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New York City / Department of City Planning / Executive Director

Job-title file

Executive Director

Lead staff and operations — set priorities, allocate resources, and oversee program delivery.

1 employees hold this title in Department of City Planning. Median total compensation for the role is $249,792, above the department median of $84,896.

Employees
1
Total payroll
$249.8K
Role median
$249,792
Agency median
$84,896
Comparison
Above

Compared with the local labor market

Executive Director pay vs. the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ area

Across all employers in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ area, the median wage for Chief Executives — about 7,180 people — is $301,440. Department of City Planning pays a median base salary of $248,042 for this role, 18% below that figureabout the 36th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Department of City Planning sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$164,740
$208,320
$301,440
$462,490
$709,670
Department of City Planning median · $248,042

The bar is the range of annual wages for Chief Executives across every employer in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of City Planning’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Chief Executives — about 204,350 people — is $213,990. Department of City Planning’s median base salary is 16% above that national figure, about the 56th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
Department of City Planning median · $248,042

Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ range relative to the national one.

Median total compensation for this role at Department of City Planning is $249,792, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare departments

This role across New York City

Executive Director is held in 18 New York City departments. In Department of City Planning, the median of $249,792 ranks #10 of 18.

Highest-paying departments for this role

Median total compensation for the Executive Director role in other New York Citydepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.

Compare jurisdictions

Executive Director beyond New York City

This role is reported in 16 jurisdictions. In New York City, the median of $234,270 ranks #1 of 16. See Executive Director across all of New York City

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

California
$216,557 · 5
City of Baltimore
$181,781 · 107
Texas
$174,155 · 48
New Jersey
$163,810 · 22
District of Columbia
$155,094 · 29
Vermont
$127,275 · 27
Massachusetts
$123,657 · 8

Median total compensation for comparable Executive Directorroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.

Record list

Employees with this title

Page 1

Edith Hsu Chen

Executive Director/Department of City Planning

2025 total comp
$249,792
Base pay
$248,042
Overtime
$0
Other pay
$1,750
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$249,792
Hire date
1997-12-08
Pay basis
Annual
Work city
Manhattan

Source-specific fields

Base Salary
$256,836
Leave Status as of June 30
Active
Overtime Hours
0
Payroll Number
30
Regular Hours
1,820

Edith Hsu Chen works as a Executive Director for Department of City Planning based in Manhattan. Their tenure dates to 1997, about 28 years. Edith earned $249,792 in 2025.