Senior pastor pay after inflation
Southern Baptist senior pastor pay package, since 2024
Key finding
- Senior pastor pay after inflation: -6.3%. With the pay package down 0.4% while prices rose 6.3%, a Southern Baptist senior pastor's buying power fell about 6.3% since 2024.
This figure is a Leader Insights calculation from published sources, with the formula shown to members.
Source: Leader Insights calculation from Lifeway Research, Southern Baptist Pastor Pay Stagnant Since 2024 · Calculated by Leader Insights, not a survey result. Formula: (1 - 0.004) / (1 + 0.063) - 1. Inputs: Pay package -0.4%, CPI +6.3%.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Senior pastor pay after inflation: -6.3%. With the pay package down 0.4% while prices rose 6.3%, a Southern Baptist senior pastor's buying power fell about 6.3% since 2024.
Who published this data?
Leader Insights, 2026. Source: Leader Insights calculation from Lifeway Research, Southern Baptist Pastor Pay Stagnant Since 2024 (https://research.lifeway.com/2026/09/08/southern-baptist-pastor-pay-stagnant-since-2024/).
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About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.