Anker Research Institute
Anker Research Institute is a non-profit research organization founded in 2017 that produces living wage and living income estimates for 200+ locations across 40+ countries using its proprietary Anker Methodology, serving multinational companies, governments, trade unions, and certification bodies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Anker Research Institute does
Anker Research Institute (ARI) is a private, non-profit research organization founded in 2017 by Richard Anker and Martha Anker, and hosted by Social Accountability International (SAI) in New York. The institute specializes in estimating living wages and living incomes for specific geographic locations using the proprietary Anker Methodology, which combines secondary analysis of household size, expenditures, and worker count with on-ground field research into local costs of nutritious food, healthy housing, healthcare, and education. ARI has measured over 200 living wage numbers across more than 40 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, with estimates updated annually for inflation and economic conditions.
The institute's product portfolio includes country-level Reference Value Reports, location/sector-specific Benchmark Reports, Living Wage Updates, the ARI Country Index, the ARI Sector Index, and an ARI Database (in development) that exposes the full dataset through community membership and licensing. Distribution occurs primarily through free downloadable reports on the ARI website (gated by email), supplemented by webinars, a newsletter, and corporate sponsor recognition. ARI serves a horizontal mix of customer segments — multinational companies with developing-country supply chains, governments setting minimum wages, trade unions, certification bodies (Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, FSC, Goodweave, SAN, UTZ, SAI), and academic researchers.
ARI's business model is donation- and sponsorship-based, with no equity or debt funding. Revenue streams comprise corporate sponsorships tiered at $2,000-$5,000 (companies under $100M revenue) or $5,000-$10,000 (companies $100M+), individual donations, and database/community membership licensing. Named corporate sponsors include BOLDR, OFI (Olam Food Ingredients), Rabobank, Primark, Towa, Lenzing AG, and Aralar. The institute operates with approximately 10 employees and is supported by the Global Living Wage Coalition, an alliance of major sustainability standards organizations that collectively use the Anker Methodology as the foundation for living wage benchmarks in global supply chains.
Anker Research Institute firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Anker Research Institute
- Legal name
- Anker Research Institute
- Website
- https://ankerresearchinstitute.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Anker Research Institute is a non-profit research organization founded in 2017 that produces living wage and living income estimates for 200+ locations across 40+ countries using its proprietary Anker Methodology, serving multinational companies, governments, trade unions, and certification bodies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Anker Research Institute industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Labor Market Research
- NAICS
- Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Economic & Macroeconomic Research (BPAHALAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE), Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ), Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF)
Keywords
Where Anker Research Institute is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Anker Research Institute business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Corporate Sponsorships: Companies adopt ethical standards in supply chains and pay annual donations based on their revenue to support living wage research. Recommended donations of $2,000-$5,000 for companies with revenue under $100 million, and $5,000-$10,000 for companies with revenue $100 million+. Corporate sponsors gain recognition, first-look webinars, and group discussion sessions with researchers.
- Individual Donations: The institute accepts individual donations from supporters who wish to contribute to living wage and living income research as a public good.
- Database Access and Community Membership: Access to the ARI database with living wage and living income estimates, custom dashboards, and resource library through a community membership licensing agreement.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Companies with revenue under $100 million: $2,000 - $5,000 annual donation |
| Other | Annual | Companies with revenue of $100 million+: $5,000 - $10,000 annual donation |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Anker Research Institute product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Anker Research Institute is a non-profit research organization that produces rigorous living wage and living income estimates for specific countries, sub-national regions, and sectors using the proprietary Anker Methodology, which combines secondary household survey analysis with on-ground primary field research on local costs of food, housing, healthcare, and education. It disseminates these estimates through country and sector indexes, benchmark and reference value reports, annual inflation-adjusted updates, and a licensed database accessed by companies, governments, standards bodies, and unions.
Product overview
Anker Research Institute offers a portfolio of living wage and living income research products based on its proprietary Anker Methodology. The core offerings include Reference Value Reports (national-level estimates using statistical regressions) and Benchmark Reports (detailed studies for specific locations and sectors). These are accessible through the ARI Country Index and ARI Sector Index databases, with full data available through the ARI Database platform. The Institute also provides an annual sponsorship program for corporations seeking to support living wage research. All estimates are updated yearly to account for inflation and regulatory changes.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Anker Methodology: A rigorous methodology for estimating living wages and living incomes that combines secondary data analysis on household size, expenditures, and number of workers with on-ground field research on the local cost of nutritious food, healthy housing, adequate health care, and children's education.
