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Nonprofit Chief Operating Officer Salary in California

See how Chief Operating Officer pay compares across California nonprofits — by budget size. Built from IRS Form 990 filings across 181,829 nonprofits.

← Chief Operating Officer nationally

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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$112K
median total comp
—
enter your pay above
377
orgs in this peer set

How Chief Operating Officer pay scales in California

<=$250K136peer orgs
p10 $10Kmedian $38Kp90 $60K
<=$250K
Sample size136
10th percentile$10K
25th percentile$22K
Median$38K
75th percentile$45K
90th percentile$60K
$250K-$500K167peer orgs
p10 $13Kmedian $41Kp90 $89K
$250K-$500K
Sample size167
10th percentile$13K
25th percentile$28K
Median$41K
75th percentile$62K
90th percentile$89K
$500K-$1M224peer orgs
p10 $22Kmedian $45Kp90 $114K
$500K-$1M
Sample size224
10th percentile$22K
25th percentile$39K
Median$45K
75th percentile$78K
90th percentile$114K
$1M-$2.5M377peer orgs
p10 $40Kmedian $112Kp90 $175K
$1M-$2.5M
Sample size377
10th percentile$40K
25th percentile$70K
Median$112K
75th percentile$140K
90th percentile$175K
$2.5M-$5M434peer orgs
p10 $55Kmedian $134Kp90 $226K
$2.5M-$5M
Sample size434
10th percentile$55K
25th percentile$112K
Median$134K
75th percentile$179K
90th percentile$226K
$5M-$10M492peer orgs
p10 $99Kmedian $153Kp90 $265K
$5M-$10M
Sample size492
10th percentile$99K
25th percentile$125K
Median$153K
75th percentile$198K
90th percentile$265K
$10M-$25M567peer orgs
p10 $116Kmedian $176Kp90 $354K
$10M-$25M
Sample size567
10th percentile$116K
25th percentile$140K
Median$176K
75th percentile$229K
90th percentile$354K
$25M-$50M297peer orgs
p10 $126Kmedian $215Kp90 $377K
$25M-$50M
Sample size297
10th percentile$126K
25th percentile$165K
Median$215K
75th percentile$281K
90th percentile$377K
$50M+444peer orgs
p10 $134Kmedian $297Kp90 $807K
$50M+
Sample size444
10th percentile$134K
25th percentile$209K
Median$297K
75th percentile$481K
90th percentile$807K

Across peer organizations in California in this budget bracket, the median Chief Operating Officer earns $112K. Half the field falls between $70K and $140K.

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Same data. Different product.

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

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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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