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Updated through 2024NTEE D · Animal-Related

Animal-Related nonprofitCOO salaries

Based on 155 organizations from 2021 – 2024. Each org counted once at its most recent filing. Sourced directly from IRS Form 990, Schedule J.

Median total compensation
$130,962
The median animal-related coo earns $130,962 in total reported compensation.
Median across all 155 animal-related nonprofits filing a Form 990, from the smallest to the largest
25th pct
$59k
75th pct
$179k
90th pct
$236k
155 organizations · 2021 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $59k and $179k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $236k, roughly 1.8 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$235,584Top 10% of earners
75th$179,39625% earn more than this
50th · median$130,962The typical executive
25th$59,19025% earn less than this
10th$31,24310% of executives earn less than this
How pay is structured

How the package is built.

The typical pay structure across 60 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (39% of the 155 orgs in this slice). Each share is the average across orgs of the fraction of total comp that goes to this component, so the bar fills 100%.

$195,516
typical total · 2024
Median total compensation in the subset. The dollar amounts below show what each share works out to on a package this size.
86%
Base salary
85.9% of total
$167,948
Bonus & incentive
3.4% of total
$6,648
Retirement & deferred
3.8% of total
$7,430
Benefits
5.0% of total
$9,776
Other reportable
2.0% of total
$3,910
Shares are averaged across organizations, so they sum to ~100%. Dollar amounts are illustrative (share% of typical total) and don't reflect any specific org.
How this compares

The number in context.

Every row links to its own dedicated benchmark page.

All figures are median total reported compensation · IRS Form 990, Schedule J

Geography

Pay varies by state.

State-level medians for COOs in animal-related, ranked by typical pay.

Top 10 states · Animal-Related COO median
Top-paying organizations

The ten highest-paid animal-related COOs by filing.

#OrganizationLocationTotal compensationFiling year
01Zoological Society Of San DiegoSan Diego, CA$870,8692024
02Humane World For Animals IncWashington, DC$408,2312024
03The San Francisco Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To AnimalsSan Francisco, CA$373,5432023
04National Wildlife FederationReston, VA$369,5372023
05Zoological Society Of CincinnatiCincinnati, OH$364,2352024
06Houston Zoo IncHouston, TX$351,7182023
07Animal Legal Defense Fund IncSacramento, CA$321,5572023
08Friends Of The Zoo Inc Of Kansas City MissouriKansas City, MO$300,6252024
09The Florida Aquarium IncTampa, FL$288,0792023
10Denver Zoological FoundationDenver, CO$278,8742023

Total includes base, bonus, other reportable, and deferred/retirement compensation per Schedule J.

Compare your organization

What does a $X org pay?

Adjust the slider to your organization's revenue. The median COO compensation for animal-related nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.

Your organization's revenue
~$6M
annual revenue
$0$10M$100M$1B+
Median COO comp · $1M – $10M
$123,080
46 organizations in this band
Percentile range for your band
25th percentile$71,386
50th percentile$123,080
75th percentile$182,158
Questions

{sector} {role} pay, answered

How much does a Animal-Related nonprofit COO make?
The median total compensation for a COO at a animal-related nonprofit is $130,962, based on 155 organizations in IRS Form 990 filings. The middle 50% fall between $59,190 and $179,396.
What is the salary range for a COO in Animal-Related nonprofits?
Pay ranges from $59,190 at the 25th percentile to $179,396 at the 75th and $235,584 at the 90th. The spread reflects differences in organization size, budget, and region within the sector.
Is this Animal-Related compensation data reliable?
Yes. It comes from IRS Form 990 filings, legal documents filed under penalty of perjury, not self-reported surveys. Figures cover 155 animal-related nonprofits reporting a COO.
Why does Animal-Related nonprofit COO pay differ from other sectors?
Compensation reflects the typical organization size, revenue, and operating complexity of each sector. Larger, better-funded animal-related organizations pull the upper percentiles higher, while smaller ones anchor the lower end.