The Nonprofit Sector in the US

The Nonprofit Sector in the US

As of 2016, there were 1.5 million nonprofit organizations registered with the IRS in the United States. However, an unknown number of nonprofits are not registered with the IRS because they are not required to do so or are not registered for other reasons. The IRS count excludes most congregations, small grassroots organizations, and some other nonprofits. Based on our research of the nonprofit sector, we estimate that the inclusion of all of the aforementioned organizations would bring the total to more than 2.5 million nationally.

Each year US nonprofit organizations account for

5%of US GDP

11.4Million Paid Employees

8.7Billion Volunteer Hours

A Breakdown of IRS-Registered Organizations

(National Center for Charitable Statistics, 2017)

  • 1.5 million registered with the IRS as tax-exempt entities (2016)

  • 1,097,689 public charities

  • 105,030 private charitable foundations

  • 368,337 other nonprofits

  • 312,373 congregations

*1999 and 2001 data combined to account for missing 2001 data

Revenues in the Nonprofit Sector

(National Center for Charitable Statistics, 2017)

  • Estimate for IRS-registered tax-exempt entities that file Form 990 financial information (2013-2014 estimates)

  • Total revenues in excess of $1.74 trillion

  • This constitutes 5% of GDP

  • Equivalent to 50% of federal outlays in 2014 

*These estimates exclude volunteer-only & small nonprofits with less than $25,000 in revenues, as well as other organizations not captured in IRS estimates

*1999 data and 2001 data combined to account for missing 2000 data

Employment in the Nonprofit Sector

(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012 estimates)

  • 11.4 million paid employees 

  • Nonprofits accounted for $532 billion in wages in 2012, about 10% of total wages in the private sector 

*Estimate excludes employees in congregations, mutual benefit, and social welfare nonprofits and others not registered with the IRS as tax-exempt entities.

Donations by Individuals to the Nonprofit Sector

  • Individuals donated $264 billion in 2015 (71% of total charitable giving), according to Giving USA

  • 70% of households donate (2004 IU Center on Philanthropy)

  • Households that donate, on average, give $2,047 anually (2004 IU Center on Philanthropy)

  • 46% of American households contributed to at least one religious organization

  • 62% of American households contributed to at least one secular cause