Attract and Retain the Best Employees for your Organization in 2026 and Beyond
California’s nonprofit sector, which employs around 10% of the state’s workforce and provides vital services to communities throughout the state, is impacted by continuing inflation, uncertainty around funding sources, concern about softening economic conditions, and shifting federal government policies. In this environment, the 2026 survey report will provide information not available anywhere else to nonprofit leaders responsible for their organizations’ compensation and benefits policies:
- Current, local compensation data on more than 200 jobs found in nonprofit organizations
- Base pay levels and bonus/incentive pay for each job with details by annual operating budget, location within the survey region, number of employees and primary field of service
- Employee benefits in detail: paid time off, insurance, retirement
- Salary increases over the past year and expected during the next year
- Policies with respect to on-call work, overtime, shift differentials, pay for bilingual skills, introductory periods, performance reviews and more
- Impacts of the current economic and political environment on operations and policies
- Employee turnover rates over the past year, and degree of concern about turnover in 2026
Now open for participation and updated for 2026:
- New jobs in the Administrative, Animal Care, Education/Recreation, Environment/Conservation and Medical/Clinical areas
- “Impact of the Economic/Political Environment” section with new questions about government grants/contracts, use of artificial intelligence tools, DEI practices and more
The Northern California survey has been published annually since 2010 and covers 48 Northern California counties, from Del Norte County in the far northwest to Inyo County in the far southeast.
This is the sixth year for the Southern California survey, which covers these ten counties:
| Imperial | San Bernardino |
| Kern | San Diego |
| Los Angeles | San Luis Obispo |
| Orange | Santa Barbara |
| Riverside | Ventura |
We expect a strong response to both surveys for 2026 and look forward to publishing these valuable resources for the California’s nonprofit communities.
Northern California: www.nonprofitcomp.com
- Participation Deadline: February 13, 2026
- Report Publication date: April 13, 2026
Southern California: socal.nonprofitcomp.com
- Participation Deadline: February 13, 2026
- Report Publication date: April 30, 2026
For more information, please contact Nonprofit Compensation Associates at survey@nonprofitcomp.com or 510-645-1005.