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About the Author

Erik Friesenhahn
friesenhahn.erik@bls.gov

Erik Friesenhahn is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Article Citations

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Article
March 2025

Nonprofit organizations: state and regional employment trends

This article explores employment trends and highlights of 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations at the state and regional levels. The article also examines the role of the public and private sectors in key industries and their effect on state and regional trends.

Nonprofit organizations can be found in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Despite this broad geographical representation, it was not until recently that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began to publish data on employment, wages, and the number and size of establishments for this vibrant segment of the U.S. economy. Published estimates are now available covering the period from 2007 to 2022.1

Using publicly available data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), BLS was able to identify private-sector nonprofit companies on its business register. BLS linked the IRS’s Exempt Organization Business Master File to the BLS Business Register, by using a variable common to both datasets. Although the IRS lists 29 different classifications of tax-exempt entities, BLS restricted its publication tables to the most common category: 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.2 Establishments designated as 501(c)(3) organizations through this process are referred to as nonprofit organizations in this article. Establishments not identified by this approach are referred to as for-profit establishments.3

This article focuses on employment estimates for nonprofit organizations at the regional and state level. It begins by examining the state distribution of 501(c)(3) employment relative to overall private-sector employment. Although 501(c)(3) organizations accounted for 1 in 10 U.S. private-sector jobs in 2022, their representation in state labor markets differed considerably. Despite this state-level variation, however, these data exhibit a noticeable regional pattern.

The article then examines the degree of private- and public-sector involvement in the healthcare and education industries. These two industries accounted for 83 percent of all nonprofit jobs in 2022.4 The extent to which the private sector participates in these industries may have a significant impact on the distribution of 501(c)(3) employment.

Finally, the article examines the data on nonprofit organizations for the District of Columbia and compares them with those of the 50 U.S. states. The District of Columbia differs considerably from the states in that its nonprofit employment is spread more broadly across different industry sectors. It also has the highest percentage employment in nonprofit organizations.

Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this article are for 2022, the most recent year available for BLS nonprofit estimates.

Geographic distribution of employment

Nationally, 501(c)(3) organizations accounted for 9.9 percent of all employment in the private sector in 2022. At the state level, the nonprofit share of employment ranged from a high of 25.2 percent (District of Columbia) to a low of 2.8 percent (Nevada). These variations in state-level employment shares exhibit a regional pattern, with nonprofits being more prevalent in certain parts of the country.

To better understand this regional distribution of employment at 501(c)(3) organizations, state-level data are divided among the nation’s four regions, as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau: Northeast, Midwest, West, and South. (See the box that follows for the states included in each region.) Employment at nonprofit organizations tends to be more concentrated in the Northeast and, to a lesser extent, the Midwest, than in either the West or South regions of the country. (See chart 1.)

 

U.S. census regions

Northeast (9 states)

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

South (16 states and District of Columbia)

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Midwest (12 states)

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

West (13 states)

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Among the four regions, the Northeast had the highest percentage of nonprofit jobs, accounting for 15.5 percent of total private-sector employment. Eight of the nine states in this region had nonprofit employment shares that were greater than the national average of 9.9 percent. The only exception was New Jersey, where 9.5 percent of private-sector jobs were in 501(c)(3) organizations. The Northeast states with the largest proportion of nonprofit employment were Vermont (19.8 percent), Massachusetts (17.6 percent) and Maine (17.2 percent). (See chart 2.)

In contrast, the South region had the smallest proportion of private-sector employment in nonprofit organizations: 7.6 percent of private-sector jobs in the South were in 501(c)(3) establishments, less than half the share in the Northeast. Twelve states in the South had shares below the national average. The only exceptions were the District of Columbia (25.2 percent), West Virginia (15.2 percent), Maryland (13.4 percent), and Delaware (11.5 percent), all of which are located close to the Northeast region. The states in the South with the lowest shares of nonprofit employment were Alabama (4.8 percent), Texas (5.1 percent), and South Carolina (5.7 percent). (See chart 2, table 1, and table A-1).

Table 1. Total private employment and nonprofit employment, by region, 2022

Region

Total private 1

501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations

Percentage nonprofit

United States

128,718,060

12,766,057

9.9

Northeast

23,085,649

3,574,230

15.5

Midwest

27,725,444

3,138,502

11.3

West

30,590,530

2,473,916

8.1

South

47,316,444

3,579,409

7.6

1 Total private regional totals do not sum to the U.S. totals because the regional totals are the sum of the individual states within each region, and the state figures are rounded up to the nearest whole number.


 

Note: Nonprofit employment includes all employment in 501(c)(3) organizations. For more information, see “Business Employment Dynamics: Nonprofit Sector Research Data” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified August 15, 2024), https://www.bls.gov/bdm/nonprofits/nonprofits.htm.


 

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At the regional level, nonprofit employment shares were fairly stable over time. The relatively high proportion of 501(c)(3) employment in the Northeast and Midwest compared with the South and the West was maintained throughout the entire 16-year period for which data are available. From 2007 to 2022, the Northeast had the highest proportion of nonprofit jobs, ranging from a high of 16.6 percent in 2020 to a low of 14.9 percent in 2007. Similarly, the South maintained the lowest share of nonprofit jobs throughout the period, reaching its largest proportion in 2020, at 7.9 percent, and its lowest proportion in 2007, at 6.8 percent.5 The other two regions showed similar trends, with the nonprofit employment share for the Midwest consistently higher than the share for the West over the 2007–22 period.

These stable trends in 501(c)(3) employment shares are also generally observable at the state level. For example, the District of Columbia had the highest proportion of nonprofit employment compared with that of any U.S. state over the entire 2007–22 period. The nonprofit-employment share in the District of Columbia reached its highest point in 2013, when it was 27.0 percent. Similarly, Nevada had the lowest share among the states throughout the period, reaching its lowest point in 2007, when the share of nonprofit employment was 2.1 percent. (See table A-2.)

In a 2012 report, researchers from Johns Hopkins University provided a possible explanation for the regional differences in nonprofit employment, arguing that they are partly the result of historical trends in which “the Northeast developed a robust tradition of private, nonprofit colleges and hospitals during the colonial era, whereas the West and Midwest, thanks in part to the network of public land-grant colleges fostered by the federal government after the Civil War, evolved a more robust public college system, and, in the post-World War II period, a significant for-profit health industry.”6 The two industries referenced by these researchers—healthcare and social assistance and educational services—accounted for 83 percent of all jobs at nonprofit establishments in 2022. Thus, examining the breakdown between the private sector and public sector for these industries provides insight into the geographical distribution of 501(c)(3) employment. The next two sections look at these two industry sectors in detail.

Healthcare and social assistance

Nationally, the healthcare and social assistance sector accounted for two-thirds of all nonprofit jobs in 2022. For all 50 states, this sector accounted for the largest share of nonprofit employment.7 The share of 501(c)(3) organizations in healthcare and social assistance varies by state but generally follows regional patterns similar to those of total private employment in this sector.

Employment in healthcare and social assistance can be partitioned into public- and private-sector jobs. Private-sector employment can then be further broken down into those working at 501(c)(3) establishments and those employed by for-profit businesses.8

At the national level, the healthcare and social assistance industry accounted for a total of 22.3 million jobs in 2022. As shown in table 2, 91.2 percent of those jobs were at privately owned establishments. Within the private sector, 501(c)(3) establishments represented 41.6 percent of employment in healthcare and social assistance. As with the data for all industries, the share of nonprofit employment in healthcare and social assistance varied by region and state. (See table A-3.)

