National Association of County Administrators

What National Association of County Administrators does

The National Association of County Administrators (NACA) is a U.S.-based nonprofit professional membership association serving county administrators and county managers across the United States. The organization functions as a community of practice for the chief administrative officers of U.S. county governments, providing peer networking, professional development, awards, scholarships, and content resources. NACA's stated mission is to empower county administrators through knowledge-sharing, professional growth, and strategic collaborations.

NACA does not develop or sell software, technology platforms, or proprietary technology products. Its core deliverables are programmatic: a membership program, virtual and in-person Idea Exchanges (peer discussion forums), the Journal of County Administration (a quarterly publication), the J. Thomas Lundy Scholarship (three $1,500 awards annually supporting ICMA conference attendance), and the David J. Krings County Administrator of the Year Award. Operational delivery is anchored on a website (countyadministrators.org), a YouTube channel hosting on-demand webinars, and a Mailchimp-distributed newsletter ("Leadership Lens"). Administration is handled through a secretariat arrangement with NIU (Northern Illinois University) and via partnership with ICMA ([email protected] contact channel).

NACA's revenue model rests on three streams: membership dues (recurring subscription), event and conference registration revenue (including free virtual programming), and corporate sponsorship through the "Friends of NACA" program with companies such as MissionSquare, OPTERRA Energy Services, and Ulliman Schutte. Membership pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution is achieved through direct membership acquisition and co-located programming at ICMA Annual Conference and NACo Annual Conference. The association is governed by an elected Executive Board, led in 2026 by President Kenneth N. Wilson (County Administrator, Franklin County, Ohio), and is operationally supported by Secretariat Paula Freeze.

Name

National Association of County Administrators

Legal name

National Association of County Administrators

Website

https://countyadministrators.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NACA is a U.S. nonprofit professional membership association serving county administrators and county managers, providing peer networking, scholarships, awards, the Journal of County Administration, and Idea Exchanges hosted alongside ICMA and NACo conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Professional membership fees from county administrators and county government professionals seeking professional development, networking, and resources for managing county government operations.
2. Event Registration and Conferences: Revenue from ICMA Annual Conference registrations, virtual Idea Exchanges, and other professional development events. Members receive complimentary registration for award ceremonies and scholarships.
3. Friends of NACA Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate sponsorship program where companies like MissionSquare, OPTERRA, and Ulliman Schutte sponsor NACA events and programs in exchange for visibility among county government leaders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NACA is a nonprofit professional membership association that serves county administrators and senior county government leaders across the United States. Its core offering is the membership program, which provides access to peer networking, professional development programming (Idea Exchanges, webinars, conferences), a quarterly Journal of County Administration, scholarships and awards (J. Thomas Lundy Scholarship, David J. Krings County Administrator of the Year Award), a Career Center, and corporate partner connections through the Friends of NACA sponsorship program. NACA delivers these services directly and through partnerships with ICMA and NACo.

Product overview

National Association of County Administrators (NACA) is a professional membership organization for county administrators, not a technology product company. NACA operates as a unified professional association offering membership services, educational programs, publications, and awards. The core offerings include the membership program providing access to networking and resources, virtual and in-person Idea Exchanges for peer learning, the J. Thomas Lundy Scholarship supporting conference attendance, the David J. Krings County Administrator of the Year Award recognizing excellence, the Journal of County Administration as a quarterly publication, a Career Center with job board resources, and the Friends of NACA corporate sponsorship program. There is no software product or technology platform offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• J. Thomas Lundy Scholarship: Scholarship program honoring J. Thomas Lundy, supporting county administrators' attendance at ICMA Annual Conference.
• David J. Krings County Administrator of the Year Award
• Journal of County Administration
• Idea Exchange
• Friends of NACA

Products and services

• NACA Membership Program Professional membership program for county administrators and county government professionals, providing access to peer networking, professional development resources, publications, scholarships, and the Friends of NACA corporate sponsorship community.
• NACA Events and Conferences (Idea Exchanges, Webinars, Annual Conferences) Educational events including monthly virtual Idea Exchanges, on-demand webinars hosted on YouTube, and in-person sessions at ICMA Annual Conference and NACo Annual Conference covering topics such as AI adoption in government, ARPA funding, workforce strategies, infrastructure, property tax, and behavioral health services.
• Journal of County Administration Quarterly professional publication providing articles, essays, and resources relevant to county administration and local government management, distributed to members and available in an online archive.

