Salaries for nonprofit leaders across the country are barely inching forward, growing by 2 percent in 2011, according to the 2013 GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report, released this week.

That compares with 1.6 percent in 2010, according to the report, which shows nonprofit leaders' wages aren't keeping pace with inflation.

"Compensation levels have not yet reached levels seen before the Great Recession," said Chuck McLean, vice president of research for GuideStar, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that is a leading national researcher on nonprofit issues.

The report found:

• Nonprofits working in health, science and technology paid their leaders the highest salaries. Nonprofits working in the arts, religion and animal-related issues paid the least.

• The salaries of female executives continued to lag behind their male counterparts. The bigger the nonprofit's budget, the bigger the gap in median compensation.

For nonprofits with budgets of $250,000 a year or less, the gap was 9 percent. For nonprofits with budgets of $5 million to $10 million, the gap was 21 percent.

• The number of women CEOs declines as the budget of an organization rises. The majority of organizations with budgets of $1 million or less have women CEOs. But just 16 percent of organizations with budgets of more than $50 million have female CEOs.

• The salaries of directors of marketing, finance and operations at large nonprofits — with budgets of $50 million or more — enjoyed some of the biggest pay hikes. Marketing directors, for example, earned $196,200, up 5 percent from the previous year.

• Washington, D.C., had the highest overall median CEO salary of the top metro areas. Portland, Ore., had the lowest.

The report is based on 2011 IRS reports for 95,000 tax-exempt organizations. It ­contains statistics for 14 job categories by gender, budget size, program area and geography.

The report is available for a fee online at www.guidestar.com.

Jean Hopfensperger • 612 673-4511