Nonprofit Chief Development Officer Salary Benchmarks
See how Chief Development Officer pay compares across U.S. nonprofits — by budget size, geography, and sector. Built from IRS Form 990 filings across 181,829 nonprofits.
Where does your pay land?
Pick a role, your geography, and your organization's budget. Enter what you pay (or what you're considering) and we'll show where it sits against peer organizations.
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How Chief Development Officer pay scales nationally
| Sample size | 336 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $3K |
| 25th percentile | $11K |
| Median | $24K |
| 75th percentile | $45K |
| 90th percentile | $59K |
| Sample size | 325 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $4K |
| 25th percentile | $12K |
| Median | $32K |
| 75th percentile | $54K |
| 90th percentile | $83K |
| Sample size | 402 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $9K |
| 25th percentile | $21K |
| Median | $49K |
| 75th percentile | $70K |
| 90th percentile | $124K |
| Sample size | 836 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18K |
| 25th percentile | $47K |
| Median | $108K |
| 75th percentile | $133K |
| 90th percentile | $161K |
| Sample size | 1334 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $44K |
| 25th percentile | $110K |
| Median | $130K |
| 75th percentile | $156K |
| 90th percentile | $187K |
| Sample size | 1774 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $77K |
| 25th percentile | $117K |
| Median | $140K |
| 75th percentile | $171K |
| 90th percentile | $212K |
| Sample size | 2121 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $110K |
| 25th percentile | $131K |
| Median | $160K |
| 75th percentile | $200K |
| 90th percentile | $247K |
| Sample size | 1162 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $120K |
| 25th percentile | $147K |
| Median | $187K |
| 75th percentile | $244K |
| 90th percentile | $310K |
| Sample size | 1393 |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $143K |
| 25th percentile | $194K |
| Median | $261K |
| 75th percentile | $356K |
| 90th percentile | $515K |
Across peer organizations nationally in this budget bracket, the median Chief Development Officer earns $108K. Half the field falls between $47K and $133K.
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What you get
Free, interactive nonprofit pay benchmarks — refreshed every year.
Built from the public IRS Form 990 Part VII filings, refreshed as the IRS publishes new batches.
How we built these benchmarks
- Source: IRS Form 990 Part VII filings (the public disclosure of nonprofit officer pay).
- Positions classified by an AI model into 14 standard nonprofit leadership roles.
- Peer cells require at least 5 filings; smaller samples are suppressed.
- Updated annually as IRS publishes new 990 batches. Latest data: May 2026.
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