What $250K to $500K in revenue means for COO pay
Nonprofits with $250K to $500K in annual revenue are growing organizations with defined programs and a small team. A COO here builds the systems and reporting that a larger organization will depend on.
Across all nonprofit COOs nationally, the median is $141,083. At organizations with $250K to $500K in revenue, COOs earn about $103,449 less than that.
COO pay across organization sizes
How median COO compensation scales with nonprofit revenue. Each size band is its own benchmark.
| Org revenue | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $100K | $7,200 | $16,686 | $35,290 | $57,603 | 409 |
| $100K–$250K | $12,900 | $26,365 | $44,016 | $69,592 | 553 |
| $250K–$500K | $18,998 | $37,634 | $63,055 | $85,213 | 636 |
| $500K–$1M | $26,102 | $51,828 | $87,986 | $128,547 | 834 |
| $1M–$3M | $54,726 | $104,828 | $139,841 | $181,796 | 2,031 |
| $3M–$10M | $105,280 | $135,784 | $179,075 | $238,359 | 3,684 |
| $10M–$30M | $125,042 | $161,429 | $216,408 | $295,696 | 3,566 |
| $30M–$100M | $155,333 | $213,686 | $283,065 | $386,437 | 2,417 |
| Over $100M | $202,699 | $336,111 | $543,489 | $886,966 | 1,583 |
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a nonprofit COO at $250K–$500K organizations make?
- The median total compensation is $37,634, based on 636 IRS Form 990 filings from nonprofits with $250K to $500K in annual revenue. The middle range runs from $18,998 to $63,055.
- Why does organization size affect COO pay so much?
- Larger nonprofits handle bigger budgets, larger teams, and more complex operations, so the COO role scales with them. Comparing pay within the same revenue band, rather than across all sizes, gives a far more accurate benchmark.
- What is the full pay range for a COO at $250K–$500K organizations?
- The 25th percentile is $18,998, the median is $37,634, the 75th is $63,055, and the 90th percentile reaches $85,213. Where a specific role lands depends on region, tenure, and how complex the organization is.
- How does this compare to the national COO median?
- The national median across all nonprofit sizes is $141,083. Filtering to organizations with $250K to $500K in revenue isolates the size effect, which is one of the strongest drivers of nonprofit compensation.