Explore 30+ years of comparative and contextual data on nonprofit employment, establishments, and wages
We are happy to announce the launch of the new Nonprofit Works: An Interactive Database on Nonprofit Employment and Wages, fully re-developed and updated by the George Mason University – Nonprofit Employment Data (GMU-NED) Project with support from the C.S. Mott Foundation! Nonprofit Works is accessible at https://gmu-nonprofit-works.org.
With the launch of the new GMU-Nonprofit Works Data Explorer, which was previously hosted at Johns Hopkins University, you can now search and download the latest available data on nonprofit employment, establishments, and weekly and annual average wages by field for over thirty years—from 1990 through 2022—and compare nonprofits to for-profits and government over the full period. GMU-Nonprofit Works draws on official U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys that also cover government and for-profit workplaces—making it possible to compare nonprofit employment and wages to those in these other sectors over time.
The nonprofit sector is a vital part of the employment landscape of the U.S., employing the third largest workforce and generating the third largest payroll of any of the 18 industries into which statistical authorities divide the American economy—larger than all branches of manufacturing combined, and behind only retail trade and accommodation and food services. What is more, nonprofits employ nearly 89% of all workers providing community, food, housing, and emergency relief services, more than 66% of all workers in hospitals, and 35% of all social services workers in the country. These organizations are essential threads in our safety nets, without which more people would slip through and more communities would struggle.
Without ready access to hard data, however, nonprofit leaders and advocates often find themselves at a disadvantage in countering gross misperceptions about the considerable scale and economic contribution of these organizations or in alerting sector leaders to important sector trends, such as staffing and funding shortfalls.
This is where Nonprofit Works comes in by making it easy to access, download, and use the best available data on the nonprofit sector’s vital role as employers, wage payers, and service providers in our communities. As such, the new site comes at a critical time for the nonprofit sector, as it faces unprecedented challenges to its funding—including threats to government grants and payments and declining individual giving.
Through GMU-Nonprofit Works’ easy-to-use Data Explorer, you will be able to quickly answer crucial questions like:
- How many people work for nonprofits in your state, county, or city?
- In what fields are these nonprofit jobs concentrated?
- How do nonprofit jobs and wages compare to those in for-profit companies or government agencies working in the same fields?
- How much have nonprofits contributed to job growth?
- What key trends are affecting nonprofit employment or wages over a chosen time period?
It is our hope that GMU-Nonprofit Works will fill a gap in the tools available to nonprofit leaders, advocates, and researchers. We are eager to hear from users about their experience with the site and how these data are used. Please feel free to reach out to us with questions, comments, suggestions, use cases, and any other feedback you may have as you explore the site.
About the Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University
The Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise seeks to improve the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and social enterprise through research, training, public education, and other initiatives that engage those who care about these important institutions and activities. Current major interests are: the state of the regional, national, and international nonprofit sectors; increasing the usefulness and accessibility of employment and other government data on the nonprofit sector; nonprofit-government relations; the role of foundations and philanthropy in our society; nonprofit accountability, governance, and effectiveness; global civil society; and social enterprise and social entrepreneurship. Mason’s center is a long-time member of the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC), the major association of university-based, nonprofit research centers in the U.S. Core center faculty members include Center Director Dr. Alan Abramson, Dr. Mirae Kim, and Dr. Stefan Toepler.
About the George Mason University – Nonprofit Employment Data Project (GMU-NED)
The George Mason University – Nonprofit Employment Data (GMU-NED) Project generates new information on economic trends in the nonprofit sector and produces cutting-edge reports on key components of the nonprofit economy in regions and states across the country. These reports demonstrate the significant economic scale and importance of the nonprofit sector on the national, state, and regional levels. To produce these reports, the GMU-NED Project draws on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to document the size, composition, distribution, and growth of nonprofit employment and wages. The GMU-NED Project is also working to increase the usefulness and accessibility of other federal data on the nonprofit sector beyond BLS workforce data. The GMU-NED project is led by Center Director Dr. Alan Abramson, in collaboration with his Center faculty colleagues Dr. Stefan Toepler and Dr. Mirae Kim, and project consultant Chelsea Newhouse, and is supported by a generous grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.