From the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos063.htm
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Salaries of diocesan priests vary from diocese to diocese. According to a biennial survey of the National Federation of Priests’ Council, low-end salaries averaged $15,291 per year in 2002; high-end salaries averaged $18,478 per year. In addition to a salary, diocesan priests receive a package of benefits that may include a car allowance, room and board in the parish rectory, health insurance, and a retirement plan.
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Originally Posted by MrSelfDestruct
In my experience, donations at church are considered about as optional as the "suggested donation" at museums.
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Like many things, this varies greatly from denomination to denomination, and then from church to church. The only form of pressure there ever was for my family, or anyone for that matter, to donate to my church is that if a child was attending the school associated with the church (such as I was) then tuition was lower. Other than that it all amounted to the fact the priest reminded people every now and then that the church needs money to run the programs it does and so forth and to kep the building up to code. If someone doing their job and asking for donations - the church's only source of income - makes someone feel pressured into giving, it's not the priest's fault the person has a guilty conscience.