Editor’s Note: The 2014-2015 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff is now available. This resource details pay and benefits data for 14 church positions, including two new ones–part-time musician and part-time childcare provider. Each position is analyzed based on a variety of criteria, including education, experience, church size, and geography. The resource also includes step-by-step worksheets to help churches tailor compensation based on their unique circumstances. In the weeks and months ahead, watch ManagingYourChurch.com for graphics and short articles highlighting trends and other broad developments from the latest data.

Which positions in the church pay best for men and women?

Results from Christianity Today’s biannual survey of 4,600 churches nationwide, which are featured in the new 2012-2013 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff, reveal the top 7 paid positions based on gender.

Male or female, it pays to be the senior pastor. However, male senior pastors typically are compensated more than their female counterparts. Some of this may be explained on the basis of church income, which proved to be the biggest factor affecting compensation and benefits in the study. For example, in churches with male senior pastors, church income (i.e. revenue) averages about $710,000, while church income where women serve as senior pastors hovers at about $487,000. This gap in revenue could explain, in part, why women senior pastors tend to be paid less.

Male executive pastors earn nearly 50 percent more than women in this same role. Additionally, even though women make up 69 percent of full-time children’s pastors, men serving in this role full-time earn nearly $12,000 more on average than women.

The gender pay gap closes for solo pastors. Although 92 percent of solo pastors are men (paid an average of $57,452), they earn only slightly more than women solo pastors (paid an average of $54,102).

Across all paid church positions, men are compensated 28 percent more than women holding the same positions. Although factors such as church income may explain some of this disparity in pay, churches need to be mindful of compensating employees fairly and without gender bias.

The 2012-2013 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff provides valuable, detailed data on 13 church staff positions (including compensation levels based on personnel characteristics like years employed, denomination, region, gender, and education).