Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $41k and $125k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $212k, roughly 2.8 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $212,379 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $124,535 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $74,707 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $40,560 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $17,236 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 414 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (19% of the 2,193 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%.
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
Pay varies by state.
Maryland pays $27,862 more than the median Executive Director compensation in animal-related nationally.
The ten highest-paid animal-related Executive Directors by filing.
| # | Organization | Location | Total compensation | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Audubon Nature Institute Inc | New Orleans, LA | $2,088,856 | 2024 |
| 02 | Zoological Society Of San Diego | San Diego, CA | $2,056,676 | 2024 |
| 03 | American Kennel Club Inc | New York, NY | $1,728,328 | 2024 |
| 04 | National Fish And Wildlife Foundation | Washington, DC | $1,418,915 | 2023 |
| 05 | The American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals | New York, NY | $1,226,402 | 2024 |
| 06 | The Animal Medical Center | New York, NY | $1,125,895 | 2023 |
| 07 | Shedd Aquarium Society | Chicago, IL | $966,423 | 2024 |
| 08 | Georgia Aquarium Inc & Subsidiary | Atlanta, GA | $912,192 | 2023 |
| 09 | Wildlife Conservation Society | Bronx, NY | $905,749 | 2023 |
| 10 | Atlanta Fulton County Zoo Inc | Atlanta, GA | $846,951 | 2024 |
Total includes base, bonus, other reportable, and deferred/retirement compensation per Schedule J.
What does a $X org pay?
Adjust the slider to your organization's revenue. The median Executive Director compensation for animal-related nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.
{sector} {role} pay, answered
- How much does a Animal-Related nonprofit Executive Director make?
- The median total compensation for a Executive Director at a animal-related nonprofit is $74,707, based on 2,193 organizations in IRS Form 990 filings. The middle 50% fall between $40,560 and $124,535.
- What is the salary range for a Executive Director in Animal-Related nonprofits?
- Pay ranges from $40,560 at the 25th percentile to $124,535 at the 75th and $212,379 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 2,193 animal-related nonprofits reporting a Executive Director.
- Why does Animal-Related nonprofit Executive Director 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.