Clergy Salaries: Rabbis Average Higher Salaries Than Priests, Ministers And Imams

Ever wonder which religious leaders make the most money?

Among the leaders of the world's major religions, rabbis tend to have higher annual salaries than their Catholic, Christian and Muslim counterparts, according to a new report by Slate.

Both Reform and Conservative rabbis earn an estimated average annual salary of around $140,000, while the median salary for full-time pastors at Protestant churches was just $40,000, the Jewish Daily Forward reports. Catholic priests and Muslim imams make even less, with average salaries of about $25,000 and $30,000 per year, respectively.

In the early 1990s, rabbinical schools across the nation experienced a surge in enrollment as a record number of young people flocked to the training centers, according to The New York Times.

Of course, for many, the motive to become a rabbi isn't necessarily the income.

"Nobody does this for the money, but it's nice to know that Reform rabbis make a good living," Martha Bergadine Zamek of Evanston, Ill. told the Times shortly after receiving her letter of admission to a rabbinical school in 1991.

But the numbers are not always entirely clear, with different surveys showing different results.

For instance, a 2011 survey conducted by PayScale discovered that rabbis had an average annual salary of about $80,000, according to eHow Money. The report points out that the number varies depending on years of experience and where they preach.

And salaries for ministers and pastors among Christian denominations, on the other hand, can sometimes be as high as 400,000, according to the Christian Post.

Compared to other religious leaders, Catholic priests were paid the least, with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati (Ohio) indicating they pay their priests a $26,884 base salary.

Salaries also vary significantly among imams, and, as Slate observes, there isn't a lot of data on pay rates for the Muslim leaders.

However, an imam in Tennessee reported making between $31,000 and $34,000 per year on the online salary site Glassdoor. Similarly, a search of job listing website Simply Hired revealed an average salary of about $41,000 for the career.

Comments

[tgovostis]

06:01 PM on 03/15/2013

Anyone else offended by "Catholic, Christian and Muslim"? Only a bigot implies that Catholic is not Christian.

[Daveh88]

12:22 AM on 12/11/2012

The Agudas Israel of America publishes the stats for Orthodox Rabbi's that seem to be missing here.
in NYC Metro area, Synagogue rabbi earns; Modern Orthodox: $70,000. Haredi (both Hasidic and Yeshivish): $45,000/ Out side of NYC area it can be as high as 85k+ with usually a free rent on a synagogue owned house if the community is out of the way of any of the major orthodox areas. Rabbinical School Rabbis (Non-YU) earn $43,000 and Rosh Yeshiva's (Dean's) about $70,000-85,000 (Depending on Institutes size). Other religious positions for rabbis different based on institute and job type.

Also unlike Catholic priests who have cars, housing and clothing paid for by the church (the local priest near me drives a nice Cadillac) Orthodox rabbi's usually have to pay all their own bill, mortgages, and they all send to religious private schools which run from $7,000-$30,000 a year depending what city and what schools. So it doesn't figure in all of the costs. Though reform and conservative rabbis do seem to have a good gig going

[elgreco57]

05:33 PM on 11/27/2012

How much does the Pope make?

[Kevin Jablonski]

12:29 PM on 04/22/2013

Same as a priest

[dbv356sc]

05:49 PM on 11/22/2012

they aren't worth 2 cents

[rascheurer]

12:09 AM on 10/29/2012

What kind of fringe benefits do they get? And what is their dollar value?

[Rabbi Steve]

08:06 AM on 10/15/2012

I have been a Reform Rabbi since 2007 and have drawn no slary for the services I provide to the congregation with whom I affiliate since the day I was ordained. I do however accept a fee for the weddings, baby namings, Bar & Bat Mitzvahs & funerals I perform. At the end of the day, I have been called to serve both God and the Jewish community, but my mortgage does not pay itself and the bills I have, must be paid. There is no reason why the services I provide should not be compensated. The cost of the seminary I atteneded was high and the fee I charge is modest in relation to the benefits I bring to the situation. It is true... I didn't enter the clergy to get rich, I felt called to serve, but that service has a value, NO?

[lloydc1234]

05:04 PM on 10/11/2012

These folks need to become leaders of mega-churches. They do a little better. To add, they don't get a penny from me unless it's that I pay extra in taxes that they should be paying. By the way, I can pray in my car, house, shcool or anywhere else--I don't need a mosque, church, synagogue etc.

[tulip40]

07:23 PM on 09/29/2012

Jesus did not take money from his followers and he admonished his apostles not to either.
His apostles had jobs, they did not burden their followers.

