Health care charities, by the numbers.
17,112 of them filed a full Form 990 and spent $1.74T between them.
- 17,112
- charities filing a full Form 990, 9,670 spending $1M+
- $1.74T
- spent in their latest year, with $81.9B coming in as gifts and grants
- 13%
- of all that spending by the 10 biggest
What “health care” covers.
The biggest slice is hospitals, at 74% of all spending in the cause. Spending outside these groups is in charities the IRS coded more generally.
Spending in each charity's latest e-filed Form 990 (Part I, line 18), grouped by the NTEE code in the IRS master file.
The biggest 377 health care charities.
| # | Charity | Spending | Program share | Cost to raise $1 | Savings | CEO pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Oakland, CA · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $33.8B | 96% | 0¢ | 19 mo | $12.79M |
| 2 | Mass General Brigham Incorporated & Somerville, MA · Hospitals · FY 2025 | $22.8B | 94% | 2¢ | 12 mo | – |
| 3 | The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Independence, OH · Other · FY 2024 | $16.1B | 90% | 5¢ | 14 mo | $7.65M |
| 4 | Healthfirst Phsp New York, NY · Clinics and outpatient care · FY 2024 | $12.0B | 98% | – | 2 mo | $4.69M |
| 5 | Bon Secours Mercy Health Blue Ash, OH · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $11.2B | 90% | 0¢ | 8 mo | $10.78M |
| 6 | Northwestern Memorial Healthcare Group Chicago, IL · Hospitals · FY 2025 | $11.0B | 79% | 14¢ | 13 mo | – |
| 7 | Dignity Health San Francisco, AZ · Hospitals · FY 2025 | $11.0B | 89% | 0¢ | 12 mo | $14.08M |
| 8 | The New York and Presbyterian Hospital New York, NY · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $10.1B | 85% | 0¢ | 17 mo | $23.30M |
| 9 | NYU Langone Hospitals New York, NY · Hospitals · FY 2025 | $9.8B | 87% | 6¢ | 9 mo | $24.94M |
| 10 | Ihc Health Services Salt Lake Cty, UT · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $9.5B | 82% | 4¢ | 20 mo | – |
| 11 | The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Independence, OH · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $9.4B | 90% | 6¢ | 11 mo | $7.65M |
| 12 | Providence Health & Services - Renton, WA · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $9.3B | 63% | 4¢ | 3 mo | $8.59M |
| 13 | Banner Health Phoenix, AZ · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $9.3B | 90% | 0¢ | 13 mo | $8.57M |
| 14 | Caresource Ohio Dayton, OH · Clinics and outpatient care · FY 2024 | $8.5B | 86% | – | 1 mo | $1.16M |
| 15 | Memorial Hermann Health System Houston, TX · Hospitals · FY 2025 | $8.3B | 88% | 0¢ | 14 mo | $5.44M |
| 16 | Advocate Health and Hospitals Downers Grove, IL · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $8.3B | 95% | 0¢ | 8 mo | $28.85M |
| 17 | Hackensack Meridian Health Inc-Subordinates Edison, NJ · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $8.3B | 90% | 10¢ | 9 mo | $10.83M |
| 18 | Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · Hospitals · FY 2025 | $8.3B | 85% | 3¢ | 4 mo | $14.69M |
| 19 | Northside Hospital Sandy Springs, GA · Hospitals · FY 2025 | $8.1B | 80% | 0¢ | 7 mo | $5.92M |
| 20 | Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA · Hospitals · FY 2025 | $8.0B | 95% | 59¢ | 13 mo | $5.28M |
| 21 | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center New York, NY · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $7.9B | 99% 99% CPA view | 10¢ 11¢ CPA view | 15 mo | $6.64M |
| 22 | Ucare Minnesota Minneapolis, VA · Hospitals · FY 2025 | $7.5B | 98% | 0¢ | 0 mo | $1.25M |
| 23 | Rwj Barnabas Health Inc - Subordinates Oceanport, NJ · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $7.3B | 90% | 0¢ | 8 mo | $7.12M |
| 24 | Adventist Health Systemsunbelt Altamonte Spg, FL · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $6.9B | 88% | 0¢ | 15 mo | $8.53M |
| 25 | Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN · Hospitals · FY 2024 | $6.3B | 94% | 2¢ | 31 mo | $4.82M |
Program share = program expenses ÷ total expenses (Part IX, line 25). Cost to raise $1 = fundraising expenses ÷ contributions (Part IX, Part VIII line 1h). Savings = net assets ÷ annual spending × 12, which includes buildings, endowments and restricted gifts, so zoos and aquariums run high. CEO pay is reportable compensation from the charity (Part VII). “CPA view” moves joint fundraising costs reported on line 26 out of programs. Names link to our file where we have one, otherwise to the filing on ProPublica.
Benchmarks for health care.
Medians across 9,670 charities spending $1M or more. Use them to judge any charity in this cause.
- 85%
- median program share, as reported
- 0¢
- median cost to raise $1, among charities taking in $100K+ in gifts
- 8 mo
- median net assets, in months of spending
| Annual spending | Charities | Median CEO pay | Median program share |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1–5M | 3,308 | $160K | 85% |
| $5–25M | 2,737 | $287K | 85% |
| $25–100M | 1,724 | $467K | 85% |
| $100M+ | 1,901 | $1.35M | 87% |
The yes-or-no answers.
Counts of health care charities answering “yes” (or failing a basic check) in their latest Form 990. The charities answer these themselves.
charities told the IRS they discovered a significant diversion of assets (theft, embezzlement or misuse).
charities reported a paid fundraiser that kept half or more of what it raised.
charities reported an excess benefit transaction with an insider.
charities had $2M+ in revenue and no audited financial statements.
charities had $1M+ in revenue and no conflict-of-interest policy.
charities reported loans to or from officers or directors.
A “yes” is a reason to read the filing, not a verdict. Learn what each answer means in how to check a charity, and see how we read a 990.
Questions about health care charities.
What is the largest health care charity?
By spending, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (CA), at $33.8B in its fiscal year ending 2024, per its Form 990.
How much do health care charity CEOs make?
The median CEO of a health care charity spending $1–5M a year was paid $160K. At charities spending $100M or more, the median was $1.35M. Figures are reportable compensation from the charity, Form 990 Part VII.
What percentage of donations to health care charities goes to programs?
The median health care charity spending $1M or more reported 85% of its spending on programs, on Form 990 Part IX. That is the charity's own split. Some charities count part of their fundraising mail as program work; our pages show the number both ways.
How many health care charities are there?
17,112 health care organizations filed a full Form 990 in the IRS's 2025 and 2026 e-file releases, 9,670 of them spending $1 million or more. Thousands more file the short 990-EZ or the 990-N postcard.
Where this comes from.
Each charity's latest Form 990 in the IRS's 2025 and 2026 e-file releases, joined to the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File for its NTEE cause code. Organizations that file as charities but aren't funded like one (research contractors, sports bodies and similar) are left out of the comparison table. Charities that file a 990-EZ or 990-N aren't included. Figures are as filed; we haven't reviewed each one, except where a charity has our full file.
Charity Math, “Health care charities, by the numbers,” data as of 2026-11-07. https://charitymath.com/causes/health-care/