Scope of the Arizona Nonprofit Sector
Research reports
In these special reports, the ASU Lodestar Center research team explores the influence of the nonprofit sector on Arizona’s employment and economy. These analyses come from large, publicly available datasets from the Internal Revenue Service and the Census Bureau.
1. Nonprofits: A Hidden Driver of Arizona's Economy
Arizona’s nonprofit sector, if treated as an industry unto itself, would rank as the sixth largest in the state, surpassing the construction, transportation and warehousing, and accommodation and food service in terms of economic impact.
2. Arizona's Nonprofit Employment
Arizona's nonprofit sector employs 222,380 workers. That's about 1 in 14 workers. Together they earn $12.1 billion in annual wages. This places the nonprofit sector ahead of the construction sector and behind retail trade.
3. A Portrait of Arizona's 28,379 Nonprofits
As of February 2, 2024, the IRS listed 28,379 organizations in Arizona as tax exempt. What do we know about them? The IRS data gives us information on their charitable purpose, location, finances and more.
4. Are Workers Paid Less in Nonprofits?
How does pay in the nonprofit sector compare to that in the for-profit world? Do people working jobs that provide benefits to society sacrifice pay for their service?
5. Comparing Pay Across Sectors by Occupation
Some industry-specific occupations, such as registered nurses, clergy and social workers, are necessarily concentrated in the nonprofit world. On the other hand, many nonprofit workers are in occupations, such as accounting and groundskeeping, that are not specific to the nonprofit sector. We analyze the data for various occupational groups across the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.