Nonprofit CEO & Executive Director Salary in Utah

Official IRS Form 990 Schedule J compensation benchmarks for CEO & Executive Director positions across 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in Utah (with annual budgets between $10M – $25M). Based on 32 matched filings for IRS § 4958 safe harbor compliance.

25th Percentile
$220,622
Lower Bound
Median (50th %)
$226,528
Market Consensus
75th Percentile
$232,128
Safe Harbor Ceiling
Matched Peer Group
32 Filings
IRS Verified Peers
Filter Peer Group
Empirical Market Analysis · Utah
Census Division: Mountain

At $226,528, the median CEO & Executive Director compensation for Utah nonprofits in the $10M – $25M operating band sits 26.5% below the national benchmark ($308,000), reflecting regional cost-of-labor variations in the Mountain division. Matched peer filings establish an interquartile safe harbor range between $220,622 (25th percentile) and $232,128 (75th percentile).

Across this 32-organization peer group, median executive remuneration accounts for 2% of total organizational operating expenditures (interquartile peer range: 1% – 2%). Base salary represents an average of 81% of total compensation, with performance incentives reported by 100% of reporting institutions (averaging $15,889 among participating organizations).

Interquartile Safe Harbor Distribution

Treasury Regulation § 53.4958-6(c)(2) Rebuttable Presumption Bandwidth

32 Verified Filings
P10$212,749
P25 (Safe Min)$220,622
Median (50th)$226,528
P75 (Safe Max)$232,128
P90$239,852
Legal Precedent: To secure the IRS Rebuttable Presumption of Reasonableness, tax-exempt governing boards must establish that approved compensation falls within market comparability bounds prior to voting. Compensation between the 25th and 75th percentiles ($220,622 – $232,128) represents the defensible interquartile standard accepted by federal regulators.

Schedule J Pay-Mix Distribution

Average component allocation across Form 990 Part VII Section A & Schedule J Part II extracts

32 Matched Filings
Base Salary
$183,858
81% of total remuneration
Bonus & Incentive
$15,889
100% peer participation
Deferred Comp
$13,619
100% peer participation
Nontaxable Benefits
$9,080
100% peer coverage
Sample Size32 Matched Filings
Average Budget$14,880,377
Pay-to-Budget Ratio2% (1%–2%)
IRS Filing Vintage2022–2025 XML Extracts

Matched Form 990 Peer Organizations

Sample peer group entries matched by budget, NTEE taxonomy, and geographic cost-of-labor

Showing 3 of 32 peers
THE SAN FRANCISCO PARTICULAR COUNCIL OF THE SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL
EIN: 941571017 • Metro Area, CA • Budget: $15,066,117
$2••,•••
Schedule J Locked
FARESTART
EIN: 911546757 • Metro Area, WA • Budget: $14,805,747
$2••,•••
Schedule J Locked
GREATHEARTS AMERICA
EIN: 454306715 • Metro Area, AZ • Budget: $15,238,172
$2••,•••
Schedule J Locked

Access All 32 Matched Peer Filings

Generate the full, audit-ready 8-page Board Compliance Packet including individual peer line-item disclosures (Base, Bonus, Deferred, Benefits), statutory citations, and turnkey board minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the typical salary for a CEO & Executive Director at a Utah nonprofit with $10M – $25M?

Based on 32 verified IRS Form 990 Schedule J filings in Utah, the median total compensation for a CEO & Executive Director is $226,528. The 25th percentile sits at $220,622 and the 75th percentile (the rebuttable safe harbor ceiling) is $232,128.

How does Utah CEO & Executive Director pay compare to national averages?

At $226,528, median CEO & Executive Director compensation in Utah is 26.5% lower than the national baseline ($308,000) for comparable operating budgets, consistent with economic indices in the Mountain division.

What percentage of operating budget should a 501(c)(3) spend on its CEO & Executive Director?

Across matched peer filings for $10M – $25M nonprofits, median CEO & Executive Director compensation represents 2% of total organizational operating expenses. The middle 50% of peer institutions allocate between 1% and 2% of expenditures to executive leadership.

How does Treasury Regulation § 53.4958-6 protect board members approving executive compensation?

Under Treasury Regulation § 53.4958-6, tax-exempt governing boards secure the Rebuttable Presumption of Reasonableness when they rely on independent comparability data from similarly situated peer organizations prior to voting and record the decision contemporaneously in their minutes. Once established, the legal burden shifts to the IRS to prove that compensation was excessive.