Table 2. Employment in health care and social assistance, by sector and region, 2022

Region

Employment levels

Percent

Total

Government 1

Total private

Nonprofit

Private 2

Nonprofit 3

United States

22,317,076

1,963,079

20,353,997

8,460,493

91.2

41.6

Northeast

4,564,287

226,894

4,337,393

2,215,497

95.0

51.3

Midwest

4,850,375

392,050

4,458,325

2,276,888

91.9

51.1

West

4,994,229

440,540

4,553,689

1,481,371

91.2

32.8

South

7,462,482

866,655

6,595,827

2,267,459

88.4

34.4

1 Employment estimates for government are not published for states for which the data do not meet Bureau of Labor Statistics publication standards. In such cases, the state-level figures for public-sector, private-sector and nonprofit employment are excluded from the regional totals, but the data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia are included in the U.S. totals.

2 Total private employment as a percentage of total employment.

3 Nonprofit employment as a percentage of total private employment.


 

Note: Regional totals do not sum to the U.S. totals because some states are excluded from the regional estimates (see note 1). Nonprofit employment includes all employment in 501(c)(3) organizations. For more information, see “Business Employment Dynamics: Nonprofit Sector Research Data” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified August 15, 2024), https://www.bls.gov/bdm/nonprofits/nonprofits.htm


 

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The data in table 2 indicate that the private sector plays a larger role in healthcare and social assistance in the Northeast and the Midwest than in the West and the South. In the Northeast, privately owned establishments accounted for 95.0 percent of all jobs. In all seven states with published estimates in the Northeast region, the share of private-sector employment was above the national average of 91.2 percent. The highest share was in Massachusetts (97.2 percent), while New York had the lowest share (93.6 percent).

Similarly, in the Midwest, more than 9 in 10 jobs in health care and social assistance are found in the private sector (91.9 percent). The states with the highest share of jobs in private-sector establishments were Illinois and Minnesota (95.8 percent each). The state with the lowest proportion of jobs at privately owned establishments was Iowa (84.5 percent).

The high private-sector shares in the Northeast and Midwest contrast with those in the South and the West. Although all states in the Northeast with published estimates had private-sector employment shares that were above the national average, only 2 states in the South had shares that exceeded that level: Maryland (96.5 percent), which borders the Northeast region, and Florida (93.4 percent). The remaining 13 states in the South with published estimates had private-sector employment shares that were below the national average, with 3 states having shares of less than 80 percent: Alabama (78.2 percent), South Carolina (75.9 percent), and Mississippi (74.5 percent).9 For the South region as a whole, the private-sector share was 88.4 percent, the lowest among the four regions.

In the West, 91.2 percent of healthcare and social assistance jobs were in the private sector, the same as the national average. The percentages for 5 of the 11 states with published estimates in this region were above the national average.10 Montana had the highest share, at 95.3 percent, while Colorado and New Mexico had the lowest shares, at 84.9 percent each. (See table A-3.)

In the Northeast and Midwest regions, 501(c)(3) organizations accounted for more than half of the private-sector jobs in the healthcare and social assistance industry. In the South and West, where privately owned establishments have a more limited role, the share was significantly lower, at a little more than one-third.

All nine of the states in the Northeast region had a nonprofit share of private-sector employment greater than the national average of 41.6 percent. The highest share was in Vermont, where 66.3 percent of all private-sector jobs in healthcare and social assistance were in 501(c)(3) organizations. New Jersey had the lowest share, with nonprofits constituting 41.8 percent of private-sector employment.

In the South region, only four of the states with published estimates for both public- and private-sector jobs had a share of employment in nonprofit organizations that was greater than the national average.11 Eleven states were below the national average, and the nonprofit share of employment in two of those states was less than 30 percent: Texas (23.1 percent) and Alabama (24.5 percent). For the region as a whole, the 501(c)(3) share of private-sector employment was 34.4 percent.

In the West region, 501(c)(3) organizations contributed the least to private-sector employment in the healthcare and social assistance industry, with a nonprofit share of 32.5 percent. Among the 13 states in the West, Montana had the highest share of nonprofit employment (60.3 percent), while Nevada had the lowest share (16.6 percent). Nevada’s nonprofit share of employment in healthcare and social assistance was the lowest of any state in the nation.

The state-level data show that, in general, as the private-sector share of healthcare employment increases, there is a corresponding increase in the nonprofit share of private-sector employment. (See table A-3.) Chart 3 illustrates the relationship between the degree of private-sector involvement in healthcare and social assistance and the nonprofit share of private-sector employment. The Pearson correlation coefficient for these two variables equals 0.489, which suggests a moderate positive relationship.12

The size of the private sector relative to the public sector in the health care and social assistance industry is an important contributing factor that explains the geographic distribution of 501(c)(3) organizations. In the Northeast and to a lesser extent in the Midwest, the larger relative size of the private sector leads to a higher concentration of nonprofits in this industry compared to either the West or the South. There are two likely reasons for these differences. First, the larger relative size of the private sector in the Northeast and Midwest creates an environment more conducive to 501(c)(3) establishments. Second, nonprofit employment increases as the relative size of the private sector increases. These factors lead to a higher share of employment in 501(c)(3) organizations in the Northeast and Midwest.

The correlation between a higher level of private-sector involvement in an industry and the share of employment in nonprofit organizations is not unique to the healthcare and social assistance industry. A similar relationship can be found in the educational services industry, which is examined in the next section.

Educational services

The educational services sector was the second largest industry contributing to employment in 501(c)(3) establishments, accounting for 16.4 percent of all nonprofit jobs at the national level. This industry was also the second largest contributor to nonprofit employment in 47 of the 50 states.13 The extent to which nonprofits contribute to this industry at the state level follows similar regional patterns to those cited by the Johns Hopkins researchers for total-private employment data: Nonprofits constituted a larger share of employment in the Northeast and Midwest than in either the West or the South.14

At the national level, the percentage of government-owned establishments in the educational services sector (76.1 percent) was much larger than the comparable percentage for the healthcare and social assistance sector (8.8 percent). Federally owned establishments play only a minor role in educational services, accounting for less than 0.1 percent of all employment in this sector.15 In educational services, the vast majority of public sector employment is in state and local government; thus, the estimates on public ownership discussed in this section are limited to the state- and local-government levels.16

As shown in table 3, within the educational services industry, the Northeast had the largest proportion of employment in privately owned establishments among the four regions: 35.6 percent of jobs were in the private sector in 2022, nearly twice the share in the South (19.8 percent), the region with the smallest proportion of private-sector employment in educational services. The shares in the Midwest (20.6 percent) and the West (22.0 percent) were only slightly larger than that of the South.

Table 3. Employment in educational services, by sector and region, 2022

Region

Employment levels

Percent

Total

State and local government 1

Total private

Nonprofit

Private 2

Nonprofit 3

United States

12,552,591

9,556,211

2,996,380

2,092,840

23.9

69.8

Northeast

2,413,490

1,555,488

858,002

692,969

35.6

80.8

Midwest

2,611,091

2,073,658

537,433

390,754

20.6

72.7

West

2,746,806

2,141,518

605,288

346,884

22.0

57.3

South

4,560,669

3,656,254

904,415

582,449

19.8

64.4

1 Employment estimates for state and local government are not published for states for which the data do not meet Bureau of Labor Statistics publication standards. In such cases, the state-level figures for public-sector, private-sector and nonprofit employment are excluded from the regional totals, but the data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia are included in the U.S. totals.