Quantifiable outcome

• 125+ county leaders exchange best practices at annual NACo conferences on topics including property tax, behavioral health, infrastructure, and data centers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• ICMA (International City/County Management Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNACA operates in close partnership with ICMA, hosting Idea Exchanges at ICMA Annual Conference, offering ICMA Coaching program access to members, and collaborating on professional development programming. ICMA credentialing (ICMA-CM) is valued by NACA members.
• NACo (National Association of Counties)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNACA and NACo collaborate on events including the NACo Annual Conference where NACA hosts Idea Exchanges on county administration topics. Partnership includes joint webinars on federal policy impacts on counties and coordinated programming.
• MissionSquare RetirementcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMissionSquare (formerly ICMA-RC) is a 2026 Friend of NACA corporate sponsor, supporting NACA Idea Exchanges and webinars. They present on workforce research including the annual 'Trends to Watch' report and sponsor the NACA Reception at NACo Legislative Conference.
• Friends of NACA (Corporate Sponsorship Program)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsorship program including MissionSquare, OPTERRA Energy Services, Ulliman Schutte, and other companies. Sponsors support NACA events and programming in exchange for visibility among county government leaders.
• MissionSquare Research InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMissionSquare Research Institute presents annual 'Trends to Watch' workforce research to NACA members, covering topics including financial wellness, guaranteed income, and AI impacts on public sector workforce.
• Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOAR partners with Arlington County Sheriff's Office on the Community Readiness Unit (CRU) program, facilitating groups and providing resources for inmate reentry including job connections, housing, and education support.
• University of OregonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Oregon School of Planning, Public Policy and Management partnered with Lane County to host the Oregon Summit on Wildfire Recovery, capturing lessons learned for future disaster response.
• Pracademic PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPracademic Partners (led by Dr. Ian Coyle, former County Administrator) contributes content to NACA newsletter on leadership development and county administration best practices.
• ICMA Coaching ProgrammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNACA promotes ICMA Coaching program to members for career development and professional guidance from experienced local government leaders.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA): Professional association for attorneys representing cities, counties, and special districts. Comparable niche-association operating model (membership dues, annual conference, training, awards) serving local-government legal officers rather than administrators.
• American Society for Public Administration (ASPA): A broad professional association for public administrators across federal, state, and local government. Comparable membership-association operating model (dues, chapters, publications, awards) and overlapping audience with NACA, though ASPA's scope is much wider than county administration specifically.
• ICMA (International City/County Management Association): The primary professional association for professional managers of counties, cities, and towns. ICMA is NACA's secretariat host and most direct partner — they share an overlapping member persona (city/county managers), credentialing (ICMA-CM), and event programming, making ICMA the closest peer in mission and audience.
• National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO): Membership association for state budget officers with a comparable dues-plus-meetings-plus-research operating model serving a similarly narrow senior-government-officer persona. Strong structural comparability to NACA's niche-association model.
• Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA): A professional association serving state and local government finance officers with a similar dues-plus-events-plus-training revenue model, certification programs (CPFO), conferences, and publications. Highly comparable operating model to NACA, applied to the finance function rather than the administrator function.
• National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA): An independent, congressionally chartered academy of public administrators focused on advancing public administration practice. Comparable peer because it serves the same broader public-administration professional audience through fellowship, research, and convening, similar to NACA's peer-knowledge function.

Broad incumbents

• Council of State Governments (CSG): Nonpartisan association serving all three branches of state government with research, training, and convening. Comparable peer in operating model and cross-government audience, though CSG's scope spans state government rather than county government.
• U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM): Bipartisan association of U.S. mayors representing cities over 30,000 in population. Operates as a peer-of-peer model for municipal chief executives with annual conferences and policy programming — directly analogous to NACA's role for county chief executives.
• National League of Cities (NLC): Membership association serving city officials and municipal governments with advocacy, training, and conferences. Adjacent peer because it serves a parallel local-government audience (cities vs. counties) using a similar events-and-training operating model.
• NACo (National Association of Counties): The umbrella membership organization representing all U.S. counties and county officials (not just administrators). NACA co-hosts Idea Exchanges at the NACo Annual Conference; both serve county leaders, but NACo operates as a much broader advocacy and policy body relative to NACA's narrow professional-development focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@NACA_County_Administrators
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-association-of-county-administrators-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Association of County Administrators