THE 2023 YOUTH PASTOR COMPENSATION SURVEY REPORT
2023 was a BIG year for many churches as many had a year mostly free from COVID-19 restrictions. Many saw this year as the season of emerging into the “new normal” that resembled pre-pandemic youth ministry with camps, unmasked youth group gatherings, lock-ins, and mission trips all making a comeback nationwide. In contrast, many other ministries struggled with a “new normal, ” including lower attendance and budget cuts. Let’s take a look at some BIG pieces of data for this year’s compensation report:
- The “big number” of what youth pastors are making from 2022
- The two big factors determining salary
- The OTHER two factors that can affect compensation
- The big inflation effect
- The gender wage gap
… and more
About this year's report...
We’ve been at this for six years now, and the Youth Pastor Compensation Survey has had well over 6,000 respondents. The survey is brought to you by Chemistry Staffing in association with The Youth Cartel and ChurchSalary.com. Dan Navarra is the lead researcher and author of this report and serves Chemistry Staffing as a Church Coach, where he helps churches find healthy long-term fits for key roles. Dan also has over fifteen years of youth ministry experience.
Special thanks are well deserved for general editing done, as always, by Mark Oestreicher of The Youth Cartel; and for certain input and analysis from Aaron Hill of Christianity Today’s ChurchSalary.com arm. The heart of this team remains the empowerment of youth workers to understand their compensation best and be equipped to have conversations about their careers and compensation with their churches, ultimately leading to long-term health for the youth workers and the ministries they lead. We care about youth workers!