2 Total private employment as a percentage of total employment.

3 Nonprofit employment as a percentage of total private employment.


 

Note: Regional totals do not sum to the U.S. totals because some states are excluded from the regional estimates (see note 1). Nonprofit employment includes all employment in 501(c)(3) organizations. For more information, see “Business Employment Dynamics: Nonprofit Sector Research Data” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified August 15, 2024), https://www.bls.gov/bdm/nonprofits/nonprofits.htm.


 

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Not surprisingly, in addition to having the highest proportion of private-sector employment in the educational services industry, the Northeast also had the highest proportion of private-sector employment in 501(c)(3) establishments. In 2022, nonprofit organizations accounted for 692,969 jobs, or 80.8 percent of private-sector jobs in educational services. The lowest nonprofit share was in the West, where 346,884 jobs were at 501(c)(3) establishments, representing 57.3 percent of private-sector employment in the sector. In the Midwest, 72.7 percent of jobs were at nonprofits, while in the South, the comparable figure was 64.4 percent.

A review of state-level estimates for these regions provides more detail on these findings. Five of the seven states with publishable estimates in the Northeast had a private-sector share of employment that was greater than the national average of 23.9 percent. Massachusetts had the highest share, with 41.8 percent of educational services employment in privately owned establishments. The next highest shares were in Pennsylvania, at 38.0 percent, and in New York, at 37.4 percent. Two states in this region had a share that was below the national average: Maine, at 22.9 percent, and New Jersey, at 23.2 percent.

In terms of the proportion of private-sector jobs in educational services that were in 501(c)(3) organizations, 8 of the 9 states in the Northeast region were above the national average of 69.8 percent.17 Rhode Island had the highest share, with 88.8 percent of all private-sector jobs in 501(c)(3) establishments. The employment share for Rhode Island was also higher than that of any state in the nation.18 The only state in the Northeast with a proportion below the national average was New Jersey, where 58.4 percent of private-sector jobs were at nonprofit organizations. (See table A-3.)

By contrast, the South had the lowest proportion of private-sector employment in the educational services sector. Of the 16 published state estimates in this region, only 3 states had estimates above the national average: Florida, at 30.0 percent; Maryland, at 27.3 percent; and North Carolina, at 25.3 percent. Seven states in the South region had private-sector employment shares that were less than 15 percent. West Virginia had the lowest share, with 10.6 percent of all educational services jobs located at privately owned establishments.

In addition to having a private-sector share of employment in educational services that was significantly below that of the Northeast, the South also had a smaller nonprofit share of private-sector employment than did the Northeast. Ten states in the South had nonprofit employment shares that were lower than the national average of 69.8 percent. Florida had the lowest share, with 50.5 percent of its educational services jobs in privately owned establishments

The four U.S. states with the lowest shares of 501(c)(3) employment were all in the West region: Nevada (31.7 percent), Colorado (38.5 percent), New Mexico (38.9 percent) and Arizona (48.3 percent).

A review of these regional and state data indicates that a higher share of private-sector employment relative to public-sector employment corresponds to a greater share of nonprofit employment. The scatter plot shown in chart 4 illustrates this point.

The data in chart 4 show that, for educational services, there is a positive correlation between the share of jobs at privately owned establishments and the share of these establishments that are nonprofit organizations. The Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.449 suggests a moderate positive relationship between these two variables.19

The findings in this section illustrate how the educational services industry contributes to the observed regional employment differences in the total private-sector share of employment. A larger private sector relative to the public sector increases the scope by which 501(c)(3) organizations can participate. Also, a higher ratio of private-sector jobs corresponds to a higher proportion of nonprofit jobs at privately owned establishments.

The findings for the educational services industry are similar to those for the healthcare and social assistance industry. In both cases, a larger private sector relative to the public sector correlates with an increased role for 501(c)(3) organizations. This observation, combined with the large proportion of 501(c)(3) jobs attributed to these two industries, helps explain the regional patterns in the BLS data on nonprofit organizations.

The District of Columbia compared with the states

The District of Columbia is unique in the distribution of nonprofit employment by industry sector. Whereas the healthcare and social assistance industry accounted for at least half of all nonprofit jobs in every state, this sector is second in terms of nonprofit employment in the District of Columbia, accounting for just 28.4 percent of all 501(c)(3) jobs. (See table A-3.)

The smaller share of nonprofit employment in the District of Columbia is not the result of 501(c)(3) organizations playing a smaller role in this sector—nonprofit establishments accounted for 55.6 percent of private-sector healthcare jobs in the nation’s capital, well above the national average of 41.6 percent. Instead, the greater prevalence of nonprofits in other industry sectors led to the reduced relative weight of healthcare. Specifically, the educational services sector; the religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations subsector; and the professional, scientific, and technical services sector all played larger roles in the District of Columbia compared with those of any state.

The District of Columbia is distinct in that the privately owned educational services sector employs more workers at 501(c)(3) organizations than any other industry. In 2022, this sector accounted for 40,766 nonprofit jobs in the District of Columbia, or 31.5 percent of all employment at 501(c)(3) organizations. The large share of nonprofit employment in educational services in the District of Columbia is nearly twice the national average of 16.4 percent. Among the states, Rhode Island had the largest share of nonprofit employment in educational services, at 25.5 percent.

The large share of overall nonprofit employment in educational services in the District of Columbia can be attributed to the substantial role 501(c)(3) organizations play in this sector.  In the District of Columbia, 92.0 percent of all private-sector educational services jobs were in nonprofit organizations, considerably higher than the national average of 69.8 percent. This degree of nonprofit involvement also exceeds the share of any state. Among the 50 states, Rhode Island had the largest share, at 88.8 percent, followed by Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, at 85.4 percent each.

This high degree of nonprofit involvement in the District of Columbia can be observed in all five of the published industry subgroups within the educational services sector. In each of these industries, the nonprofit share of employment for the District of Columbia exceeded the national average and, in most instances, exceeded the share for any of the states. (See chart 5 and table A-6).

In the District of Columbia, the industry group within educational services with the greatest share of nonprofit employment was colleges, universities, and professional schools. In this group, 501(c)(3) organizations accounted for 99.0 percent of private-sector employment. This figure compares to the national average of 93.9 percent. Four states had a share of nonprofits that exceeded the share of the District of Columbia: Rhode Island (99.5 percent), Massachusetts (99.4 percent), New Hampshire (99.3 percent), and Vermont (99.1 percent).

The industry within educational services with the next highest share of nonprofit jobs was elementary and secondary schools. Nonprofits in this industry, which includes kindergartens, military academies, and parochial schools, accounted for 11,061 jobs in the District of Columbia and 95.1 percent of all private-sector employment in this industry. This share of private-sector employment was higher than that of all but two states and compares to the national average of 83.4 percent. Hawaii (97.5 percent) and Iowa (97.0 percent) were the only two states for which the proportion of nonprofit employment in elementary and secondary schools exceeded the proportion for the District of Columbia.

The District of Columbia is also unusual in the large share of nonprofit jobs found in the religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations subsector. Specifically, this industry constitutes 25.9 percent of all nonprofit employment in the District of Columbia and accounts for 33,495 nonprofit jobs. This sizable share of overall employment at 501(c)(3) establishments is more than 4 times the national average of 6.1 percent. Among the states, Montana had the highest proportion of 501(c)(3) employment in the religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations subsector, at 12.0 percent.20

Within the religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations subsector, the largest industry group in terms of 501(c)(3) employment was social advocacy organizations. This industry encompasses a diverse field of advocacy groups, ranging from drug prevention organizations to hunting and fishing clubs to veterans’ rights groups. In 2022, 83.0 percent of this industry’s employment was in 501(c)(3) organizations, a total of 15,749 jobs. (See chart 6.)

