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Nonprofit Chief Operating Officer Salary Benchmarks

See how Chief Operating Officer pay compares across U.S. nonprofits — by budget size, geography, and sector. Built from IRS Form 990 filings across 181,829 nonprofits.

Where does your pay land?

Pick a role, your geography, and your organization's budget. Enter what you pay (or what you're considering) and we'll show where it sits against peer organizations.

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$102K
median total comp
enter your pay above
2,756
orgs in this peer set

How Chief Operating Officer pay scales nationally

<=$250K1,272peer orgs
p10 $3Kmedian $24Kp90 $64K
<=$250K
Sample size1272
10th percentile$3K
25th percentile$9K
Median$24K
75th percentile$41K
90th percentile$64K
$250K-$500K1,307peer orgs
p10 $5Kmedian $35Kp90 $82K
$250K-$500K
Sample size1307
10th percentile$5K
25th percentile$17K
Median$35K
75th percentile$58K
90th percentile$82K
$500K-$1M1,536peer orgs
p10 $11Kmedian $53Kp90 $127K
$500K-$1M
Sample size1536
10th percentile$11K
25th percentile$27K
Median$53K
75th percentile$86K
90th percentile$127K
$1M-$2.5M2,756peer orgs
p10 $23Kmedian $102Kp90 $177K
$1M-$2.5M
Sample size2756
10th percentile$23K
25th percentile$55K
Median$102K
75th percentile$136K
90th percentile$177K
$2.5M-$5M3,163peer orgs
p10 $44Kmedian $132Kp90 $220K
$2.5M-$5M
Sample size3163
10th percentile$44K
25th percentile$102K
Median$132K
75th percentile$172K
90th percentile$220K
$5M-$10M3,759peer orgs
p10 $83Kmedian $152Kp90 $277K
$5M-$10M
Sample size3759
10th percentile$83K
25th percentile$120K
Median$152K
75th percentile$207K
90th percentile$277K
$10M-$25M4,516peer orgs
p10 $100Kmedian $169Kp90 $337K
$10M-$25M
Sample size4516
10th percentile$100K
25th percentile$130K
Median$169K
75th percentile$232K
90th percentile$337K
$25M-$50M2,532peer orgs
p10 $115Kmedian $195Kp90 $362K
$25M-$50M
Sample size2532
10th percentile$115K
25th percentile$151K
Median$195K
75th percentile$262K
90th percentile$362K
$50M+3,763peer orgs
p10 $135Kmedian $293Kp90 $789K
$50M+
Sample size3763
10th percentile$135K
25th percentile$204K
Median$293K
75th percentile$467K
90th percentile$789K

Across peer organizations nationally in this budget bracket, the median Chief Operating Officer earns $102K. Half the field falls between $55K and $136K.

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Same data. Different product.

The same numbers Candid sells for $399 — free, interactive, fresh.

Kindora
Free, online, live
Candid
$399 PDF, by mail
Source
IRS Form 990 Part VII
IRS Form 990 Part VII
Coverage
181,829 nonprofits
130,794 organizations
Freshness
Refreshed annually · May 2026
Two-year publication lag
Cost
Free, no login required
$399 / year
Format
Interactive · 6 cuts · live
5,000-page PDF · single cut

Both reports draw from the same IRS Form 990 Part VII filings. The difference is how — and how fast — you can query them.

How we built these benchmarks

  • Source: IRS Form 990 Part VII filings (the public disclosure of nonprofit officer pay).
  • Positions classified by an AI model against Candid's standard 14 leadership roles.
  • Peer cells require at least 5 filings; smaller samples are suppressed.
  • Updated annually as IRS publishes new 990 batches. Latest data: May 2026.

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Free Kindora accounts unlock all six benchmarking cuts, the side-by-side comparison studio, saved benchmarks, and Spanish-language results. Paid plans add board-ready PDF exports and the API/MCP integration.

What you get at each tier

Public
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Free account
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Paid
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National + top 8 states chart
"Where do you land?" calculator
All 50 states, 30 metros, 8 sectors
Side-by-side comparison studio
Saved benchmarks
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Board-ready PDF export
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