What under $100K in revenue means for COO pay
Nonprofits with under $100K in annual revenue are the smallest organizations in the data: local charities, volunteer-led groups and single-program organizations. A COO here often covers several jobs at once, and works within a very tight budget.
Across all nonprofit COOs nationally, the median is $141,083. At organizations with under $100K in revenue, COOs earn about $124,397 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 Under $100K organizations make?
- The median total compensation is $16,686, based on 409 IRS Form 990 filings from nonprofits with under $100K in annual revenue. The middle range runs from $7,200 to $35,290.
- 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 Under $100K organizations?
- The 25th percentile is $7,200, the median is $16,686, the 75th is $35,290, and the 90th percentile reaches $57,603. 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 under $100K in revenue isolates the size effect, which is one of the strongest drivers of nonprofit compensation.