Clergy Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $65K, rent takes 42.7% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,820/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,300/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new clergies typically earn — is $35K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,116/month. At HUD’s $1,820/month FMR, rent would take 86% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $65K locally vs. $61K nationally, a 7% difference.

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell pays $65K median vs. the U.S. average of $61K — that’s +7%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 100.06), the purchasing-power equivalent is $65K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $65,150 a year, that works out to about $31 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $35,260, and experienced clergies can clear $90,450. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,258/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,820/month, which eats 42.7% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell has a Regional Price Parity of 100.06 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median clergy salary is worth about $65,111 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.