Church staff salary guide
This church staff salary guide shows what national wage data and church surveys report for youth pastors, worship leaders, church administrators and office staff, so you can see how a role compares. Most figures here are medians. The median is the middle number, meaning half of people earn above it and half earn below it.
What do common church roles pay?
This table places national numbers alongside numbers from churches. The national numbers are from O*NET, which covers every kind of employer. The church numbers come from a 2026 study of Southern Baptist churches by Lifeway Research and GuideStone, and cover full-time staff. For office staff and ministers who are not ordained, the church numbers are salary only, while ordained ministers' numbers include housing allowance.
| Position | O*NET national median (2025) | Southern Baptist full-time median (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Pastors and other clergy | $60,810 | Executive pastor $100,000, associate pastor $78,677 |
| Youth pastor | $52,100 | $59,626 |
| Minister to children | $52,100 | $56,779 |
| Music or worship leader | $73,710 (music directors at all employers, not just churches) | $76,492 |
| Business manager or administrator | Not listed separately | $85,891 |
| Secretary or office staff | $47,540 | $45,010 |
You can find the national clergy number in O*NET's clergy summary. The church numbers come from the 2026 study's tables at MosesTab.
What does a typical youth pastor earn?
O*NET puts youth pastors in with directors of religious activities and education. That group's median pay in 2025 was $52,100 a year, or about $25.05 an hour. Directors of youth ministries and of children's ministries also fall in that group.
Church size changes pay a lot. A Ministry Boost guide gives these rough 2026 ranges:
| Church size | Youth or student pastor pay |
|---|---|
| Part-time role or small church | $25,000 to $45,000 |
| Mid-sized church | $42,000 to $62,000 |
Chemistry Staffing's 2026 Youth Pastor Compensation Report, running for nine years now, finds that attendance and budget drive youth pastor pay more than anything else.
Worship leader salary by church size
The $73,710 national median for music directors and composers reflects every employer, not only churches. Within churches, pay swings widely depending on size.
| Source and setting | Pay for worship pastors or directors |
|---|---|
| Ministry Boost, part-time or small church | $20,000 to $45,000 |
| Ministry Boost, mid-sized congregation | $45,000 to $70,000 |
| MinistryJobs.com, attendance 0 to 250, conservative pay | $38,000 to $52,000 |
| MinistryJobs.com, attendance 0 to 250, competitive pay | $52,000 to $65,000 |
The Ministry Boost figures come from its staff salary guide for 2026. The MinistryJobs.com figures are based on Froot Group staffing figures and show up in its guide to worship pastor pay.
Church administrator salary
O*NET does not list church administrators separately, so the Southern Baptist study offers a church-specific comparison. The 2026 Southern Baptist study put full-time business managers and administration staff at a $85,891 median. Only 30 people answered for that role, so read it as a rough guide.
Ministry Boost breaks administrator pay down by church size:
| Church size | Pay range |
|---|---|
| Mid-sized church | $45,000 to $70,000 |
| Larger church | $65,000 to $100,000 |
Which salary survey should a church use?
A compensation survey collects what many churches pay for each role and shares the results. GuideStone describes the SBC Church Compensation Survey as the largest free compensation survey in the nation. The 2026 study drew on 4,449 full-time responses submitted by senior pastors, staff ministers, and office personnel.
There are paid choices as well. ChurchSalary, a paid church compensation platform, reports serving more than 17,000 employees.
When you weigh up figures, look at how each survey defines pay. Lifeway counts salary alone for office staff and ministers who are not ordained. For ordained ministers, it adds the housing allowance too, which is the portion of a minister's pay the church designates for housing.
Benefits and overtime rules
Base pay is only one piece of what a staff member costs. Ministry Boost notes that housing allowance, health coverage, and retirement contributions can add another 20 to 40% beyond base pay.
Church staff can also fall under overtime rules. Under federal overtime rules, a salaried administrative or professional employee is generally exempt from overtime (meaning none is owed) only if they earn at least $684 a week and their job duties pass the tests. A job title by itself does not settle this.
Questions churches often ask about staff pay
How much should a church pay its secretary?
The 2026 Southern Baptist study found a $45,010 median for full-time office personnel. Lifeway says pay for this group climbed 9.2% between 2024 and 2026, faster than 6.3% inflation. Pay for staff ministers grew 4.9% in that same period.
How much of a church budget goes to staff pay?
Lifeway finds the average Southern Baptist church puts 45% of its budget toward staff pay and benefits combined.
Do non-minister church staff pay Social Security and Medicare?
Yes, usually. According to the IRS, wages of church employees who are not ministers face Social Security and Medicare taxes unless an exception applies.
Is any of a pastor's housing allowance taxable?
Sometimes, yes. The tax-free amount is the lowest of three things: what the church designated, what was actually spent on housing, and the home's fair rental value plus utilities. Say the church designated $20,000, the pastor actually spent $18,500, and the rental value plus utilities came to $24,000. In that case $18,500 stays tax-free while $1,500 is taxable.