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Ethics Director Salary in the United States

How much does an Ethics Director make in the United States?

As of August 01, 2026, the average salary for an Ethics Director in the United States is $233,019 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $112.

However, an Ethics Director's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $253,786
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $208,615 to $243,889
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $186,396
Salary Factors Salary-Boosting Skills Salary by Experience Related Job Salaries Top Paying Cities Explore Related Jobs

Key Factors That Influence Ethics Director Salaries

An Ethics Director's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Ethics Director Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of an Ethics Director's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Ethics Specialist V (7-10 years): $171,341
  • Ethics Manager (10+ years): $134,368
  • Ethics Senior Manager (10+ years): $185,849
  • Ethics Director (10+ years): $233,019
  • VP of Ethics (10+ years): $270,109
Job Role Years of Experience Average Salary
Ethics Specialist V7-10 years$171,341
Ethics Manager10+ years$134,368
Ethics Senior Manager10+ years$185,849
Ethics Director10+ years$233,019
VP of Ethics10+ years$270,109
View as Graph

How Do Ethics Directors Salaries Vary from State to State?

Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Ethics Directors. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $257,999.
  • California: $257,020.
  • Massachusetts: $253,595.

Top Paying Cities for Ethics Director

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $293,907
  • San Francisco: $290,689
  • Oakland: $284,563

What Skills Can Increase an Ethics Director's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Initiative (Mentioned in 11.11% Job Postings): Taking decisive action and initiating plans independently to address problems, improve professional life, and achieve goals.
  • Internal Audit (Mentioned in 5.56% Job Postings): Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value to and improve an organization's operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. Internal auditing achieves this by providing insight and recommendations based on analyses and assessments of data and business processes. With commitment to integrity and accountability, internal auditing provides value to governing bodies and senior management as an objective source of independent advice. Professionals called internal auditors are employed by organizations to perform the internal auditing activity. The scope of internal auditing within an organization is broad and may involve topics such as an organization's governance, risk management and management controls over: efficiency/effectiveness of operations (including safeguarding of assets), the reliability of financial and management reporting, and compliance with laws and regulations. Internal auditing may also involve conducting proactive fraud audits to identify potentially fraudulent acts; participating in fraud investigations under the direction of fraud investigation professionals, and conducting post investigation fraud audits to identify control breakdowns and establish financial loss.
  • Microsoft Office (Mentioned in 5.56% Job Postings): Microsoft Office is a suite of desktop productivity applications that is designed by Microsoft for business use. You can create documents containing text and images, work with data in spreadsheets and databases, create presentations and posters.
Skills Demand Percentage
Initiative 11.11%
Internal Audit 5.56%
Microsoft Office 5.56%
See More Skills

What skills can make your compensation higher?

Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on an Ethics Director's salary.

  • Employee Relations: Can increase your salary by up to 9%.
  • Program Management: Can increase your salary by up to 8%.
  • Presentation: Can increase your salary by up to 7%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Employee Relations $253,991
9%
Program Management $251,661
8%
Presentation $249,330
7%
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Ethics Director Salary by Company Size: Startups vs. Enterprise

Ethics Director salary potential scales significantly with company size. Data shows that Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) pay the highest average salary at around $260,851. While startup companies pay approximate $220,674.

Ethics Director Salary by Company Size

Company Size Employees Average Salary
Startup 1~50 $220,674
Growth Stage 51~500 $233,389
Established 501~5000 $251,898
Enterprise 5000+ $260,851

Ethics Director Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Ethics Director roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 60% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Software & Networking and Pharmaceuticals sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 36% above the average. In contrast, Ethics Director positions in Hospitality & Leisure or Retail & Wholesale typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Ethics Director as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for an Ethics Director

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Software & Networking$316,906$152.036%
Pharmaceuticals$293,604$141.026%
Financial Services$281,953$136.021%
Energy & Utilities$270,302$130.016%
Aerospace & Defense$258,651$124.011%

Ethics Director Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how an Ethics Director's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on August 01, 2026
$208,615
Average $233,019/year
$243,889
$17,385
Average $19,418/month
$20,324
$4,012
Average $4,481/week
$4,690
$100
Average $112/hour
$117
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $243,889 $20,324 $4,690 $117
Average $233,019 $19,418 $4,481 $112
25th Percentile $208,615 $17,385 $4,012 $100

Ethics Director Salary Growth & Career Path

Ethics Director

Next Role

For an Ethics Director, the most direct path to higher earnings is advancing to the VP of Ethics role. This promotion typically comes with a significant pay increase, bringing the average annual salary to $270,109 - a projected growth of 16% over your current level.

Most common benefits for Ethics Director

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Ethics Director

Here are companies hiring for Ethics Director and their salaries, click below for more details.

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FAQ about Ethics Director

1. Where can an Ethics Director earn the most?

An Ethics Director's earning potential can vary widely depending on several factors, including location, industry, experience, education, and the specific employer. According to the latest salary data by Salary.com, an Ethics Director earns the most in San Jose, CA, where the annual salary of an Ethics Director is $293,907.

2. What is the highest pay for Ethics Director?

The highest pay for Ethics Director is $253,786.

3. What is the lowest pay for Ethics Director?

The lowest pay for Ethics Director is $186,396.

4. What are the responsibilities of Ethics Director?

Develops, directs, and promotes the organization's global ethics and compliance function. Designs and develops programs to assess and manage legal and regulatory compliance risks and to establish high ethical standards of conduct for the organization. Ensures that policies reflect domestic and international legal requirements and industry-specific codes governing ethical standards and comply with transparency reporting requirements. Communicates the organization's ethical standards with messaging and deliver employee training programs that raise awareness about ethics-related topics such as Anti-Bribery, Anti-Corruption, Antitrust, Conflicts of Interest, and others. Monitors compliance with policies and investigates and remediates any non-compliant actions. Responsible for maintaining confidential reporting systems allowing employees, customers, contractors, and other stakeholders to disclose violations of the organization's ethical standards, violations of law, or policies without fear of retaliation. Requires a bachelor's degree in area of specialty. May require the Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP)certification. Typically reports to top management. Manages a departmental sub-function within a broader departmental function. Creates functional strategies and specific objectives for the sub-function and develops budgets/policies/procedures to support the functional infrastructure. Typically requires 5+ years of managerial experience. Deep knowledge of the managed sub-function and solid knowledge of the overall departmental function.

5. What industry pays the highest salary for Ethics Director?

The Software & Networking industry offers the highest average compensation for Ethics Director roles, with salaries approximately 36% above the market median.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.

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