151	$53.44
10	West Virginia	$98,874	$47.54
11	Illinois	$105,049	$50.50
12	Massachusetts	$104,966	$50.46
13	District of Columbia	$116,516	$56.02
14	Florida	$108,310	$52.07
15	Hawaii	$125,620	$60.39
16	California	$129,291	$62.16
17	Nevada	$105,159	$50.56
18	New Hampshire	$110,946	$53.34
19	Maryland	$108,396	$52.11
20	South Carolina	$93,366	$44.89
21	Ohio	$103,017	$49.53
22	Virginia	$101,956	$49.02
23	Vermont	$97,188	$46.73
24	North Carolina	$100,523	$48.33
25	Arkansas	$95,952	$46.13
26	Washington	$97,091	$46.68
27	Pennsylvania	$95,032	$45.69
28	Wisconsin	$95,587	$45.96
29	New Mexico	$99,779	$47.97
30	Tennessee	$94,067	$45.22
31	Minnesota	$94,781	$45.57
32	North Dakota	$90,540	$43.53
33	Louisiana	$84,841	$40.79
34	South Dakota	$81,450	$39.16
35	Kentucky	$93,152	$44.78
36	Utah	$88,836	$42.71
37	Colorado	$87,792	$42.21
38	Mississippi	$81,366	$39.12
39	Michigan	$89,277	$42.92
40	Maine	$90,594	$43.55
41	Indiana	$86,093	$41.39
42	Montana	$79,966	$38.45
43	Oklahoma	$71,605	$34.43
44	Missouri	$84,002	$40.39
45	Kansas	$79,838	$38.38
46	Iowa	$80,997	$38.94
47	Idaho	$72,772	$34.99
48	Wyoming	$67,978	$32.68
49	Nebraska	$77,935	$37.47
50	Oregon	$83,691	$40.24
51	Alaska	$77,434	$37.23

Top executive director jobs near you

Highest paying cities for executive directors

The highest-paying cities for executive directors are New York, NY, Palo Alto, CA, and Hartford, CT.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	New York, NY	$150,937	$72.57
2	Palo Alto, CA	$133,268	$64.07
3	Hartford, CT	$128,485	$61.77
4	Jersey City, NJ	$128,166	$61.62
5	Wilmington, DE	$121,477	$58.40
6	San Antonio, TX	$121,065	$58.20
7	Phoenix, AZ	$118,468	$56.96
8	Washington, DC	$117,302	$56.40
9	Atlanta, GA	$111,465	$53.59
10	Miami, FL	$111,087	$53.41
11	Baltimore, MD	$108,925	$52.37
12	Chicago, IL	$105,692	$50.81
13	Boston, MA	$105,250	$50.60
14	Columbus, OH	$103,180	$49.61
15	Richmond, VA	$101,892	$48.99
16	Raleigh, NC	$101,758	$48.92
17	Olympia, WA	$98,778	$47.49
18	Philadelphia, PA	$95,686	$46.00
19	Madison, WI	$95,103	$45.72
20	Saint Paul, MN	$94,870	$45.61

Executive Directors are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Executive director salary details

An executive director's salary ranges from $76,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $213,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average executive director salary graph, trends, and summary

What is an executive director's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$213,000	$17,750	$102
75th Percentile	$167,000	$13,917	$80
Average	$127,956	$10,663	$62
25th Percentile	$97,000	$8,083	$47
10th Percentile	$76,000	$6,333	$37

Highest paying executive director jobs

The highest paying types of executive directors are president/chief executive officer, executive vice president, and chief executive officer.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Chief Of Staff	$130,835	$10,903	$62.90	124,272
Chief Operating Officer	$136,604	$11,384	$65.67	128,993
Vice President Of Programming	$142,967	$11,914	$68.73	46,296
Director, Special Projects	$129,916	$10,826	$62.46	45,103
Regional Director Of Operations	$115,156	$9,596	$55.36	130,533
Program Director	$80,664	$6,722	$38.78	82,810

Top companies hiring executive directors now:

Which companies pay executive directors the most?

Executive director salaries at Genentech and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average executive director salary at companies like Amgen and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Genentech	$259,417	$124.72
2	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	$241,855	$116.28
3	Amgen	$239,263	$115.03
4	Vertex Pharmaceuticals	$238,151	$114.50
5	Allergan plc	$236,797	$113.84
6	Regeneron	$236,298	$113.60
7	The New York Times Company	$235,381	$113.16
8	Merck	$235,365	$113.16
9	Stanford Health Care	$233,575	$112.30
10	Incyte	$233,439	$112.23
11	MacArthur Foundation	$233,312	$112.17
12	AbbVie	$229,897	$110.53
13	Exelixis	$227,919	$109.58
14	HPS Partners	$227,764	$109.50
15	Sutro Biopharma	$227,180	$109.22
16	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$226,932	$109.10
17	Eli Lilly and Company	$226,680	$108.98
18	Novartis	$226,456	$108.87
19	MUFG EMEA	$224,643	$108.00
20	Santander Private Banking International	$224,382	$107.88

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$132,000$131,000$130,000$129,000$128,000$127,000

MaleFemale

Executive Director salary by industry

The average executive director salary varies across industries:

The average executive director salary in the finance industry is $153,889, the highest of any industry.
The average executive director salary in the finance industry is $131,923.
Executive directors in the government industry earn an average salary of $108,784, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for executive directors

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Finance	$153,889	$73.99
2	Professional	$131,923	$63.42
3	Media	$129,896	$62.45
4	Health Care	$121,354	$58.34
5	Education	$119,443	$57.42
6	Non Profits	$115,838	$55.69
7	Government	$108,784	$52.30

High paying executive director jobs

Executive director salary trends

The average executive director salary has risen by $35,542 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average executive director earned $92,414 annually, but today, they earn $127,956 a year. That works out to a 13% change in pay for executive directors over the last decade.

Compare executive director salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average executive director salary over time

Compare executive director salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Executive director salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2026	$128,000	$61.52	+3.5%
2025	$123,000	$59.35	+2.5%
2024	$120,000	$57.84	+3.3%
2023	$116,000	$55.96	+2.7%
2022	$113,000	$54.45	+4.5%

Recently added executive director salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
USAA	Executive Director, Business and Data Analytics (Claims)	Campus, IL	06/30/2025	$195,230
American Red Cross	Executive Director-C	Bryan, TX	06/30/2025	$88,000
Rli Insurance Company	Director-Executive Products Underwriting	Day, NY	06/29/2025	$174,972
Brightview Senior Living	Assoc Executive Director	New Baltimore, VA	06/29/2025	$100,000
Brightview Senior Living	Assoc Executive Director	Baltimore, MD	06/29/2025	$100,000
Brightview Senior Living	Executive Director	Randolph, NJ	06/29/2025	$145,000
Neighborhood Legal Services Inc.	Executive Director	Buffalo, NY	06/29/2025	$190,000
Benedictine	Executive Director	Center, MN	06/29/2025	$135,000
Minnesota Limited	Executive Director of The Minnesota Consortium for Higher Education In Prison	Minneapolis, MN	06/29/2025	$81,034
Clearwater Tech	Executive Director-Senior Living	Newport Beach, CA	06/29/2025	$130,000

Executive director salary FAQs

What state pays Executive Directors the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an executive director?

What is a good starting salary for an Executive Director?

How much are executive directors paid?

How much does a CEO of a non-profit make?

How much more should an executive director make?

Have more questions? See all answers to common office and administrative questions.

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Updated December 15, 2025

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