Mercatus Center Inc
3434 Washington Blvd Ste 4, Arlington, VA · IRS data through FY2025
Revenue, expenses and net assets
Revenue Expenses Net assets
| Tax year | Revenue | Expenses | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $48,287,301 | $40,947,240 | $39,839,024 |
| FY2024 | $39,338,379 | $44,809,520 | $32,354,312 |
| FY2023 | $47,446,892 | $49,250,629 | $37,594,986 |
| FY2022 | $50,106,510 | $45,086,723 | $39,369,076 |
| FY2021 | $50,050,104 | $48,712,721 | $34,680,003 |
| FY2020 | $71,902,379 | $57,876,827 | $33,283,407 |
| FY2019 | $30,795,148 | $30,401,944 | $19,159,097 |
| FY2018 | $28,688,582 | $28,875,237 | $18,755,027 |
| FY2017 | $29,566,224 | $27,582,187 | $19,071,104 |
| FY2016 | $27,690,307 | $25,019,578 | $17,072,990 |
| FY2015 | $23,977,583 | $19,205,513 | $14,336,741 |
| FY2014 | $20,685,660 | $18,508,226 | $9,566,625 |
| FY2013 | $16,530,821 | $13,710,020 | $7,392,431 |
| FY2012 | $13,839,680 | $11,230,076 | $4,573,735 |
Form 990 filings
The returns filed by Mercatus Center Inc (EIN 54-1436224), including Form 990 PDFs and e-file data by year, are available in ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer. The figures on this page come from IRS data files built from those returns.
Where the revenue came from
| Source | Amount | % of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Contributions & grants | $46,672,267 | 97% |
| Program service revenue | $5,561 | <1% |
| Other revenue | $1,609,473 | 3% |
Where the money was spent
| Category | Amount | % of expenses |
|---|---|---|
| Program services | $36,957,035 | 90% |
| Management & general | $2,046,851 | 5% |
| Fundraising | $1,943,354 | 5% |
What the numbers show
- Contributions & grants made up 97% of total revenue in FY2025.
- Program services accounted for 90% of functional expenses, management & general 5%, and fundraising 5%.
- 90% of functional expenses went to program services in FY2025. That is higher than 87.8% of 49 Social Science organizations nationwide (too few in VA for a state comparison).
- Net assets covered about 11.7 months of expenses at the end of the reporting year. That puts it in the 60th percentile among 37 Social Science organizations in VA.
- Total revenue was higher than 97.3% of 37 Social Science organizations in VA.
- Total revenue rose from $13,839,680 in FY2012 to $48,287,301 in FY2025. Revenue increased in 9 and decreased in 4 of 13 year-over-year comparisons.
- Expenses exceeded revenue in 3 of 14 reported years (FY2018, FY2023, FY2024).
- The highest revenue on record here is $71,902,379 in FY2020.
- Net assets grew from $4,573,735 to $39,839,024 between FY2012 and FY2025.
- Listed in the IRS Publication 78 data as eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions (public charity).
Figures compared against other organizations of the same NTEE program area in the same state. See the methodology page for how these are calculated and the guide to reading nonprofit financials for their limits.
About this organization
Cultivating talent who advance market-oriented ideas to expand opportunity.
IRS status
| Ruling year | 1988 |
| Subsection | 501(c)(3) |
| Classification | Public charity |
| Program area (NTEE) | V22Z — Social Science |
| Donations | Listed in the IRS Publication 78 data as eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions (public charity). |
Similar organizations
- Human Resources Research Organization — Alexandria, VA · $69,540,238
- American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences — Arlington, VA · $437,187,471
Source: Internal Revenue Service — Exempt Organizations Business Master File (downloaded November 4, 2026), Statistics of Income extracts, Form 990 e-file data, Publication 78 and the Automatic Revocation list. Figures are as reported by the organization; IRS processing may adjust them. This is not a charity rating and not tax advice. Confirm deductibility in IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.
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