How many nonprofit organizations are there in the U.S.?
According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS), more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations are registered in the U.S. This number includes public charities, private foundations, and other types of nonprofit organizations, including chambers of commerce, fraternal organizations and civic leagues.
NCCS provides national and state summaries of the nonprofit sector and a variety of online data analysis tools to find information not included in the summary figures. It allows users to customize filters and break down data by organization type, state, year, and other criteria. It also provides summary tables on private foundations and public charities.
For more statistics on nonprofit organizations, selected resources below may help.
See also our related Knowledge Base articles:
- Where can I find statistics on foundation and corporate giving?
- How can I find information about a particular (non-grantmaking) charity?
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Staff-recommended websites
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IRS Tax Stats
Applications for Tax-Exempt Status
Browsable by year, this Excel spreadsheet-viewable data tracks the number of applications submitted for tax-exempt status.
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IRS
Exempt Organizations Business Master File Extract
Displays statistical data on the number of nonprofits by state, as well as by regions and geographic areas.
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Staff pick
Independent Sector
The Resources area of this coalition organization's web site includes statistical data on the value of volunteer time and volunteering in general, among other topics.
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Staff pick
Charities & Other Tax-Exempt Organizations Statistics
IRS Tax Stats
This section contains statistical tables, articles, and other information on charities and other tax-exempt organizations. Nonprofit charitable organizations are exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
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Staff pick
Candid
Key Facts on U.S. Nonprofits and Foundations
The first-ever publication combining Foundation Center's former Key Facts on U.S. Foundations report and GuideStar's former Nine Things You Might Not Know about U.S. Nonprofits. Offers at-a-glance information about the nonprofit sector. Where does nonprofit revenue come from? Is foundation giving growing? This report answers these questions and more.
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National Council of Nonprofits
State Nonprofit Data & Reports
This interactive map provides nonprofit data by state, including employment, revenues, expenses, assets, and contributions. When available, it also provides links to the latest state-level report on the nonprofit sector, and to the state association's most recent nonprofit salary survey/compensation & benefits report and nonprofit job board.
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IRS Tax Stats
Tax-Exempt Organizations and Nonexempt Charitable Trusts
Excel viewer of the number of tax-exempt organizations and nonexempt charitable trusts, browsable by year.
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Staff pick
Johns Hopkins University
The Center for Civil Society Studies
Provides reports, presentations, and working papers covering a wide range of subjects on the U.S. and international nonprofit sector, including comparative studies and employment statistics.