The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities/Council on Accreditation's annual human services compensation reports are invaluable tools for helping organizations be strong, competitive, and high performing. The focus of the report alternates every year between:

  • Executive, director, and management positions
  • Professional, direct service, and support positions + workforce trends

2021 Workforce Trends and Compensation Study

The 2021 survey on workforce trends and compensation for professional, direct service, and support positions has closed. The report will be released in the fall.   

2020 Compensation Study

The 2020 U.S. Human Services Compensation Study contains salary data for executive, vice president, director, and management staff including breakdowns by organization budget, staff size, region, and staff experience and tenure. An overview of benefits, including top executive benefits data, is also included in this report.  

Compensation data is provided for over 50 positions: 

  • Executive Staff [11 positions] These are positions in the top level of the organization and focus on long-term strategic issues facing the organization. Executive-level positions report directly to the top executive
  • Vice President/Director Staff [21 positions] These are positions responsible for a suite of programs within a division and/or provide leadership on strategy and decision making. Director-level positions have general oversight of financials and staffing for a division/department
  • Management Staff [21 positions] These are positions that supervise staff and are responsible for implementing functions for a specific department or service area. Managers, in general, do not have senior leadership responsibilities, but rather report directly to a director or a vice president

2019 Workforce Trends and Compensation Study 

The 2019 U.S. Human Services Workforce Trends and Compensation Study provides important salary data on professional, direct service, and support staff positions. However, the strength of the human services workforce is also influenced by factors outside of compensation. So in addition to salary data, this year's report offers insights into trends, opportunities, challenges, and solutions regarding recruitment, retention, turnover, and advancing equity. The 2019 study, informed by survey responses from over 270 nonprofit human service organizations, contains two distinct sections:  

Section 1: Compensation Study 

This report presents salary information for the top executive position and information about the organizational characteristics of the survey sample. Specifically, the 2019 study focuses on professional staff, direct service staff, and support staff and features salary data for all positions broken down by organization budget, staff size, and region. This year's study focuses provides compensation data for a total of 59 positions: 

  • Professional Staff [16 positions] These positions requiring certification, licensure, and/or specific academic credentials
  • Direct Services Staff [22 positions] These positions generally do not require credentials or licensing, but do involve regular, mission-based, direct contact with the people served by the organization
  • Support Staff [21 positions] These positions are crucial to daily operations, but generally do not involve client contact related to therapeutic intervention, support, advocacy, or other service

Section 2: Workforce Trends 

This trends report summarizes data collected in the survey around recruitment, retention, turnover, and advancing equity. Use this baseline data, which is designed for benchmarking and goal setting, to encourage conversations, generate ideas, identify priorities, and inspire new questions. 

The trend report is based on survey questions developed in consultation with human resources professionals at community-based human services organizations. It addresses priorities, challenges, and trends that are impacting the strength and diversity of the sector’s workforce. Specific topics include: 

  • Formal recruitment and/or retention plans and plan budgets 
  • Recruitment or hiring protocols that promote diversity and inclusion
  • How many organizations have experience hiring new Americans or citizens returning from incarceration
  • Turnover rates and reasons and which positions are most difficult to fill
  • How organizations are promoting flexibility, wellness, and work-life balance
  • Succession planning

Pricing and Purchasing 

2020 and 2019 Report Bundle

  • Alliance members: $275
  • Nonmembers: $800

Download Report

2020 Compensation Study

  • Alliance Members: $150
  • Nonmembers: $450

Download Report

2019 Workforce Trends and Compensation Study

  • Alliance members: $150
  • Nonmembers: $450

Download Report

Contact the Alliance Evaluation and Research Services Department with questions or for more information.