All of the states had similarly high ratios of nonprofit jobs in social advocacy organizations: All published 2022 estimates for this industry group (47 states and the District of Columbia) showed a higher percentage of jobs in 501(c)(3) organizations than they did in for-profit businesses. The share of employment in nonprofits was higher in most states than it was in the District of Columbia. In fact, only six states had a nonprofit employment share that was lower than that of the District of Columbia, with Hawaii having the lowest share, at 60.9 percent. On the other end of the spectrum, Mississippi had the highest proportion of nonprofit employment among the states, at 96.0 percent.

Two other industry groups within the religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations subsector had nonprofit shares of private-sector employment that exceeded the for-profit share for every state and the District of Columbia. One of these groups is the religious organizations industry. For the District of Columbia, 94.4 percent of employment in religious organizations was in 501(c)(3) establishments. Organizations in this industry include churches, mosques, shrines, and synagogues. Among the states, Michigan had the largest nonprofit share of employment in religious organizations (97.4 percent), while Louisiana had the lowest share (60.9 percent).

Similarly, in the second industry group, grantmaking and giving services, there were more jobs at nonprofit organizations than at for-profit businesses in all 39 states that had publishable estimates and in the District of Columbia. In the District of Columbia, 501(c)(3) establishments accounted for 83.0 percent of all employment in this group, or 5,249 jobs in total. This compares to the national average of 88.7 percent. Hawaii and Kansas had the greatest proportion of nonprofit employment in grantmaking and giving services (97.8 percent each), while Texas had the smallest share (74.5 percent).

Within the religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations subsector, the only industry group for which the nonprofit share of employment was consistently below 50 percent throughout the 2007–22 period was business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations. In the District of Columbia, 28.7 percent of jobs in this industry were in nonprofit entities, more than double the national average of 14.2 percent. Among the states, Kansas had the highest share (30.4 percent), while 13 states had nonprofit employment shares that were below 10 percent. Nevada had the lowest share, at 1.7 percent.

Another industry that contributed to the diffuse nature of nonprofit employment in the District of Columbia over the 2007–22 period was the professional, scientific, and technical services sector. Establishments in this sector offer their clients services that require high levels of training, skill, and expertise, including management and scientific consulting, legal advice and representation, financial services, research and development, and computer and software-design services, among others.

The professional, scientific, and technical services sector represented 8.8 percent of all nonprofit employment in the District of Columbia (11,357 jobs), compared with a national average of 2.3 percent. The District of Columbia share of nonprofit employment in this sector exceeded that of all 50 states, and the two states with the highest shares border the District of Columbia: Virginia (6.1 percent) and Maryland (5.6 percent). In most states, however, this industry’s contribution to nonprofit employment was considerably smaller, and in 13 states, the nonprofit employment share for professional, scientific, and technical services was less than 1 percent.

In the District of Columbia, nearly two-thirds of the nonprofit employment within the professional, scientific, and technical services sector was in scientific research and development services, for a total of 7,439 nonprofit jobs. Nonprofits within this industry include establishments engaged in pioneering research to advance the understanding and development of new processes and products. The next two largest industry groups in the District of Columbia were management, scientific, and technical consulting services (1,391 jobs) and legal services (1,007 jobs).

Conclusion

Although nonprofit organizations can be found in all states and are spread across many different industries, employment in these organizations tends to be more highly concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest than in the South and West. A common factor associated with this greater concentration is a higher degree of private-sector involvement in the healthcare and social assistance industry and the educational services industry. A larger role for the private sector in each of these industries is correlated with a higher nonprofit share of private-sector employment. On a regional basis, states in both the Northeast and the Midwest tend to have higher ratios of private-to-public employment than states located in the West or the South. In general, the Northeast and Midwest have higher shares of total private employment in 501(c)(3) establishments.

The District of Columbia’s nonprofit share of total private employment was greater than that of any state. In addition, the healthcare and social assistance industry accounted for a much smaller proportion of the District of Columbia’s nonprofit employment than it did in any of the 50 states. Instead, 501(c)(3) employment in the nation’s capital is more broadly dispersed among industries. Most notably, the educational services sector and the religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations subsector play a much larger role in the District of Columbia than they do in any state.

This article and the data analysis presented in it demonstrate some of the insights that can be gained from the BLS data on nonprofit organizations. BLS plans to release additional nonprofit tabulations every 5 years. The next release of estimates is tentatively scheduled for 2029 and will cover the 2023–27 period. These estimates will provide further opportunities for analysis of this important segment of the U.S. economy.

Appendix: supplemental data tables

Table A-1. Employment in nonprofit organizations as a percentage of total private employment, by region and state, 2022

Region and state

Total private

Nonprofits

Percentage nonprofit

United States

128,718,060

12,766,057

9.9

Northeast

23,085,649

3,574,230

15.5

Connecticut

1,426,728

216,029

15.1

Maine

530,043

91,248

17.2

Massachusetts

3,168,350

557,292

17.6

New Hampshire

589,213

84,168

14.3

New Jersey

3,581,671

340,347

9.5

New York

7,908,130

1,347,020

17.0

Pennsylvania

5,210,459

817,298

15.7

Rhode Island

420,969

71,405

17.0

Vermont

250,086

49,423

19.8

Midwest

27,725,444

3,138,502

11.3

Illinois

5,161,095

569,998

11.0

Indiana

2,733,492

271,496

9.9

Iowa

1,297,333

139,249

10.7

Kansas

1,151,446

94,909

8.2

Michigan

3,749,727

388,594

10.4

Minnesota

2,483,988

361,461

14.6

Missouri

2,424,908

266,695

11.0

Nebraska

824,945

89,319

10.8

North Dakota

339,203

52,848

15.6

Ohio

4,684,897

563,822

12.0

South Dakota

368,476

54,121

14.7

Wisconsin

2,505,934

285,990

11.4

West

30,590,530

2,473,916

8.1

Alaska

241,031

35,095

14.6

Arizona

2,689,673

214,303

8.0

California

15,438,555

1,206,206

7.8

Colorado

2,384,337

169,154

7.1

Hawaii

501,744

59,651

11.9

Idaho

699,084

47,507

6.8

Montana

413,058

57,309

13.9

Nevada

1,315,007

36,316

2.8

New Mexico

660,670

52,571

8.0

Oregon

1,675,632

208,100

12.4

Utah

1,407,806

87,621

6.2

Washington

2,955,687

287,587

9.7

Wyoming

208,246

12,496

6.0

South

47,316,444

3,579,409

7.6

Alabama

1,660,156

79,830

4.8

Arkansas

1,056,644

96,343

9.1

Delaware

392,082

45,142

11.5

District of Columbia

514,487

129,446

25.2

Florida

8,308,654

596,797

7.2

Georgia

4,062,791

297,194

7.3

Kentucky

1,640,191

163,033

9.9

Louisiana

1,571,606

147,753

9.4

Maryland

2,156,462

288,231

13.4

Mississippi

919,857

55,556

6.0

North Carolina

4,018,296

323,968

8.1

Oklahoma

1,304,605

99,723

7.6

South Carolina

1,833,574

105,162

5.7

Tennessee

2,741,025

209,998

7.7

Texas

11,337,527

576,031

5.1

Virginia

3,258,793

283,432

8.7

West Virginia

539,694

81,770

15.2

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table A-2. Employment in nonprofit organizations as a percentage of total private employment, by region and state, 2007 to 2022 

