In general, your earnings as a UMC pastor include a base cash salary, and a number of other benefits are provided as 'allowances.' In addition to the cash salary, you'll receive a housing allowance unless you live in a church-appointed parsonage. You'll find that your salary peaks at about age 45 and then generally declines until about age 70.

Senior pastors with around 30 years experience earned around $58,0 while those with no seniority earned around $49,000 on average. By contrast, you can earn about $4,000 more per year if you're serving in the Western North Carolina Conference.įrom the beginning to end of your career as a UMC pastor, you can expect your salary to increase approximately $9,000, assuming you stay in the same type of congregation and in the same Conference. For example, 2008 data shows you can earn around $55,000 serving in the North Carolina UMC Conference, which covers the eastern half of the state. In some cases, being appointed to the next Conference over can make a moderate difference in your salary. Pastor salaries range from around $43,000 to $70,000 and up, depending on the specific UMC Conference, according to 2011 data from the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits. In general, you can expect to be assigned to a smaller congregation that pays less in salary at the beginning of your career. Serving a larger congregation with wealthier members means you can expect salary ranges at the high end of the spectrum while serving smaller congregations with less resources means you'll earn lower salaries. The congregation's budget - from which your salary is figured - takes into consideration a dollar amount per member of the congregation.

The size and make-up of the UMC congregation you serve is perhaps the largest factor in figuring salary ranges.

Pastor salary