How Much Does an Episcopal Priest Make?

by Robin Elizabeth Margolis, studioD

Episcopal priests are a key part of their churches, healthcare chaplaincies and other clergy posts. The Episcopal Church of the United States follows a sacramental theology similar to that of the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches -- baptisms and other important church rituals are sacred rites or sacraments, that can be performed only by a priest or a bishop. This means that even small Episcopalian congregations and church organizations try to retain a full-time or part-time priest.

National Averages

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not separate Episcopal priest salaries from those of other American clergy. The clergy in the lowest-paid 10 percent of all U.S. clergy earn approximately $23,570 or less per year. The highest-paid American clergy earn an estimated $78,420 or more per year. The average clergy salary in the United States is $44,140 per year.

Regional Reports

To get a picture of what Episcopal priests are paid, as opposed to the American clergy overall, it is helpful to look at the published salary documents of various Episcopalian regional departments supervised by bishops, known as dioceses. Episcopalian dioceses that have published salary guidelines include the seven dioceses of Southern Ohio, Virginia, Rhode Island, Washington, Rochester, New York and Georgia.

Salary Calculations Vary

Priests' salaries vary by diocese and are also calculated differently by each diocese, depending on whether a diocese factors into the salary calculations the housing that some churches provide for their priests and other benefits, such as health insurance. Reported salaries also differ according to a priest's years of experience and whether a priest is serving a large or small congregation. Because of these differences in how salaries are calculated, salary guideline reports should be reviewed for each diocese, to see what formulas that particular diocese has used.

Sample Figures

The diocese of Washington offered both the lowest and the highest potential salaries among the seven dioceses. A new priest in the state of Washington with one year's experience, working as an assistant to another priest, might be offered $37,287 per year. A priest with 25 or more years' experience, working for a congregation with an annual income of $840,000 or more, could be paid $118,587 annually. The diocese of Georgia showed the smallest salary spread. A new priest just out of the seminary, pastoring a church with an average Sunday attendance of 75 members or less, might earn $50,000 annually, while a priest who put in 25 years' service, and ran a church with 150 attendees each Sunday, might receive $70,355 per year.


As of 2012, the Episcopal Church's membership was declining, and its 11 seminaries were producing classes of future priests who carry heavy student loan debts and face declining numbers of posts as churches close or merge. Long-term fears that Episcopalians might face an eventual clergy shortage, because of the high number of "second career" Baby Boomers entering Episcopalian seminaries, are giving way to concerns that substantial outreach and church planting (the establishment of new churches) will be necessary to ensure enough pulpits for future seminary graduates.

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