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The Illinois Nonprofit Market

Cause IQ counts 85,548 nonprofit organizations in Illinois, employing about 930,000 people, with more than $189 billion in annual revenue (checked November 2, 2026). Chicago dominates those totals, but the downstate metros carry real weight in health care. The Peoria metro has fewer than 2,900 nonprofits, yet they employ about 49,000 people, mostly because OSF HealthCare is based there.

Source: Cause IQ Illinois directory, metro breakdown for Illinois organizations, checked November 2, 2026. Counts include all nonprofit types, not only 501(c)(3) charities.

Health care is where most of the jobs are. In 2022, nonprofits accounted for 48.3% of Illinois private-sector employment in health care and social assistance (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Nationally, nonprofits held 9.9 percent of all private-sector jobs that year (BLS).

The long tail is large too. Our count of the latest IRS filings found 1,436 Illinois community nonprofits under $1 million in revenue that report a paid chief executive, 1,410 between $1 million and $10 million, and 486 above $10 million.

Illinois by Region

Chicago metro

Home to most of the state’s foundations, national association headquarters and research universities, along with Northwestern Medicine, Advocate Health Care, Rush, UChicago Medicine, Lurie Children’s and Endeavor Health. Feeding America, the Alzheimer’s Association and the Rotary Foundation are headquartered in the metro. Our Chicago guide covers the city in detail.

Springfield and Central Illinois

The state capital adds state government and the associations that work with it to a health care base led by Memorial Health and HSHS St. John’s Hospital. Farther east, Sarah Bush Lincoln in Mattoon reported $842 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 2025, and Blessing Hospital in Quincy, on the western edge of the state, reported $731 million. See our Springfield guide.

Peoria

OSF HealthCare runs its system from Peoria, and Bradley University is the largest private college there by revenue. Prices in the metro were 91.2 in 2024, with housing at 63.8, among the lowest in the state.

Rockford

Rockford’s largest nonprofit filer is SwedishAmerican Hospital, now part of UW Health, with $967 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 2025. Mercyhealth also operates in the Rockford area, and Rosecrance, a behavioral health provider, is headquartered in the city. The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is based there as well.

Champaign-Urbana

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public employer and does not file Form 990, so it is not in the pay tables. Carle, based in Urbana, is the region’s nonprofit health system; the Carle Foundation Hospital reported $1.5 billion in revenue for 2024.

Bloomington-Normal

Illinois State University is the largest public employer. Among nonprofits, Midwest Food Bank in Normal reported $579 million in revenue for 2025 and Chestnut Health Systems in Bloomington reported $81 million for the fiscal year ending June 2025. Illinois Wesleyan University is the area’s private university. Carle BroMenn Medical Center in Normal is part of Carle.

Quad Cities

The metro spans the Mississippi, with Rock Island and Moline on the Illinois side. UnityPoint Health runs Trinity hospitals in Rock Island and Moline; Trinity Medical Center reported $478 million in revenue for 2024. Augustana College is in Rock Island.

Metro East and Southern Illinois

The Illinois counties of the St. Louis metro include Belleville, Edwardsville and O’Fallon, where HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital reported $337 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 2025. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is the large public employer. Farther south, Southern Illinois Healthcare in Carbondale reported $766 million for the fiscal year ending March 2025. Our St. Louis guide covers the Missouri side of the metro.

Nonprofit Executive Pay in Illinois

These figures come from IRS Form 990 filings, not estimates. They cover Illinois 501(c)(3) organizations for fiscal years 2023 to 2026, one figure per organization, taken from the highest-paid person in each role. The measure is reportable compensation, as listed in Part VII of the Form 990, from the organization and its related organizations. It is close to salary for most people but can include bonuses; benefits and deferred pay are reported separately and are not included. We show a median only where at least 10 organizations report the role; otherwise the cell reads n/a. Government agencies and public universities do not file Form 990, so their pay is not in these tables.

Table A: Chief executive reportable compensation by sector and size

Table B: Other senior roles at community nonprofits

Median reportable compensation, with the number of organizations in parentheses.

Table C: Chief executive reportable compensation by metro

Community nonprofits only. Median, with the number of organizations in parentheses.

Source: IRS Form 990 e-file data, fiscal years 2023 to 2026 (ExecSearches analysis of 501(c)(3) filings by filer address). n/a: fewer than 10 filings, so no reliable figure. Metro boundaries follow the federal 2023 definitions; the Chicago and Quad Cities metros include filers across the state line.

The metro table shows the downstate gap. For a community nonprofit with $1 million to $10 million in revenue, the median chief executive in the Chicago metro receives about $135,000; in Peoria it is about $126,000, in Springfield $115,000 and in Rockford $100,000. Prices are lower downstate as well, so the difference in what the pay buys is smaller than those numbers suggest.

Cost of Living Across Illinois

The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes price levels for each state and metro, with the national average set at 100. Housing makes most of the difference.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area, 2024 (released February 19, 2026). BEA does not publish a separate figure for the Carbondale area.

Illinois taxes wage income at a flat 4.95 percent (Illinois Department of Revenue), so a move within the state changes prices but not the income tax rate.

