In most cases, the simple answer is No. When you see a number in one of our salary reports, it almost always reflects total (annual) salary.
Benefits are not currently included or displayed anywhere on the site, with the exception of the Market Survey Match (available to Pro or Pro+ members).
See the definitions and explanations below to learn more.
How ChurchSalary Breaks Down Pay 💰
Across the platform, ChurchSalary uses the following terms:
Annual Salary or Total Salary = The amount of money a church pays to a salaried staff member in a given year before taxes. For pastors who receive a housing allowance, their annual salary is broken down into two subcategories:
Housing Allowance = The total amount of money set aside for eligible housing expenses (including fair rental value for pastors who receive a parsonage benefit) in a given year before taxes.
Base Salary = The amount of money not subject to income taxes paid to pastors who receive a housing allowance in a given year before taxes.
Total Benefits = The total amount of money that the church pays to provide benefits to a staff member. This does not include the cost or copays paid by the employee.
Total Compensation = The total amount of money that the church pays in a given year to employ a staff member which includes total salary and total benefits.
The formula for how these terms add together look like this:
+ Total (Annual) Salary = Housing Allowance + Base Salary
+ Total Benefits
= Total Compensation
These terms and formulas are embedded into the Employee Profile form.
Annual or Total Salary 💲
Most non-ministerial employees get paid an annual salary. Because there is nothing to add up or “total,” most people talk about their pay by saying, “My annual salary is $70,000 a year.”
We often talk about the total salary of ministers because their annual salary is subcategorized into housing allowance and base salary. Adding both subcategories together gives you a “total.”
We use annual salary and total salary interchangeably because, ultimately, they are answering the same question—What does an employee get paid in a year before taxes?
Housing Allowance 🏡
Ordained ministers who receive a housing allowance can either receive a:
Cash Housing Allowance,
Parsonage Benefit, or
Both.
Cash housing allowance applies if the church sets aside a portion of the pastor’s total salary as a housing allowance. For example, the church pays the pastors $70,000 a year, but $35,000 of that total is set aside to pay for eligible housing expenses.
Parsonage benefit applies to less than 5% of pastors who live in a parsonage owned by the church. The IRS treats the fair rental value of the parsonage as a financial benefit and that value is counted towards the pastor’s total salary, but the church doesn’t give the pastor cash.
“Both” applies to pastors who live in a parsonage and get a cash allowance from the church to cover bills or housing-related expenses (e.g., yard work).
Base Salary 💸
When a minister receives a housing allowance of some kind, the non-housing portion of their total salary is categorized as “base salary.” This portion of their total salary is subject to income tax.
These subcategories of total salary are evaluated individually in the Localized Salary Recommendation section as averages. But everywhere else, salary reflects the “total” or simply the “annual salary” of similar employees at similar churches.
Total Benefits ✅
This figure reflects the total cost to the church of providing benefits for an employee.
At the moment, total benefits is only visible for Pro and Pro+ members in the Market Survey Match app.
Total Compensation ✅
Total compensation is calculated by adding together total salary and total benefits. When ChurchSalary talks about “total compensation” this is what we have in mind.
We intentionally do not use the term “total comp” or “total compensation” to refer to the sum of base salary and housing allowance. This is a common point of confusion across other websites. So be careful and pay attention to definitions.
While we work on those new products, don't hesitate to contact us by clicking the chat button in the bottom right corner of your screen or emailing us at support@churchsalary.com, and ask for specific figures.