Southern Baptist ministers’ salaries jump more than six percent, study says

LOUISVILLE (BP) — The average combined salary and housing allowance for full-time Southern Baptist pastors is $46,505, according to a national compensation study. That is a jump of 6.7 percent from a similar study conducted two years ago.

The average total pay package, including insurance and annuity benefits, is $56,236 nationally – an increase of 7.6 percent over the previous study.

This year’s study includes more than 20,000 participants from 8,600 Southern Baptist churches in all 50 states. The average compensation in salary plus housing allowance for full-time pastors varies by state, ranging from $34,397 in Montana to $63,818 in the District of Columbia. Full-time pastors in the Baptist General Convention of Texas rank second at $56,581.

Bivocational pastors’ salary and housing allowance combined average $14,788 nationally, an increase of 6.5 percent since 2002. Their average total pay package is $16,340, a gain of 8.4 percent in the past two years.

Churches and individuals can gain access to the full study and compile customized compensation reports online through the “2004 Compensation Study” link at www.absbc.org.