Region and state

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

United States

9.2

9.6

10.3

10.5

10.4

10.3

10.3

10.2

10.1

10.2

10.2

10.2

10.2

10.5

10.1

9.9

Northeast

14.9

15.2

16.0

16.2

16.0

15.9

15.9

15.8

15.7

15.7

15.8

15.8

16.0

16.6

15.9

15.5

Connecticut

12.7

13.1

13.9

14.3

14.3

14.4

14.4

14.5

14.6

14.6

14.6

14.7

15.0

15.7

15.3

15.1

Maine

15.9

16.3

17.2

17.6

17.6

17.7

17.7

17.7

17.8

18.0

18.1

18.0

18.0

18.5

17.7

17.2

Massachusetts

16.8

17.2

18.0

18.2

17.8

17.7

17.7

17.7

17.7

17.7

17.7

17.6

17.7

18.5

18.0

17.6

New Hampshire

13.1

13.7

14.6

14.8

14.7

14.6

14.7

14.6

14.8

14.8

15.0

15.1

15.2

15.1

14.6

14.3

New Jersey

9.1

9.3

9.8

9.9

9.9

9.8

9.8

9.7

9.7

9.6

9.6

9.6

9.9

10.2

9.8

9.5

New York

17.3

17.5

18.4

18.5

18.3

18.1

18.0

17.8

17.7

17.7

17.8

17.7

17.7

18.6

17.7

17.0

Pennsylvania

14.9

15.3

16.0

16.1

15.9

15.9

15.7

15.6

15.5

15.6

15.7

15.9

16.2

16.7

16.0

15.7

Rhode Island

17.0

17.6

18.4

18.7

18.5

18.1

18.0

17.2

16.7

16.5

16.6

16.5

17.0

17.6

16.7

17.0

Vermont

16.0

16.5

17.5

17.6

17.6

17.9

18.1

18.3

18.4

18.8

19.1

19.2

19.5

20.3

19.9

19.8

Midwest

10.5

10.9

11.7

11.8

11.7

11.6

11.6

11.5

11.5

11.6

11.6

11.6

11.7

11.9

11.6

11.3

Illinois

10.2

10.5

11.3

11.5

11.4

11.3

11.3

11.3

11.2

11.3

11.4

11.3

11.3

11.7

11.3

11.0

Indiana

8.7

9.0

9.9

10.0

10.1

10.1

10.2

10.0

9.9

10.0

10.2

10.2

10.4

10.5

10.2

9.9

Iowa

10.8

10.9

11.5

11.7

11.6

11.5

11.4

11.3

11.3

11.3

11.4

11.3

11.3

11.1

10.9

10.7

Kansas

8.0

8.2

8.7

8.9

8.9

8.8

8.7

8.7

8.7

8.4

8.3

8.2

8.3

8.5

8.3

8.2

Michigan

10.6

11.1

12.1

12.2

11.5

11.4

11.1

10.9

10.8

10.8

10.8

10.7

10.7

11.1

10.7

10.4

Minnesota

13.0

13.5

14.3

14.5

14.4

14.4

14.6

14.5

14.6

14.8

14.9

15.0

15.0

15.2

14.9

14.6

Missouri

9.8

10.1

10.8

11.0

11.1

11.2

11.2

11.1

11.1

11.2

11.3

11.3

11.5

11.6

11.3

11.0

Nebraska

10.0

10.2

10.6

10.9

10.9

10.7

10.7

10.5

10.5

10.7

10.7

10.7

10.9

10.9

10.9

10.8

North Dakota

15.9

16.2

16.4

16.5

15.8

14.7

14.4

13.8

14.4

15.7

16.0

15.8

15.9

16.5

16.2

15.6

Ohio

10.7

11.1

12.0

12.2

12.0

12.0

12.0

12.0

12.1

12.2

12.3

12.3

12.3

12.5

12.2

12.0

South Dakota

13.0

13.3

13.9

14.4

14.4

14.6

14.6

14.4

14.5

14.6

14.8

14.7

14.8

15.4

15.0

14.7

Wisconsin

10.9

11.3

12.1

12.3

12.2

12.2

12.1

11.9

11.9

11.9

11.8

11.8

11.9

12.0

11.7

11.4

West

7.2

7.5

8.2

8.4

8.5

8.4

8.3

8.2

8.1

8.2

8.2

8.3

8.3

8.5

8.2

8.1

Alaska

12.0

11.8

12.5

13.1

13.2

13.2

13.1

12.9

13.0

13.5

14.0

14.3

14.3

15.3

15.0

14.6

Arizona

6.4

6.9

7.6

8.1

8.1

8.1

8.2

8.2

8.2

8.1

8.2

8.2

8.3

8.3

8.1

8.0

California

7.1

7.4

8.1

8.2

8.3

8.2

8.0

7.9

7.7

7.8

7.9

7.9

7.9

8.2

7.9

7.8

Colorado

6.6

6.8

7.4

7.7

7.8

7.7

7.5

7.5

7.7

7.7

7.6

7.5

7.4

7.5

7.2

7.1

Hawaii

10.5

10.7

11.3

11.7

11.6

11.6

11.6

11.4

11.4

11.6

11.7

11.7

11.7

13.1

12.3

11.9

Idaho

5.4

5.8

6.3

6.7

6.9

7.0

7.1

7.0

7.1

7.1

7.0

6.9

6.9

6.9

6.7

6.8

Montana

13.0

13.4

14.5

14.9

14.8

14.8

14.8

14.9

14.3

14.7

14.8

14.6

14.5

14.6

14.3

13.9

Nevada

2.1

2.2

2.5

2.6

2.8

2.7

2.5

2.4

2.5

2.7

2.8

2.8

2.7

3.0

2.8

2.8

New Mexico

7.2

7.4

7.9

8.1

8.1

8.1

7.9

7.8

8.0

8.2

8.2

8.1

8.2

8.3

8.2

8.0

Oregon

10.5

11.1

12.0

12.4

12.4

12.2

12.1

12.1

12.1

12.2

12.2

13.0

12.9

13.0

12.7

12.4

Utah

5.7

6.1

6.5

6.8

6.8

6.7

6.6

6.6

6.6

6.7

6.7

6.5

6.6

6.6

6.3

6.2

Washington

8.2

8.5

9.2

9.5

9.6

9.5

9.5

9.5

9.5

9.7

9.8

9.9

10.1

10.1

9.9

9.7

Wyoming

5.6

5.6

6.1

6.3

6.1

5.9

5.9

5.7

5.8

6.1

6.1

6.2

6.1

6.3

6.1

6.0

South

6.7

7.0

7.6

7.8

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.6

7.6

7.6

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.9

7.7

7.6

Alabama

4.7

4.8

5.1

5.3

5.3

5.4

5.3

5.3

5.3

5.3

5.1

5.1

5.1

5.1

4.9

4.8

Arkansas

8.0

8.3

8.9

8.9

9.0

9.1

9.2

9.1

9.1

9.2

9.3

9.4

9.5

9.6

9.4

9.1

Delaware

9.6

10.5

11.3

11.5

11.6

11.6

11.6

11.8

11.8

11.9

11.9

12.1

12.6

12.6

11.9

11.5

District of Columbia

25.2

25.5

26.6

26.6

26.7

26.6

27.0

26.8

26.4

26.0

25.6

25.6

25.3

27.0

26.2

25.2

Florida

6.2

6.7

7.2

7.5

7.5

7.4

7.3

7.2

7.2

7.2

7.2

7.2

7.3

7.6

7.3

7.2

Georgia

6.3

6.6

7.3

7.4

7.4

7.4

7.4

7.4

7.4

7.4

7.5

7.5

7.6

7.8

7.5

7.3

Kentucky

8.3

8.6

9.2

9.4

9.5

9.6

9.5

