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Updated through 2024NTEE D · Animal-Related

Animal-Related nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 3,493 animal-related nonprofits, 2021 – 2024. Each organization is counted once at its most recent filing, using the highest-paid leader reported on IRS Form 990, Schedule J.

Organizations concerned with the protection and welfare of animals and wildlife, including shelters, sanctuaries, and veterinary services.

Median executive pay
$58,920
The typical animal-related nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $58,920 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$26k
75th pct
$106k
90th pct
$180k
3,493 organizations · 2021 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $26k and $106k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $180k, roughly 3.1 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$180,118Top 10% of earners
75th$106,40025% earn more than this
50th · median$58,920The typical executive
25th$26,20025% earn less than this
10th$9,75110% of executives earn less than this
By organization size

Bigger budgets, bigger paychecks.

Median executive pay rises with organization revenue. Each band shows the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of top-executive pay for animal-related nonprofits in that revenue range.

Revenue band25thMedian75thOrgs
Under $1M$16k$35,513$60k2,135
$1M – $10M$73k$104,423$147k1,123
$10M – $100M$201k$288,946$408k223
$100M – $500M$658k$756,599$1.1M11
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Animal-Related role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within animal-related nonprofits.

Directory

Animal shelters, wildlife sanctuaries, veterinary services, humane societies, and animal rights organizations. Covers companion animal welfare, wildlife rehabilitation, and animal-assisted therapy. There are 14,263 animal-related organizations in our database with compensation data from IRS Form 990 filings. Use the table below to browse them, or sort by revenue, location, or number of reported executives.

Organizations in Animal-Related

14,263 organizations · Page 2 of 286

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETYColorado SpringsCO$42.8M9
The Florida Aquarium IncTampaFL$40.6M9
JACKSONVILLE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INCJacksonvilleFL$39.3M7
AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INCWashingtonDC$38.6M17
JOHN BALL ZOOGrand RapidsMI$37.3M7
MAUI HUMANE SOCIETYPuuneneHI$37.2M6
INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE INCWashingtonDC$36.5M10
THE WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARYKeenesburgCO$36.4M5
Defenders of WildlifeWashingtonDC$36.1M18
DOVE LEWIS EMERGENCY ANIMAL HOSPITAL INCPortlandOR$36M9
NASHVILLE ZOO INCNashvilleTN$35.9M11
Karuna FoundationNiwotCO$34.5M0
DALLAS ZOO MANAGEMENT INCDallasTX$34.1M10
ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INCAtlantaGA$34.1M7
PAWS CHICAGOChicagoIL$32.4M8
OMAHA ZOO FOUNDATIONOmahaNE$31.9M2
SEA RESEARCH FOUNDATION INCMysticCT$31.8M7
POINT REYES BIRD OBSERVATORYPetalumaCA$31.7M9
CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIAOaklandCA$31.5M7
Tennessee AquariumChattanoogaTN$31.5M10
EAST COAST ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF FLORIDA INCMelbourneFL$30.8M6
NEW ENGLAND WILDLIFE CENTER INCSouth WeymouthMA$30.8M5
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF PITTSBURGHPittsburghPA$30.5M7
OCEAN HABITAT AND WILDLIFE RESCUE INCWest Palm BeachFL$30.2M1
FISH & WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF FLORIDA ITallahasseeFL$30M4
Fresnos Chaffee Zoo CorporationFresnoCA$29.6M12
ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL OF NEW YORK CITY INCNew YorkNY$29.3M10
COMMONWEALTH ZOOLOGICAL CORPORATION D/B/A ZOO NEW ENGLANDBostonMA$29.1M12
Humane Society InternationalWashingtonDC$29M23
MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETYDetroitMI$29M10
OREGON HUMANE SOCIETYPortlandOR$28.9M7
WVCLas VegasNV$28.4M30
FLORIDA VETERINARY MEDICINE FACULTY ASSOCIATION INCGainesvilleFL$28.2M13
AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATIONWashingtonDC$28.1M7
THE HUMANE LEAGUERockvilleMD$27.9M8
American Bird ConservancyMarshallVA$27.9M9
JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE FOR WILDLIFE RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CONSERVATIONWashingtonDC$27.4M12
Mule Deer FoundationClearfieldUT$27.3M5
HUMANE SOCIETY OF MISSOURISt LouisMO$27.2M8
Delta Waterfowl FoundationBismarckND$27.1M15
AUSTIN PETS ALIVE INCAustinTX$25.8M8
Memphis Zoological SocietyMemphisTN$25.8M6
JOHNNY MORRIS' OZARKS HERITAGE PRESERVESpringfieldMO$25.7M4
LIFELINE ANIMAL PROJECT INCAtlantaGA$25.4M5
DENVER DUMB FRIENDS LEAGUEDenverCO$25.2M8
AKRON ZOOLOGICAL PARKAkronOH$25.2M10
EMANCIPET INCAustinTX$24.9M9
Utah Zoological SocietySalt Lake CityUT$24.9M7
PANTHERA CORPORATIONNew YorkNY$24.7M10
TULSA ZOO MANAGEMENT INCTulsaOK$24.5M6