Nonprofit CEO Pay Highest on East Coast, Survey Finds

Top executives at mid- to large-sized nonprofit groups in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic are among the highest-paid charity CEOs in the country, with median wages of $149,523 and $147,474, respectively, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reports, citing new research by Charity Navigator.

The watchdog group’s survey of executive compensation at some 4,000 organizations in 2011 found a median salary nationwide of $125,942. The lowest regional figure was $108,893 for nonprofit leaders in the Mountain West, with Midwestern states the next lowest at $114,050, and the South a close third at $114,138. Also below the national median were the Southwest ($119,393) and the Pacific West ($122,667).

Nationally, the study found that while some nonprofit executives receive “outrageously high” salaries, “those receiving excessive pay are in the minority.”

See The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 2013 report on executive compensation.