9.3

9.4

9.5

9.8

9.8

9.9

10.1

10.0

9.9

Louisiana

6.3

6.5

7.0

7.2

7.3

7.3

7.4

7.6

7.7

8.0

8.2

8.2

8.7

9.5

9.5

9.4

Maryland

11.7

12.1

12.9

13.2

13.2

13.3

13.3

13.2

12.7

12.8

12.9

13.0

13.1

14.0

13.6

13.4

Mississippi

5.5

5.6

6.1

6.3

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.5

6.5

6.5

6.4

6.2

6.0

North Carolina

7.2

7.8

8.5

8.8

8.8

8.8

8.8

8.7

8.4

8.4

8.5

8.6

8.6

8.6

8.2

8.1

Oklahoma

5.9

6.0

6.5

6.6

6.6

6.5

6.5

6.5

6.7

6.7

6.8

7.1

7.3

7.6

7.6

7.6

South Carolina

4.5

4.7

5.2

5.4

5.4

5.4

5.4

5.4

5.5

5.4

5.5

5.5

5.5

5.6

5.7

5.7

Tennessee

7.5

7.8

8.5

8.6

8.5

8.3

8.3

8.1

8.0

8.0

8.1

8.0

8.0

8.1

7.9

7.7

Texas

4.7

4.8

5.1

5.3

5.2

5.1

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.1

5.1

5.0

5.1

5.2

5.1

5.1

Virginia

7.5

8.1

8.5

8.6

8.6

8.7

8.8

8.7

8.7

9.0

9.0

9.0

9.0

9.2

8.9

8.7

West Virginia

11.5

11.9

12.5

12.7

12.6

12.7

12.8

13.0

13.4

14.0

14.2

14.0

14.4

15.3

15.3

15.2

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table A-3. Health care and social assistance: employment in nonprofit organizations, total private, and government, by region and state, 2022

Region and state

Employment levels

Percent

Total

Government

Private

Nonprofit

Private

Nonprofit

United States

22,317,076

1,963,079

20,353,997

8,460,493

91.2

41.6

Northeast

4,564,287

226,894

4,337,393

2,215,497

95.0

51.1

Connecticut

289,561

17,805

271,756

133,551

93.9

49.1

Maine

107,388

4,921

102,467

62,879

95.4

61.4

Massachusetts

643,991

18,339

625,652

339,185

97.2

54.2

New Hampshire

96,294

4,148

92,146

55,208

95.7

59.9

New Jersey

624,371

30,186

594,185

248,335

95.2

41.8

New York

1,739,593

112,040

1,627,553

827,392

93.6

50.8

Pennsylvania

1,063,089

39,455

1,023,634

548,947

96.3

53.6

Rhode Island

1

1

78,580

41,323

1

52.6

Vermont

1

1

49,307

32,701

1

66.3

Midwest

4,850,375

392,050

4,458,325

2,276,888

91.9

51.1

Illinois

810,880

34,394

776,486

374,699

95.8

48.3

Indiana

444,979

30,314

414,665

196,825

93.2

47.5

Iowa

218,044

33,787

184,257

100,497

84.5

54.5

Kansas

207,319

23,302

184,017

73,630

88.8

40.0

Michigan

638,307

59,695

578,612

295,277

90.6

51.0

Minnesota

493,901

20,787

473,114

266,850

95.8

56.4

Missouri

460,466

52,950

407,516

193,744

88.5

47.5

Nebraska

143,630

15,368

128,262

65,913

89.3

51.4

North Dakota

67,039

5,090

61,949

44,883

92.4

72.5

Ohio

867,430

78,508

788,922

407,777

90.9

51.7

South Dakota

74,074

6,910

67,164

45,141

90.7

67.2

Wisconsin

424,306

30945

393,361

211,652

92.7

53.8

West

4,994,229

440,540

4,553,689

1,481,371

91.2

32.5

Alaska

1

1

46,807

26,665

1

57.0

Arizona

432,277

21,241

411,036

153,416

95.1

37.3

California

2,733,849

217,913

2,515,936

709,321

92.0

28.2

Colorado

363,063

54,890

308,173

105,310

84.9

34.2

Hawaii

1

1

71,854

35,374

1

49.2

Idaho

115,709

10,756

104,953

32,739

90.7

31.2

Montana

74,264

3,506

70,758

42,656

95.3

60.3

Nevada

152,142

12,529

139,613

23,149

91.8

16.6

New Mexico

142,399

21,485

120,914

37,366

84.9

30.9

Oregon

291,455

22,941

268,514

135,366

92.1

50.4

Utah

190,467

20179

170,288

51,895

89.4

30.5

Washington

498,604

55,100

443,504

190,153

88.9

42.9

Wyoming

1

1

25,479

8,990

1

35.3

South

7,462,482

866,655

6,595,827

2,267,459

88.4

34.4

Alabama

278,557

60794

217,763

53,399

78.2

24.5

Arkansas

199,603

27369

172,234

75,004

86.3

43.5

Delaware

1

1

70,453

37,406

1

53.1

District of Columbia

1

1

66,285

36,824

1

55.6

Florida

1,287,691

85,565

1,202,126

412,339

93.4

34.3

Georgia

573,726

54,699

519,027

198,761

90.5

38.3

Kentucky

288,978

28,522

260,456

128,231

90.1

49.2

Louisiana

309,733

33,684

276,049

106,444

89.1

38.6

Maryland

375,584

13,318

362,266

182,145

96.5

50.3

Mississippi

177,451

45,254

132,197

40,781

74.5

30.8

North Carolina

636,299

108,383

527,916

199,452

83.0

37.8

Oklahoma

226,546

25,622

200,924

74,313

88.7

37.0

South Carolina

287,623

69,180

218,443

66,136

75.9

30.3

Tennessee

426,620

42,416

384,204

137,664

90.1

35.8

Texas

1,751,062

202,301

1,548,761

358,196

88.4

23.1

Virginia

506,676

54312

452364

167644

89.3

37.1

West Virginia

136,333

15236

121097

66950

88.8

55.3

1 Data unavailable.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table A-4. Educational services: employment in nonprofit organizations, total private, and government, by region and state, 2022

