Oregon's Nonprofits in 2024
July 03, 2025A not-for-profit corporation, commonly referred to as a "nonprofit," is organized to achieve a purpose other than to generate a profit. These entities qualify for federal tax-exempt status and must reinvest any surplus revenues into efforts that further the mission of the organization. They are prohibited from passing profits on to those who control the organization. These organizations range from trade unions and religious groups to food banks and private schools. Many hospitals are also organized as nonprofit corporations.
For the purposes of this article, the impact of nonprofits presented is limited to employment and wages.
Oregon's 2024 nonprofit stats:
- 10,500 nonprofit establishments with employment and payroll
- 190,400 nonprofit jobs
- 43% of all nonprofit firms were in the other services industry
- 61% of nonprofit employment was in health care and social assistance
- $70,596 in annual average pay
Keep in mind that not all nonprofit organizations are employers and are not included in the employment and wage data presented here. Nonprofits in Oregon must file articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State’s office, while the Department of Justice regulates charitable activities.
The Secretary of State’s office provides a searchable database of active nonprofit corporations, available at this URL:
https://data.oregon.gov/Business/Active-Nonprofit-Corporations/8kyv-b2kw
Likewise, the Department of Justice has a searchable database for Oregon charities, here:
https://www.doj.state.or.us/charitable-activities/
How Many Nonprofit Employers Are There in Oregon?
Nonprofit organizations play an integral role in Oregon's economy. They made up 6% of all private businesses in the state and had 190,400 jobs, accounting for 11% of Oregon's private-sector employment in 2024. As a share of Oregon's total (private and public) employment, nonprofits made up 10% in 2024, about the same amount as the state’s manufacturing industry.
Nonprofits by Industry
Health care and social assistance dominated Oregon’s nonprofit employment in 2024, representing 116,900 jobs or 61%. The other services industry included 23,900 nonprofit jobs and educational services employed 20,500. Together, the top three industries represented 85% of Oregon’s total nonprofit employment.
Nonprofit Hospitals: Health Care and Social Assistance
Health care and social assistance led nonprofits with 116,900 jobs or 61% of Oregon's nonprofit employment. Like other services, there is diversity in the industry from assisted living facilities to mental health services. However, hospitals completely overshadow the sector’s employment. Oregon’s nonprofit hospitals (general medical and surgical; psychiatric and substance abuse; and specialty) included 89 reporting units in 2024 and employed 54,300 workers, or 46% of the nonprofit health care and social assistance industry's total employment. Private hospitals in Oregon included 160 reporting units and provided 62,000 jobs in 2024, with nonprofit hospitals representing 90% of the employment.
Service Organizations
Other services represented about 13% of the state's nonprofit employment (23,900 jobs). The correlation between other services and nonprofits makes sense. It is the industry that includes religious, grant making, civic, professional, and similar organizations. Places of worship, the Boys & Girls Club, The United Way, and local chambers of commerce are some of the most widely recognized nonprofits in Oregon, and there are a lot of these organizations across the state. Other services accounted for 43% of Oregon's nonprofit organizations (4,400).
Educational and Employment Training Providers
Educational services accounted for 11% of Oregon's nonprofit employment in 2024 with 20,500 jobs. The organizations in this industry range from preschools and tutoring services to colleges and employment training places. Nonprofit elementary and secondary schools represented the biggest slice with 10,600 jobs (52%) and 361 reporting units (34%). Nonprofit colleges, universities, and professional schools accounted for 7,800 jobs (38%) while representing 30% of the nonprofit educational services provider reporting units. Other schools and instruction, including sports training, provided 1,500 jobs (7%), and 19% of nonprofit educational services reporting units.
Pay at Nonprofits Follows Industry Standards
Oregon's private industries paid an average annual wage of $69,905 in 2024, compared with $70,596 for nonprofits. Although the average wage gap between nonprofit and all private employers was just $691 (1%) in 2024, their industry profiles were quite different.
In 2024, three industry sectors reported higher annual average wages for nonprofits compared with all private businesses. Nonprofits in financial activities paid an average of $99,801 in 2024, which exceeded all private pay by about $8,200 or 9%. Leisure and hospitality also favored nonprofits by $4,595 (+15%), despite having a relatively low annual average pay of $35,525.
Education and health services, Oregon’s largest nonprofit sector, enjoyed a pay advantage of nearly $10,000 or 15% over all private employers, paying an average of $74,823 in 2024. Other services paid $43,623 in 2024, falling about $8,900 or 17% below all private employers.
Rural Versus Urban
Oregon's 21 nonmetro counties provided a home base for 1,600 nonprofit employer units in 2024, or 6% of all nonmetro private industry employer reporting units. Nonprofit organizations provided about 22,200 rural Oregon jobs, or 9% of all nonmetro private employment. Rural nonprofit pay averaged $62,044 in 2024, which exceeded the average for all private industries by 16%, around $8,600.
In Oregon’s metropolitan areas, nonprofits provided close to 165,000 jobs in 2024, or 10% of all metro private employment. With about 8,100 employer units, metros provided a home base for 78% of Oregon nonprofits, and nonprofits represented 5% of all metro private employer units. In 2024, nonprofit pay averaged $71,250 in metro Oregon, falling 2% (about $1,500) below the average for all private industries.
Only four rural counties provided 1% or more of Oregon’s nonprofit jobs in 2024. Douglas County led rural Oregon with 3,900 nonprofit jobs, or 2.0% of Oregon’s total, followed by Klamath County (1.6%), Umatilla County (1.3%), and Clatsop County (1.0%). Metropolitan areas commanded 87% of Oregon’s nonprofit employment led by Multnomah County’s 33% (62,100 jobs). Together with Washington County (11.2%) and Marion County (7.8%), Oregon’s top three metro counties represented 52% of all nonprofit jobs in 2024.
The Future of Nonprofit Employment
The future of nonprofit employment in Oregon is directly linked to growth in health care and social assistance. The industry provided over 300,300 jobs in 2024, an increase of about 41% or 87,600 since 2014, including the reclassification of home care workers from state government in 2018. With 61% of Oregon’s nonprofit employment in 2024, health care and social assistance will continue to lead its job growth. Health care and social assistance represented an even larger share of rural Oregon’s nonprofit employment and payroll. The industry provided 71% of rural Oregon’s 22,200 nonprofit jobs along with 82% of its nearly $1.4 billion payroll.