Jump directly to the Content Jump directly to the Content

Understanding the Salary Report

Learn how to use and interpret ChurchSalary's reports with these instructional videos.
Understanding the Salary Report

Every ChurchSalary report contains several sections crammed with numbers and charts. To help you interpret all this data and to get the most out of your report, we’ve created a series of how-to videos.

To follow along with these videos, we recommend that you have a salary report in hand. If you don’t have a report or are considering becoming an annual member, download this sample report.

Still have questions? Check out our FAQs.

What is the Salary Calculator?

How to Use Your Report

Nationwide Salary Summary

Localizing Salaries

Salary Comparison

Employment Profile & Benefits

Cost of Living Comparison

Comparable Jobs

How-To Videos

What is the Salary Calculator?

What is the Salary Calculator? What makes it so powerful? And how can you use it to make informed decisions about compensation in your church?

How to Use Your Report

The data in every ChurchSalary report is designed to help you perform three basic salary review steps.

Nationwide Salary Summary

Learn more about the first section of every ChurchSalary report. What is the blue chart showing you? And what do all the labels mean?

Localized Salary Recommendation

To get a sense of what you should pay pastors at your church, you need to do more than just ask the church down the road. Learn more about ChurchSalary’s new Localized Salary Recommendation tool in this in-depth video.

Additional Resources:

Salary Comparison

Every employee is different. But how do you attach a dollar amount to those differences? How should you value a master’s degree or ten years of experience? Learn more about compensation factors and the Salary Comparison section in this in-depth video.


Employment Profile & Benefits

What does the average pastor or staff member look like? How do they stack up against their peers? And what benefits should you offer your employees? Learn more about the Employment Profile and Benefit sections in this in-depth video.

  
Cost of Living Comparison

Two of the most eye-opening numbers in every ChurchSalary report are the cost of living index and median household income. What are they? And how do they apply to you and your church? Learn more about the often misunderstood Cost of Living Comparison section in this in-depth video.

Additional Reading:

Comparable Jobs

Churches used to benchmark compensation based on the salaries of local school teachers. Thanks to ChurchSalary’s powerful calculator, this approach can be updated for the twenty-first century. Learn more about what the Comparable Jobs section is showing you and how to interpret the data in this in-depth video.

For a comprehensive list of all the comparable jobs and their corresponding Bureau of Labor Statistics titles, descriptions, and codes, consult this FAQ.

This content is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is published with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. "From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations."

Due to the nature of the U.S. legal system, laws and regulations constantly change. The editors encourage readers to carefully search the site for all content related to the topic of interest and consult qualified local counsel to verify the status of specific statutes, laws, regulations, and precedential court holdings.

Lilly Endowment

ChurchSalary is made possible through funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. As part of Lilly's "National Initiative to Address Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders," ChurchSalary—and our parent, Church Law & Tax—is committed to helping church leaders and pastors develop an atmosphere of healthy financial stewardship, especially in the area of church staff compensation.

close