[noneed4gods]

11:18 AM on 07/25/2012

These " holy dudes" should be paid not one cent as is not gods word free? Hmm, go to a "holy school" to learn the "holy moly" to teach the masses the holy b.s. Sounds like any other business and should be taxed accordingly.

[davesny302]

11:04 AM on 09/05/2012

In the bible, the apostle Paul commands the churches to pay their pastors.

[PlayBall101]

01:20 PM on 07/12/2012

Sorry about the typeos )o:

[PlayBall101]

01:15 PM on 07/12/2012

In todays time,few churchs hire preachers /church leaders that have gone thru a diploma mill degree program or who have simply professed that they are in the ministry because they were simply CALLED!!Most religious organizations expect their ministers/leaders to have more than just book knowledge.They expect the person to have good moral,social,common sense,possess legal knowledge and management skills.So,in a nut shell a churchs generally pay high salaried for people that are not morons,but the preachers must produce results or will be replaced by someone that will.

[PlayBall101]

01:03 PM on 07/12/2012

Most high payed clergy have student loans to pay off.These are the people who attended private theological seminaries.State colleges do not have theological seminaries,because of the separation of church and state and accrediation issue.Most religious ministers use their salaries to pay for their food,shelter,clothing,transportaion,insurance and retirement.Clergys in the Catholic church do not have to pay for their food or shelter.Many clergy members are married and have to support their family on a single salary.Often the spouse has a University degree,but has to move on when the spouse that is a clergy member has to move on to another church/house of worship.In most religions,ministers arehired directly by a church/house of worship and given short-term contracts and can be fired at will.So,really ministers/religious leaders in a nutshell do not have a lot of long term job security.Today, it is a very common practice to see more retired professionals from secular employment seeking enrollment in theological seminaries throughout the U.S.A..Most religious leaders in the United States are expected to have earned a Masters in Div. degree /M.S. in Hebrew Letters from an accredited theological school just to qualify for the job interview.Few churchs will not hire a minister that has earned his degree via diploma mill or has proclaimed that he was called by God to the ministry.Most of those preachers have side jobs to support their ministry and keep it afloat.

[ProfessorO]

11:00 AM on 06/21/2012

This article almost makes me want to become a rabbi.

[PlayBall101]

01:39 PM on 07/12/2012

Hey,it would be better to be a professor of religion and do a few weddings on the side as a clergy member not attached to a church.house of worship.I think teaching would be cooler than sit in an office and listen to people who disagreed with what type of communion whine you used or what baker you bought your challah bread from.

[PlayBall101]

02:01 PM on 07/12/2012

Communion wine should be white instead of red!!

[PlayBall101]

01:54 PM on 07/12/2012

Part of becomming a Rabbi in many communities involves the traditional interfaith bema swap with the Southern Baptists.You might be Jewish,but prayers for you will be included in the baptism by fire sermon that you will be required to give in their church about the Torah and how jews stoned sinners who picked up twigs on the day of the lord.It amazes me to see how many people of the oppose faiths,do flock to their churchs/temples on the day of the preacher/Rabbi swap.The Baptist minister must always be reminded that the collection plate is NEVER passed inside the temple due to Jewish Law.

[LeoUteAlly]

07:51 PM on 04/13/2012

I know the lowest paid, which is 100% lay ministry is the LDS church. People in the church serve with absolutely no pay because they love to serve others as Christ taught and spend as much if not more than all these others who get paid!

[davesny302]

11:06 AM on 09/05/2012

Everyone in the LDS is also not very well educated in what they are teaching. I'd rather pay a preacher to study, be educated and teach me.

[ellj]

02:15 AM on 10/28/2012

Apples and oranges. We Jews have a different model than the LDS church. The LDS church has a central authority that collects money, is responsible for establishing churches and temples, as well as a theology that requires members to serve the church if they wish to remain in good standing. By contrast, Jewish institutions are generally autonomous and a Rabbi is often a full-time employee who leads services, teaches school, counsels congregants etc. While lay people certainly can, and do, lead services, we require our Rabbis to have a higher level of religious education and knowledge. This means full-time, in-depth study for many years. Each congregation supports itself with dues and contributions and part of that is paying a fair salary to a skilled Rabbi.

[Hesbon Nyambane Kerongo]

09:26 AM on 03/22/2012

We need to appreciate the noble work that the preachers are doing

http://www.personal-growth-towards-success.com/thank-you-pastor-poems.html