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There were nearly 12.3 million jobs in nonprofit organizations in 2016. That was 10.2 percent of total U.S. private sector employment. The District of Columbia had the highest percentage of nonprofit employment, 26.0 percent. Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island also had high shares of nonprofit employment. Nevada had the lowest share of nonprofit employment, 2.7 percent. Texas, Alabama, and South Carolina, each had less than 6.0 percent of private employment in nonprofit organizations in 2016.
State | Nonprofit employment as percent of total | Total employment | Nonprofit employment |
---|---|---|---|
Total |
10.2% | 120,504,622 | 12,292,228 |
District of Columbia |
26.0 | 517,154 | 134,591 |
Vermont |
18.8 | 254,999 | 48,014 |
Maine |
18.0 | 508,104 | 91,369 |
New York |
17.7 | 7,782,407 | 1,380,931 |
Massachusetts |
17.7 | 3,065,883 | 542,279 |
Rhode Island |
16.5 | 414,410 | 68,348 |
North Dakota |
15.7 | 345,688 | 54,238 |
Pennsylvania |
15.6 | 5,062,672 | 790,368 |
New Hampshire |
14.8 | 562,809 | 83,453 |
Minnesota |
14.8 | 2,438,627 | 360,461 |
Montana |
14.7 | 370,994 | 54,388 |
South Dakota |
14.6 | 347,497 | 50,842 |
Connecticut |
14.6 | 1,435,521 | 209,356 |
West Virginia |
14.0 | 546,617 | 76,432 |
Alaska |
13.5 | 250,255 | 33,786 |
Maryland |
12.8 | 2,141,805 | 273,355 |
Ohio |
12.2 | 4,606,685 | 564,039 |
Oregon |
12.2 | 1,556,370 | 190,124 |
Wisconsin |
11.9 | 2,447,832 | 291,393 |
Delaware |
11.9 | 376,028 | 44,707 |
Hawaii |
11.6 | 525,124 | 61,057 |
Illinois |
11.3 | 5,112,176 | 577,876 |
Iowa |
11.3 | 1,302,244 | 146,935 |
Missouri |
11.2 | 2,340,176 | 261,914 |
Michigan |
10.8 | 3,686,126 | 397,128 |
Nebraska |
10.7 | 807,525 | 86,431 |
Indiana |
10.0 | 2,595,568 | 259,774 |
Washington |
9.7 | 2,669,295 | 259,427 |
New Jersey |
9.6 | 3,382,178 | 323,806 |
Kentucky |
9.5 | 1,566,813 | 149,597 |
Arkansas |
9.2 | 993,989 | 91,175 |
Virginia |
9.0 | 3,095,185 | 277,787 |
Kansas |
8.4 | 1,129,173 | 94,916 |
North Carolina |
8.4 | 3,565,929 | 298,462 |
New Mexico |
8.2 | 627,472 | 51,152 |
Arizona |
8.1 | 2,294,353 | 186,258 |
Louisiana |
8.0 | 1,599,363 | 128,721 |
Tennessee |
8.0 | 2,478,737 | 199,487 |
California |
7.8 | 14,288,358 | 1,112,268 |
Colorado |
7.7 | 2,146,791 | 165,311 |
Georgia |
7.4 | 3,619,899 | 268,612 |
Florida |
7.2 | 7,262,168 | 521,840 |
Idaho |
7.1 | 572,321 | 40,466 |
Oklahoma |
6.7 | 1,252,645 | 84,335 |
Utah |
6.7 | 1,165,414 | 78,235 |
Mississippi |
6.4 | 888,986 | 56,883 |
Wyoming |
6.1 | 205,040 | 12,527 |
South Carolina |
5.4 | 1,651,309 | 89,729 |
Alabama |
5.3 | 1,555,542 | 82,861 |
Texas |
5.1 | 9,960,249 | 506,744 |
Nevada |
2.7 | 1,132,119 | 30,943 |
Montour County, Pennsylvania, had 63.1 percent of private employment in nonprofit organizations in 2016. That was the highest share among all U.S. counties. Many of the counties with the highest shares of nonprofit employment had fewer than 50,000 private sector jobs in 2016. Several larger counties also had high shares of nonprofit employment, however, including Bronx County, New York; Baltimore City, Maryland; Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; and Suffolk County, Massachusetts.
County | Nonprofit employment as percent of total |
Total employment | Nonprofit employment |
---|---|---|---|
Montour County, Pennsylvania |
63.1 | 13,881 | 8,764 |
Tompkins County, New York |
47.1 | 44,332 | 20,888 |
Franklin County, New York |
40.5 | 10,630 | 4,310 |
Otsego County, New York |
37.3 | 19,133 | 7,143 |
Grafton County, New Hampshire |
35.9 | 46,689 | 16,764 |
Bronx County, New York |
34.7 | 238,210 | 82,616 |
Deer Lodge County, Montana |
34.1 | 2,317 | 790 |
Yates County, New York |
33.2 | 5,821 | 1,930 |
Sullivan County, New York |
33.0 | 20,371 | 6,731 |
Baltimore City, Maryland |
31.4 | 268,372 | 84,309 |
St. Lawrence County, New York |
30.3 | 24,927 | 7,547 |
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania |
29.9 | 562,350 | 167,987 |
Addison County, Vermont |
29.4 | 12,999 | 3,826 |
Suffolk County, Massachusetts |
29.4 | 581,783 | 171,051 |
Madison County, New York |
29.2 | 16,930 | 4,937 |
Rensselaer County, New York |
28.5 | 40,689 | 11,581 |
Apache County, Arizona |
27.9 | 7,154 | 1,993 |
Union County, Pennsylvania |
27.7 | 14,441 | 4,003 |
Gallia County, Ohio |
27.6 | 9,125 | 2,523 |
Polk County, North Carolina |
27.2 | 4,157 | 1,131 |
St. Louis City, Missouri |
26.9 | 195,307 | 52,525 |
Letcher County, Kentucky |
26.2 | 3,185 | 834 |
District of Columbia |
26.0 | 517,154 | 134,591 |
Hampshire County, Massachusetts |
25.9 | 47,661 | 12,333 |
Clinton County, Missouri |
25.6 | 2,938 | 751 |
St. Louis County, Minnesota |
25.6 | 81,906 | 20,930 |
Berkshire County, Massachusetts |
25.5 | 53,530 | 13,659 |
Durham County, North Carolina |
25.1 | 175,316 | 44,031 |
Monongalia County, West Virginia |
25.1 | 44,387 | 11,138 |
Essex County, New York |
25.0 | 10,474 | 2,616 |
These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages and Business Employment Dynamics program. For more information about employment in nonprofit organizations, see "Research Data on the Nonprofit Sector." These data focus only on nonprofit organizations in the 501(c)3 classification.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Nonprofits account for 12.3 million jobs, 10.2 percent of private sector employment, in 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/nonprofits-account-for-12-3-million-jobs-10-2-percent-of-private-sector-employment-in-2016.htm (visited October 31, 2024).