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Nonprofits account for 11.4 million jobs, 10.3 percent of all private sector employment

October 21, 2014

The Bureau of Labor Statistics developed research data on employment, wages and establishment figures for nonprofit organizations. These figures provide an insight into this important segment of the U.S. economy. The following animated map, made from these data, shows nonprofit employment as a percentage of total state employment from 2007 to 2012.

Please use a newer browser to see map animations.

Nonprofit employment as a percentage of total private employment,
by state, 2007–2012


 
10.0% or higher
 
8.0% to 9.9%
 
6.0% to 7.9%
 
4.0% to 5.9%
 
3.9% or lower
 
Hover over a state to see data.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nonprofit employment as a percent of total private employment
State 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

AL

4.7 4.8 5.1 5.3 5.3 5.4

AK

12 11.8 12.5 13.1 13.2 13.2

AZ

6.4 6.9 7.6 8.1 8.1 8.1

AR

8 8.3 8.9 8.9 9 9.1

CA

7.1 7.4 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.2

CO

6.6 6.8 7.4 7.7 7.8 7.7

CT

12.7 13.1 13.9 14.3 14.3 14.4

DE

9.6 10.5 11.3 11.5 11.6 11.6

DC

25.2 25.5 26.6 26.6 26.7 26.6

FL

6.2 6.7 7.2 7.5 7.5 7.4

GA

6.3 6.6 7.3 7.4 7.4 7.4

HI

10.5 10.7 11.3 11.7 11.6 11.6

ID

5.4 5.8 6.3 6.7 6.9 7

IL

10.2 10.5 11.3 11.5 11.4 11.3

IN

8.7 9 9.9 10 10.1 10.1

IA

10.8 10.9 11.5 11.7 11.6 11.5

KS

8 8.2 8.7 8.9 8.9 8.8

KY

8.3 8.6 9.2 9.4 9.5 9.6

LA

6.3 6.5 7 7.2 7.3 7.3

ME

15.9 16.3 17.2 17.6 17.6 17.7

MD

11.7 12.1 12.9 13.2 13.2 13.3

MA

16.8 17.2 18 18.2 17.8 17.7

MI

10.6 11.1 12.1 12.2 11.5 11.4

MN

13 13.5 14.3 14.5 14.4 14.4

MS

5.5 5.6 6.1 6.3 6.4 6.4

MO

9.8 10.1 10.8 11 11.1 11.2

MT

13 13.4 14.5 14.9 14.8 14.8

NE

10 10.2 10.6 10.9 10.9 10.7

NV

2.1 2.2 2.5 2.6 2.8 2.7

NH

13.1 13.7 14.6 14.8 14.7 14.6

NJ

9.1 9.3 9.8 9.9 9.9 9.8

NM

7.2 7.4 7.9 8.1 8.1 8.1

NY

17.3 17.5 18.4 18.5 18.3 18.1

NC

7.2 7.8 8.5 8.8 8.8 8.8

ND

15.9 16.2 16.4 16.5 15.8 14.7

OH

10.7 11.1 12 12.2 12 12

OK

5.9 6 6.5 6.6 6.6 6.5

OR

10.5 11.1 12 12.4 12.4 12.2

PA

14.9 15.3 16 16.1 15.9 15.9

RI

17 17.6 18.4 18.7 18.5 18.1

SC

4.5 4.7 5.2 5.4 5.4 5.4

SD

13 13.3 13.9 14.4 14.4 14.6

TN

7.5 7.8 8.5 8.6 8.5 8.3

TX

4.7 4.8 5.1 5.3 5.2 5.1

UT

5.7 6.1 6.5 6.8 6.8 6.7

VT

16 16.5 17.5 17.6 17.6 17.9

VA

7.5 8.1 8.5 8.6 8.6 8.7

WA

8.2 8.5 9.2 9.5 9.6 9.5

WV

11.5 11.9 12.5 12.7 12.6 12.7

WI

10.9 11.3 12.1 12.3 12.2 12.2

WY

5.6 5.6 6.1 6.3 6.1 5.9

In 2012, employment in nonprofit organizations was 11,426,870 (which was 10.3 percent of total U.S. private sector employment). This was up from 10,534,183, or 9.2 percent, in 2007. From 2007 to 2012, the share of those employed in nonprofit organizations increased for most states.

The District of Columbia consistently had the highest percentage of nonprofit employment, reaching a high of 26.7 percent in 2011. New York and Rhode Island also had a high share of nonprofit employment over the period examined. Nevada had a consistently low share of nonprofit employment (2.1 percent in 2007 and 2.7 percent in 2012). Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, and Wyoming each had less than 6.0 percent of its total employment in nonprofit organizations in 2012.

These data come from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. For more information about employment in the nonprofit industry, see "Research Data on the Nonprofit Sector". These data focus only on nonprofit organizations in the 501(c)3 classification.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Nonprofits account for 11.4 million jobs, 10.3 percent of all private sector employment at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2014/ted_20141021.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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