- ARI Country Index
- ARI Sector Index
Products and services
- Living Wage Research & Estimates
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 200 living wage numbers measured globally and updated annually
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Anker Research Institute
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Anker Research Institute technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Anker Research Institute partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Global Living Wage CoalitioncoreThe Global Living Wage Coalition supports ARI and uses the Anker Methodology to create high quality, detailed, and transparent living wage estimates. Coalition members include Fairtrade International, Forest Stewardship Council, Goodweave International, Rainforest Alliance, Social Accountability International, Sustainable Agriculture Network, and UTZ.
- Social Accountability International (SAI)coreSocial Accountability International hosts the Anker Research Institute in New York, USA. SAI is also a member of the Global Living Wage Coalition.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Anker Research Institute competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- WageIndicator Foundation: WageIndicator is a foundation that produces living wage estimates globally and provides online wage data, directly competing with ARI in the same living wage research and dataset category for companies, certifiers, and policymakers.
- Fair Wage Network: Fair Wage Network develops methodologies and assessments for fair and living wages across countries, directly competing with ARI's Anker Methodology as an alternative standard for measuring decent wages.
Broad incumbents
- Fairtrade International: Fairtrade is a major certification body and Global Living Wage Coalition member that uses ARI's Anker Methodology, making it a buyer-distributor of ARI's research and a comparable standards organization operating broadly in ethical sourcing.
- Social Accountability International (SAI): SAI hosts ARI and co-develops living wage work through the Global Living Wage Coalition; comparable as a broader social compliance and standards organization that overlaps with ARI's mission.
- International Labour Organization (ILO): ILO is the UN agency setting global labor standards and wage policy, representing the broad incumbent counterpart whose official statistics and conventions frame ARI's niche methodology-driven work.
- Rainforest Alliance: Rainforest Alliance is a certification body and Global Living Wage Coalition member using ARI living wage estimates, comparable as a large incumbent that drives adoption of ARI's data through its certification standards.
Regional players
- Asia Floor Wage Alliance: Asia Floor Wage Alliance calculates a regional living wage benchmark for Asian garment-producing countries, serving as an alternative methodology and advocacy-driven counterpart to ARI in Asian apparel supply chains.
Emerging players
- MIT Living Wage Calculator: MIT's Living Wage Calculator estimates location-specific living wages in the United States using a different statistical methodology, representing a complementary academic peer with overlapping end-users (companies, policymakers).
- IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative: IDH convenes supply-chain stakeholders and funds living wage roadmaps, including the IDH Salary Matrix tool, making it a partial competitor and frequent collaborator with ARI in living wage data and program delivery.
Others
- Responsible Purchasing Practices (RPP) / Sustainability standards consultancies: RPP and similar consulting bodies help brands implement living wage commitments using ARI data, comparable as adjacent ecosystem participants that distribute and apply ARI's research outputs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Anker Research Institute social profiles
Digital presenceAnker Research Institute financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Anker Research Institute leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Anker Research Institute funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Anker Research Institute M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Anker Research Institute
What does Anker Research Institute do?
Anker Research Institute is a non-profit research organization that produces rigorous living wage and living income estimates for specific countries, sub-national regions, and sectors using the proprietary Anker Methodology, which combines secondary household survey analysis with on-ground primary field research on local costs of food, housing, healthcare, and education. It disseminates these estimates through country and sector indexes, benchmark and reference value reports, annual inflation-adjusted updates, and a licensed database accessed by companies, governments, standards bodies, and unions.
Is Anker Research Institute a public or private company?
Anker Research Institute is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Anker Research Institute founded?
Anker Research Institute was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Anker Research Institute based?
Anker Research Institute is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Anker Research Institute make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Corporate Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are individual Donations and database Access and Community Membership.
Who are Anker Research Institute's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are WageIndicator Foundation and Fair Wage Network. Broad incumbents are Fairtrade International, Social Accountability International (SAI), International Labour Organization (ILO) and Rainforest Alliance. Asia Floor Wage Alliance is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are MIT Living Wage Calculator and IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative. Responsible Purchasing Practices (RPP) / Sustainability standards consultancies is listed as an others.
Does Anker Research Institute have an API?
No public API is recorded for Anker Research Institute.
What industry is Anker Research Institute in?
Anker Research Institute's product category is Labor Market Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHALAD, Economic & Macroeconomic Research, with a secondary code of BPAHALAE, Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom). Its NAICS code is 54169.