Region and state

Employment levels

Percent

Total

State and local government

Private

Nonprofit

Private

Nonprofit

United States

12,552,591

9,556,211

2,996,380

2,092,840

23.9

69.8

Northeast

2,413,490

1,555,488

858,002

692,969

35.6

80.8

Connecticut

169,434

109,060

60,374

48,445

35.6

80.2

Maine

58,662

45,253

13,409

11,169

22.9

83.3

Massachusetts

363,401

211,340

152,061

129,877

41.8

85.4

New Hampshire

59,104

38,503

20,601

16,958

34.9

82.3

New Jersey

357,306

274,520

82,786

48,340

23.2

58.4

New York

931,787

582,833

348,954

284,579

37.4

81.6

Pennsylvania

473,796

293,979

179,817

153,601

38.0

85.4

Rhode Island

1

1

20,473

18,183

1

88.8

Vermont

1

1

10,560

9,002

1

85.2

Midwest

2,611,091

2,073,658

537,433

390,754

20.6

72.7

Illinois

524,022

384,269

139,753

106,559

26.7

76.2

Indiana

241,175

191,384

49,791

37,915

20.6

76.1

Iowa

147,222

121,123

26,099

20,338

17.7

77.9

Kansas

130,931

117,544

13,387

7,520

10.2

56.2

Michigan

330,825

267,031

63,794

36,123

19.3

56.6

Minnesota

225,320

172,910

52,410

37,488

23.3

71.5

Missouri

216,140

167,412

48,728

37,268

22.5

76.5

Nebraska

89,730

79,132

10,598

7,387

11.8

69.7

North Dakota

35,596

32,444

3,152

2,007

8.9

63.7

Ohio

420,821

332,221

88,600

67,288

21.1

75.9

South Dakota

35,959

32,153

3,806

2,667

10.6

70.1

Wisconsin

213,350

176,035

37,315

28,194

17.5

75.6

West

2,746,806

2,141,518

605,288

346,884

22.0

57.3

Alaska

26,453

23,862

2,591

1,314

9.8

50.7

Arizona

227,479

159,528

67,951

32,845

29.9

48.3

California

1,430,532

1,091,497

339,035

211,113

23.7

62.3

Colorado

225,953

186,924

39,029

15,037

17.3

38.5

Hawaii

1

1

13,825

10,708

1

77.5

Idaho

66,372

55,938

10,434

5,441

15.7

52.1

Montana

40,076

34,839

5,237

3,337

13.1

63.7

Nevada

81,759

68,431

13,328

4,220

16.3

31.7

New Mexico

74,101

63,318

10,783

4,195

14.6

38.9

Oregon

147,518

116,765

30,753

21,931

20.8

71.3

Utah

149,942

111,226

38,716

21,021

25.8

54.3

Washington

276,621

229,190

47,431

26,430

17.1

55.7

Wyoming

1

1

2,103

1,129

1

53.7

South

4,560,669

3,656,254

904,415

582,449

19.8

64.4

Alabama

163,335

143,686

19,649

11,774

12.0

59.9

Arkansas

99,729

86,383

13,346

9,380

13.4

70.3

Delaware

40,485

36,119

4,366

2,592

10.8

59.4

District of Columbia

1

1

44,287

40,766

1

92.0

Florida

602,619

421,875

180,744

91,218

30.0

50.5

Georgia

390,669

307,840

82,829

60,070

21.2

72.5

Kentucky

156,980

138,111

18,869

13,009

12.0

68.9

Louisiana

163,004

128,859

34,145

25,522

20.9

74.7

Maryland

248,824

180,949

67,875

51,048

27.3

75.2

Mississippi

107,594

96,047

11,547

7,652

10.7

66.3

North Carolina

374,901

280,190

94,711

69,095

25.3

73.0

Oklahoma

140,279

122,561

17,718

11,401

12.6

64.3

South Carolina

170,315

140,480

29,835

19,221

17.5

64.4

Tennessee

236,143

182,637

53,506

40,306

22.7

75.3

Texas

1,254,133

1,050,399

203,734

126,013

16.2

61.9

Virginia

354,460

288,954

65,506

40,181

18.5

61.3

West Virginia

57,199

51,164

6,035

3,967

10.6

65.7

1 Data unavailable.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table A-5. Nonprofit employment in the District of Columbia, by industry, 2022

Industry

Total employment

Percentage nonprofit

Total private

129,446

25.2

Educational services

40,766

92.0

Colleges, universities, and professional schools

26,342

99.0

Elementary and secondary schools

11,061

95.1

Educational support services

1,886

67.3

Other schools and instruction

1,008

43.0

Business schools and computer and management training

441

55.3

Health care and social assistance

36,824

55.6

Hospitals

20,063

82.7

General medical and surgical hospitals

20,063

85.5

Social assistance

9,757

60.1

Individual and family services

3,963

46.8

Community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services

3,100

98.8

Ambulatory health care services

4,351

23.3

Outpatient care centers

2,108

56.8

Offices of physicians

1,779

26.9

Nursing and residential care facilities

2,653

37.4

Residential intellectual and developmental disability, mental health, and substance abuse facilities

1,155

41.4

Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations

33,495

58.0

Social advocacy organizations

15,749

83.0

Business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations

7,455

28.7

Grantmaking and giving services

5,249

83.0

Religious organizations

2,981

94.4

Civic and social organizations

2,061

61.3

Professional, scientific, and technical services

11,357

9.1

Scientific research and development services

7,439

67.2

Management, scientific, and technical consulting services

1,391

4.8

Legal services

1,007

3.5

Other professional, scientific, and technical services

832

11.8

Advertising, public relations, and related services

255

2.7

Computer systems design and related services

59

0.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

2,279

26.8

Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries

1,139

23.6

Performing arts companies

826

73.2

Independent artists, writers, and performers

53

19.0

Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

1,170

2.5

Office administrative services

107

3.1

Business support services

25

1.6

Information

2,085

10.0

Broadcasting and content providers

1,661

21.3

Web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services

206

13.3

Publishing industries

176

2.5

Real estate and rental and leasing

235

1.9

Construction

112

0.7

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table A-6. Nonprofit employment as a percentage of total employment in educational services, by state and detailed industry, 2022 

