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Research

Scope of the Arizona Nonprofit Sector

Congregations and the nonprofit religious subsector

Although religious congregations are required to meet the legal requirements of Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3), they are not required to obtain official recognition from the IRS. Most congregations, however, choose to become officially IRS-recognized as a public charity.

Arizona has 5,625 nonprofit religious organizations. Of these, only 521 reported any income since they are largely exempt from IRS reporting requirements. The few religious groups that did report income showed a median income of $144,310.

The chart below illustrates the location of congregations by Arizona county. The shades on the counties indicate the number of congregations per 1,000 people.

Congregations that filed a 990 form in Arizona

Form Type Number of Filers
990 53
990EZ 48
990N 2

 

Source: IRS 2022

Congregations are not required to file an annual 990 form, and most of them do not.

Number of congregations in Arizona counties and number of congregations per capita

Source: Core List USA