NP Benchmark

Food, agriculture and nutrition nonprofits in California: executive director pay, overhead ratio and reserves

340 food, agriculture and nutrition organizations in California with revenue USD 100k-5M, latest Form 990 or 990-EZ e-filed in 2025-2026. Their median program share of expenses is 85.8%, management and general 9.7% (Form 990 filers), fundraising 0.0%, and the median organization holds 8.6 months of expenses in net assets. 48.2% pay at least one officer or key employee; among those with revenue USD 500k-1M the median top officer pay is $89,897.

Source: IRS Form 990 / 990-EZ e-file releases (public domain) joined with the Exempt Organizations Business Master File for NTEE codes; one latest return per EIN; universe = revenue USD 100k-5M, latest Form 990 or 990-EZ e-filed in 2025-2026, expenses above zero, 50 states + DC. Medians over filers reporting the field; management and fundraising shares count Form 990 filers only (990-EZ has no split). Data as of 2026-10-31.

Medians here (bar) vs food, agriculture and nutrition nationally (mark):

Program expenses
85.8% vs 89.9%
Management and general
9.7% vs 7.1%
Fundraising
0.0% vs 0.0%
Months of reserves
8.6 mo vs 11.5 mo
Top officer pay, food, agriculture and nutrition, California, by revenue band
Revenue bandFilersPay anyone25th pctMedian75th pct
USD 100k-250k11327%$21,843$32,686$52,690
USD 250k-500k5942%$51,330$66,473$88,029
USD 500k-1M5954%$65,080$89,897$119,792
USD 1M-5M10971%$88,945$122,068$148,712

Top officer = the highest reportable compensation from the organization among the officers, directors, key and highest-compensated employees listed on Form 990 Part VII or 990-EZ Part IV (title and amount only, never a name). Percentiles cover filers that pay anyone; a dash means fewer than 10 of them. Benefits and deferred pay excluded.

Where your organization sits

Use the free lookup with your EIN for your own figures against these medians, or get the USD 49 report for the 10 named peers closest to you in California.

Paid report

USD 49 one-time: a food, agriculture and nutrition organization in California vs the 10 closest named peers on top officer pay, expense split, reserves and revenue mix, with a filing link per peer; USD 79 adds the one-page comparability data sheet for the board file. Checkout opens shortly; the free lookup and pages work meanwhile.

Food, agriculture and nutrition in other states

Texas (270) · New York (231) · Ohio (182) · North Carolina (164) · Pennsylvania (158) · Florida (148) · Illinois (148) · Massachusetts (130) · Washington (125) · Wisconsin (114) · Michigan (111) · Minnesota (110) · all states

Other causes in California

Education (3,808) · Human services (3,101) · Arts, culture and humanities (2,844) · Recreation and sports (2,053) · Religion-related (1,883) · Community improvement (1,522) · Housing and shelter (1,220) · Philanthropy and grantmaking (933) · Animal-related (924) · Youth development (920) · Health care (813) · Environment (789) · International (741) · Mental health and crisis intervention (657) · Public and societal benefit (463) · Employment (424) · Crime and legal (408) · Disease and disorder specific (325) · Civil rights and advocacy (298) · Mutual and membership benefit (249) · Public safety and disaster relief (212) · Science and technology (201) · Medical research (171) · Social science (48)