State

Total, educational services

Elementary and secondary schools

Junior colleges

Colleges, universities, and professional schools

Business schools and computer and management training

Technical and trade schools

Other schools and instruction

Educational support services

United States

69.8

83.4

43.9

93.9

17.5

14.3

18.7

33.5

Alabama

59.9

78.2

1

84.2

1

1

15.9

44.1

Alaska

50.7

1

1

79.5

1

16.6

36.3

74.1

Arizona

48.3

68.5

1

72.1

1

7.2

9.1

14.3

Arkansas

70.3

88.5

1

96.3

1

1

11.0

45.9

California

62.3

81.3

9.1

90.8

14.6

12.2

21.2

38.1

Colorado

38.5

86.7

1

43.6

18.7

1

25.8

22.7

Connecticut

80.2

83.0

1

97.0

35.3

1

17.8

42.1

Delaware

59.4

1

1

93.6

1

1

29.3

27.8

District of Columbia

92.0

95.1

1

99.0

55.3

1

43.0

67.3

Florida

50.5

59.3

1

78.2

4.7

1

8.1

20.6

Georgia

72.5

88.8

1

94.7

1

7.7

9.8

32.5

Hawaii

77.5

97.5

1

94.4

1

1

14.3

57.2

Idaho

52.1

90.7

1

84.7

1

7.4

15.1

14.4

Illinois

76.2

90.6

40.3

93.3

29.8

11.3

17.1

36.1

Indiana

76.1

87.7

1

97.6

1

17.7

17.3

45.7

Iowa

77.9

97.0

1

97.3

1

31.4

13.1

37.6

Kansas

56.2

81.3

1

95.1

1

1

12.0

29.6

Kentucky

68.9

91.0

1

92.6

32.7

1

15.0

32.3

Louisiana

74.7

88.5

1

97.6

1

7.6

15.7

43.9

Maine

83.3

90.4

1

97.9

1

12.7

44.4

58.3

Maryland

75.2

88.1

1

96.2

1

43.1

19.0

38.0

Massachusetts

85.4

92.4

1

99.4

1

32.6

27.9

36.4

Michigan

56.6

59.9

1

95.5

1

21.0

24.8

26.3

Minnesota

71.5

93.5

1

86.8

1

27.2

31.1

36.0

Mississippi

66.3

86.5

1

93.2

1

1

10.6

29.1

Missouri

76.5

92.2

1

97.7

1

13.0

11.8

28.6

Montana

63.7

88.3

1

91.8

1

18.4

30.7

43.2

Nebraska

69.7

81.7

1

98.6

1

1

17.0

47.8

Nevada

31.7

60.4

1

66.2

1

13.0

8.4

17.9

New Hampshire

82.3

90.4

1

99.3

39.8

1

28.0

55.6

New Jersey

58.4

77.6

1

91.0

1

11.9

14.0

45.4

New Mexico

38.9

37.5

1

70.9

1

13.1

31.0

44.0

New York

81.6

87.0

61.0

97.0

30.6

27.7

24.7

38.0

North Carolina

73.0

87.3

1

96.7

22.9

1

12.8

24.0

North Dakota

63.7

1

1

1

1

1

31.8

1

Ohio

75.9

95.1

1

96.5

1

23.1

15.9

24.2

Oklahoma

64.3

92.3

1

96.2

1

9.1

18.3

18.6

Oregon

71.3

90.1

1

96.6

1

23.7

30.2

50.4

Pennsylvania

85.4

91.9

56.7

98.5

19.6

31.6

27.5

47.5

Rhode Island

88.8

90.2

1

99.5

1

30.3

21.7

70.0

South Carolina

64.4

78.4

1

90.4

1

1

9.7

25.3

South Dakota

70.1

1

1

95.0

1

1

1

1

Tennessee

75.3

92.4

1

94.7

1

12.6

16.0

36.7

Texas

61.9

89.8

1

91.5

1

5.1

9.6

20.3

Utah

54.3

76.2

1

86.7

18.5

1

6.2

21.1

Vermont

85.2

85.8

1

99.1

63.1

1

57.1

51.3

Virginia

61.3

84.4

1

87.0

1

30.2

13.2

33.7

Washington

55.7

80.8

1

91.4

1

31.1

19.9

40.9

West Virginia

65.7

91.9

1

76.6

1

1

1

71.6

Wisconsin

75.6

91.0

1

97.8

35.7

1

21.5

54.3

Wyoming

53.7

1

1

1

1

1

48.9

37.1

1 Data unavailable.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Suggested citation:

Erik Friesenhahn, "Nonprofit organizations: state and regional employment trends," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2025, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2025.6

Notes


1 See “Business Employment Dynamics: Nonprofit Sector Research Data” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified August 15, 2024), https://www.bls.gov/bdm/nonprofits/nonprofits.htm. Note that these tabulations are “research data” and thus are not official estimates of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The underlying methodology for these estimates may change, which, in turn, may affect published estimates.

2 For more information about tax-exempt organizations, see “Exempt Organizations Business Master File extract” (Internal Revenue Service, updated August 20, 2024), https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organizations-business-master-file-extract-eo-bmf. For a detailed discussion of the methodology and data sources used to create these estimates, see Erik Friesenhahn, “Nonprofit organizations: using the BLS Business Register to measure employment, wages, and establishment size,” Monthly Labor Review, November 2023, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2023/article/nonprofit-organizations-using-the-bls-business-register-to-measure-employment-wages-and-establishment-size.htm.

3 These for-profit establishments include a small number of tax-exempt organizations that are classified by the Internal Revenue Service as 501(c) organizations but not as 501(c)(3) organizations. As previously discussed, there are 29 different business classifications under Section 501(c). Businesses that could be considered tax-exempt that are not 501(c)(3) organizations include some types of co-ops, civic leagues and social welfare organizations, and domestic fraternal societies.

4 For a detailed discussion regarding the role of the healthcare and education industries within the 501(c)(3) sector, see Erik Friesenhahn, “Nonprofits: a look at national trends in establishment size and employment,” Monthly Labor Review, January 2024, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2024/article/nonprofits-a-look-at-national-trends-in-establishment-size-and-employment.htm.

5 For a more detailed discussion of industry employment fluctuations of nonprofit organizations compared with those of for-profit companies, see Friesenhahn, “Nonprofits: a look at national trends in establishment size and employment.”

6 Lester M. Salamon, S. Wojciech Sokolowski, and Stephanie L. Geller, “Holding down the fort: nonprofit employment during a decade of turmoil,” Nonprofit Employment Bulletin 39 (Johns Hopkins University, January 2012), pp. 3–4, http://ccss.jhu.edu/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/01/NED_National_2012.pdf. The authors analyze BLS data on nonprofit organizations for 2010. See also “Business Employment Dynamics: Research Data on the Nonprofit Sector.”

7 In the District of Columbia, the educational services industry represented the largest share of nonprofit jobs, while the healthcare and social assistance industry represented the second largest share.

8 Employment figures for government-owned establishments for some states did not meet U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publication standards. BLS did not publish 2022 employment estimates for government-owned entities in the healthcare and social assistance sector for Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wyoming. In those cases, state-level figures, both public and private, are excluded from the regional totals discussed later in this article.

9 In the South region, the estimates for Delaware and the District of Columbia do not meet BLS publication standards. See note 8 for more information.

10 Among the 13 states in the West region, the estimates for Alaska and Wyoming do not meet BLS publication standards. See note 8 for more information.

11 Two of the states in the South region did not have publishable estimates for government employment in the healthcare and social assistance industry. However, they did have published estimates for employment in the private sector and nonprofit sector. In both cases, the share of private-sector employment found at 501(c)(3) establishments was above the national average. The District of Columbia had a nonprofit employment share of 56.3 percent, and Delaware had a nonprofit employment share of 53.0 percent.

12 The Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) is a statistical method that measures linear correlation between two sets of data. Specifically, it is the ratio between the covariance of two variables and the product of their standard deviations. The PCC compares the attributes of the two datasets and produces a score ranging from –1 to +1. A high score indicates a strong positive correlation between the two variables, a score near zero indicates no correlation, and a negative score indicates a negative correlation. For more information, see “Pearson Correlation,” ScienceDirect, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/pearson-correlation.

13 In Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota, the educational services sector was the third-largest sector, in terms of nonprofit employment. For Alaska and Montana, the religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations subsector was the second-largest industry, while in North Dakota, the second-largest industry was the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector. In the District of Columbia, the educational services industry accounted for more jobs at 501(c)(3) organizations than any other sector.

14 See Salamon, Sokolowski, and Geller, “Holding down the fort: nonprofit employment during a decade of turmoil.”

15 At the national level, federally owned establishments accounted for less than 0.1 percent of all employment in the educational services sector. In 2022, the annual average monthly employment for federally owned establishments in educational services was 12,312. State-level estimates for employment at federally owned establishments within this industry are available for 43 states and the District of Columbia.

16 BLS did not publish 2022 employment estimates for state government-owned entities in educational services for the District of Columbia or Wyoming. Nor did BLS publish 2022 estimates for local government-owned establishments in Hawaii, Rhode Island, or Vermont.

17 Although some states did not have publishable estimates for state and local government employment in the educational services industry, those states are included in the discussion of a state’s nonprofit share of total private employment in the industry.

18 In the District of Columbia, 92.0 percent of all private-sector jobs in educational services were in 501(c)(3) nonprofit establishments.

19 See note 12 for more information about the Pearson correlation coefficient.

20 Although the other services sector is composed of four subsectors, most 501(c)(3) organizations are found in just one of these groups: religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations. Nationally, this industry comprised 96.8 percent of all nonprofit employment in the other services sector in 2022.