Health Systems and Health Care

Colleges and Universities

Private colleges and universities

Private colleges hire advancement, finance and enrollment leaders on a steady cycle, and they file Form 990, so their pay is in Table A.

Public universities

Public universities are state employers. They do not file Form 990, and their pay is not in the tables above.

Community Organizations and Foundations

Foundations

The Chicago Community Trust is the state’s largest community foundation by revenue, reporting $2.1 billion for the fiscal year ending September 2025 (cct.org). The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation; it files Form 990-PF, which is not in our pay data, and posts openings on its employment page. Downstate community foundations are smaller but active: the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln in Springfield reported $21.6 million in revenue for 2025, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois in Rockford $14.8 million for 2024, and the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois in Champaign $7.7 million for 2025.

Arts and Culture

Public Sector

State and local jobs are posted by the employers themselves. Public agencies do not file Form 990, so their pay is not in the tables above.

Rules That Affect Nonprofit Hiring in Illinois

Pay transparency

Since January 1, 2025, covered employers with at least 15 employees must include pay scale and benefits in specific internal and external job postings for work performed at least partly in Illinois, or reporting to an Illinois supervisor, office or worksite. Covered external postings also trigger an employee-notification obligation within 14 days. The Illinois Department of Labor publishes the detailed guidance, including the exceptions and what recruiters and job boards must do.

Charitable registration and annual reports

Charities that solicit donations or hold charitable assets in Illinois must register with the Illinois Attorney General’s Charitable Trust Bureau and file an annual report (form AG990-IL). The office moved filing online in August 2025. The contribution levels that require an audit or a CPA review of the financial statements with the annual report changed on January 1, 2024, under Public Act 103-0121; the registration page links the Attorney General’s notice with the current amounts. Anyone can look up a charity’s filings in the online charity database.

Board members and executive candidates can use those filings, along with the organization’s Form 990, to check an employer’s finances before a first interview.

Search Firms Serving Illinois

We list these as resources, not endorsements, and describe each firm only from what it publishes itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the cost of living affect nonprofit executive salaries in Illinois?

Illinois as a whole sits right at the national average: 100.0 on the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities index for 2024, where the nation is 100. The state average hides a wide split. The Chicago metro was 103.6, with housing at 112.0, while every downstate metro BEA measures was below 97: Springfield and Champaign-Urbana 92.7, Rockford 92.2, Peoria 91.2 and the Quad Cities 89.1. By that index, a $125,000 salary in Peoria buys about what $142,000 buys in the Chicago metro. Illinois taxes wages at a flat 4.95 percent, so the tax side does not change from one region to another.

What does a nonprofit CEO earn in Illinois?

IRS Form 990 filings for fiscal years 2023 to 2026 put median chief executive reportable compensation at about $61,000 for Illinois community nonprofits under $1 million in revenue, $127,000 for those with $1 million to $10 million, and $247,000 above $10 million. Hospital chief executives have a median near $550,000 and private college and university presidents near $329,000.

Who are the largest nonprofit employers in Illinois?

By revenue on their latest Form 990, the largest are Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, Advocate Health and Hospitals Corporation, the University of Chicago, Feeding America, OSF HealthCare, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago Medical Center, Rush University Medical Center and Endeavor Health. Downstate, OSF HealthCare in Peoria, Memorial Health in Springfield and Carle in Urbana are the biggest.

Do Illinois nonprofit job postings have to include salary?

Yes, for covered employers. Since January 1, 2025, employers with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale and benefits in specific internal and external job postings for work done at least partly in Illinois, or for a role that reports to a supervisor, office or worksite in Illinois. When a covered employer posts a job externally, it must also make the opportunity known to current employees within 14 days. The Illinois Department of Labor explains the exceptions and the rules for recruiters and job boards.

Where are Illinois nonprofit executive jobs posted?

Current openings are listed on ExecSearches.com Illinois nonprofit jobs, and you can set a job alert to get new ones by email. Hospital systems and universities also post on their own career sites, linked in this guide.

Compliance and risk roles in the Chicago area are listed on GRC Careers, Chicago GRC jobs. Consultants and fractional leaders can find short-term nonprofit work on the Nonprofit RFP Work Hub.

Explore Nearby Guides

Chicago Guide · Springfield Guide · St. Louis Guide · Indiana Guide · Wisconsin Guide · Michigan Guide · Midwest Regional Guide · National Hub · All guides and articles

Sources

• IRS Form 990 e-file data, fiscal years 2023 to 2026 (ExecSearches analysis of Illinois 501(c)(3) filings; revenue figures from each organization’s latest return). irs.gov
• U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area, 2024 (released February 19, 2026). bea.gov
• Cause IQ Illinois nonprofit directory, checked November 2, 2026. causeiq.com
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonprofit employment by state and industry, 2022. bls.gov
• Illinois Department of Labor, Equal Pay Act pay transparency guidance. labor.illinois.gov
• Illinois Attorney General, Charitable Trust Bureau registration and annual report requirements. illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
• Illinois Department of Revenue, income tax rates. tax.illinois.gov