The Center educates students and is an organization that uses sound interdisciplinary research and application in the humane sciences that integrates theory and practice to develop insights and tools that can sustainably advance a free, prosperous, and civil society.
Executive compensation, broken down
Form 990 · Schedule J · 12 reported individuals · Filing year 2023
| Base salary | Bonus | Other compensation | Benefits | Executive compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senior Research Fellow highest compensated employee $336k $368k | |||||
VP of Policy Research vice president $302k $332k | |||||
Secretary & VP of Operations vice president $274k $301k | |||||
Director of Innovation and Governance highest compensated employee $249k $273k | |||||
Director/ VP Academic & Student Programs vice president $247k $271k | |||||
Senior Research Fellow highest compensated employee $237k $259k | |||||
Chairman board chair $133k $146k | |||||
Director board member $96k $106k | |||||
Teal figures restate each filed amount in 2026 dollars.
Estimated with Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro-area CPI-U, restating filed pay into May 2026 dollars. A restatement of past pay, not current or projected pay.
Plus 9 unpaid individuals.
Held steady
from 2022
From $536k in 2022 to $537k in 2023.
Estimated with Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro-area CPI-U, restating filed pay into May 2026 dollars. A restatement of past pay, not current or projected pay.
Revenue and expenses over time
Mercatus Center Inc reported revenue and expenses across 2 filing years.
What Social Science executives earn
Comparable social science organizations nationwide pay their highest-earning executive a median of $120,010.
These are social science sector-wide figures, not this organization's reported pay. Based on 409 organizations across 409 filings (2021 – 2024).
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