Skip to main content
Updated through 2024NTEE D · Animal-Related

Animal-Related nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 3,693 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
$57,885
The typical animal-related nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $57,885 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$25k
75th pct
$105k
90th pct
$180k
3,693 organizations · 2021 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $25k and $105k. 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$180,411Top 10% of earners
75th$105,14025% earn more than this
50th · median$57,885The typical executive
25th$25,00025% earn less than this
10th$9,29810% 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$15k$35,381$60k2,281
$1M – $10M$72k$105,004$149k1,163
$10M – $100M$200k$279,186$390k234
$100M – $500M$649k$777,005$945k14
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.

Board & trustee pay

Animal-Related board & trustee pay norms

6% of animal-related nonprofits pay at least one board member or trustee, with a typical per-person payment of $25,836 across a median board of 3 paid members.

Organizations paying board members
6%
Median board pay
$25,836
Median paid board size
3
By filing type
Form 990: 7%
Form 990-EZ: 4%
Form 990-PF: 10%
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 14,928 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

14,928 organizations · Page 3 of 299

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
EMANCIPET INCAustinTX$24.9M9
Utah Zoological SocietySalt Lake CityUT$24.9M7
PANTHERA CORPORATIONNew YorkNY$24.7M10
Animal Humane SocietyGolden ValleyMN$24.5M5
DALLAS ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETYDallasTX$24.3M7
HELEN WOODWARD ANIMAL CENTERRancho Santa FeCA$24.3M10
K9S FOR WARRIORS INCPonte VedraFL$24.2M15
SPCA INTERNATIONAL INCNew YorkNY$23.9M4
ESPANOLA VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETYEspanolaNM$23.9M3
WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETYWashingtonDC$23.8M6
MERCY FOR ANIMALS INCLos AngelesCA$23.3M7
THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTERSausalitoCA$22.9M7
SEDGWICK COUNTY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INCWichitaKS$22.9M5
GREATER LOS ANGELES ZOO ASSOCIATIONLos AngelesCA$22.9M9
CALIFORNIA TROUT INCSan FranciscoCA$22.9M7
Clearwater Marine Aquarium IncClearwaterFL$22.9M11
TULSA ZOO MANAGEMENT INCTulsaOK$22.8M6
THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INCWest Palm BeachFL$22.3M5
ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE OF BOSTONDedhamMA$21.9M10
SANTA BARBARA ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONSanta BarbaraCA$21.8M8
HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE PIKES PEAK REGIONColorado SpringsCO$21.5M10
SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONALSan AntonioTX$21.3M6
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ZOOLOGICAL PARKS AND AQUARIUMS INCSilver SpringMD$20.9M8
FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT ANIMAL PROTECTIONNorfolkVA$20.7M7
South Carolina AquariumCharlestonSC$20.3M11
GULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTEPortlandME$20.2M10
OKLAHOMA HUMANE SOCIETYOklahoma CityOK$20M3
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Monterey CountyMontereyCA$19.9M8
TENNESSEE WILDLIFE RESOURCES FOUNDATION INCNashvilleTN$19.8M2
THE HORSE SHELTERCerrillosNM$19.7M1
WISCONSIN HUMANE SOCIETYMilwaukeeWI$19.6M7
CONNECTICUT HUMANE SOCIETYNewingtonCT$19.4M7
TEXAS STATE AQUARIUM ASSOCIATIONCorpus ChristiTX$19.3M11
OREGON COAST AQUARIUM INCNewportOR$19.1M2
THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INCLaguna HillsCA$18.8M1
SPCA of TexasDallasTX$18.7M7
OPERATION KINDNESSCarrolltonTX$18.6M7
ALLEY CAT ALLIES INCBethesdaMD$18.6M4
BIG DOG RANCH RESCUE INCLoxahatchee GrovesFL$18.6M0
FRIENDS OF THE TOPEKA ZOO INCTopekaKS$18.5M1
BRANDYWINE VALLEY SPCAWest ChesterPA$18.4M7
Progressive Animal Welfare Society aka PAWSLynnwoodWA$18.3M7
HUMANE SOCIETY SILICON VALLEYMilpitasCA$18.3M11
FORT WAYNE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INCFort WayneIN$18.2M7
NEBRASKA HUMANE SOCIETYOmahaNE$18.1M8
HAWAIIAN HUMANE SOCIETYHonoluluHI$18M6
ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND INCSacramentoCA$18M8
Humane Society of Tampa Bay IncTampaFL$17.7M7
WILD SALMON CENTERPortlandOR$17.2M9
RODEO AUSTINAustinTX$17.1M4