| Cover | 12 Months Ended |
| Dec. 31, 2022 | |
| Document Information [Line Items] | |
| Document Type | DEF 14A |
| Amendment Flag | false |
| Entity Information [Line Items] | |
| Entity Registrant Name | CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNATIONAL, INC. |
| Entity Central Index Key | 0001100682 |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure | 12 Months Ended | ||
| Dec. 31, 2022 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Pay vs Performance [Table Text Block] | Pay versus Performance Pursuant to SEC rules, the Pay versus Performance disclosure below details compensation for the Company’s CEO and average compensation for the other named executives, both as reported in the Summary Compensation Table and with certain adjustments to reflect compensation actually paid to such individuals in each of the Company’s fiscal years 2022, 2021 and 2020. The disclosure also provides information on the Company’s TSR, as well as that of the S&P 500 Healthcare Index, on a cumulative basis over the same three fiscal years. The Company’s Net Income is shown for the past three fiscal years, as well as non-GAAP EPS which we consider another important performance measure. A detailed discussion of the Compensation Committee’s decisions regarding the compensation awarded to the named executives for 2022 can be found in the section of this Proxy Statement entitled “Compensation Discussion and Analysis”. Please see Appendix A to this Proxy Statement for reconciliation of our GAAP EPS to non-GAAP EPS for 2008-2022. Year Summary Compensation Average Average Value of Initial Fixed $100 Net Income Non- Total Peer Group 2022 13,447,872 (11,539,600 ) 3,298,049 (397,971 ) 143 140 486,226,000 11.12 2021 13,705,580 43,168,611 4,392,906 9,206,989 243 141 390,982,000 10.32 2020 13,483,411 50,018,818 2,773,587 8,856,107 166 111 364,304,000 8.13 (1) SEC rules specify adjustments from the Summary Compensation Table totals to calculate compensation actually paid to the CEO and other named executives. These adjustments are detailed in the table below titled “Reconciliation of Summary Compensation Table Total to Compensation Actually Paid” but do not necessarily reflect cash or equity value transferred to the executive outright. (2) For 2020, 2021 and 2022, our named executives were: Mr. Foster, Mr. Smith, Mr. Barbo, Ms. Girshick and Mr. LaPlume. Ms. Pease became a named executive in 2022 when she assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer. (3) TSR was measured for 2020 for the period from December 27, 2019 to December 24, 2020, for 2021 for the period from December 27, 2019 to December 23, 2021, and for 2022 for the period from December 27, 2019 to December 30, 2022. The peer group is the S&P 500 Healthcare Index. Reconciliation of Summary Compensation Table Total to Compensation Actually Paid The table below details the adjustments made to the total compensation paid as disclosed in the Summary Compensation to arrive at the compensation actually paid for our CEO and the average for our other named executives: Year Executive(s) SCT Total Deduct Deduct Add Add Year Add Change Add Change Compensation 2022 CEO 13,447,872 10,939,883 — 989,746 7,459,567 (10,070,482 ) (12,426,419 ) (11,539,600 ) Other Named 3,298,049 2,418,873 — — 1,848,071 (1,380,356 ) (1,744,862 ) (397,971 ) 2021 CEO 13,705,580 10,422,089 — 823,145 15,460,355 13,268,849 10,332,771 43,168,611 Other Named 4,392,906 3,203,012 — — 3,965,695 2,276,985 1,774,415 9,206,989 2020 CEO 13,483,411 10,218,426 194,061 719,230 19,616,106 15,605,432 11,007,126 50,018,818 Other Named 2,773,587 1,766,995 — — 3,392,036 2,649,868 1,807,611 8,856,107 (1) These amounts were reported in the Stock Awards, Option Awards and Change in Pension Value and Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Earnings columns of our Summary Compensation Table included in our Proxy Statement in each respective year. (2) These values are calculated by valuing RSUs granted in the respective year with the stock price on the final trading day of that fiscal year, valuing PSUs granted in the respective year with the Monte Carlo value on the final trading day of that fiscal year plus the impact of EPS performance in the first year of the performance period and valuing options granted in the respective year with the Black-Scholes value on the final trading day of that fiscal year. (3) For any portion of a grant made prior to the respective year that remained unvested throughout that year, the value at the end of that year is compared to the value at the end of the prior year using the methodology described in footnote 2. (4) For any portion of a grant made prior to the respective year that vested in that year, the value of the vested portion as of the vest date is compared to the value at the end of the prior year using the methodology described in footnote 2. | ||
| Named Executive Officers, Footnote [Text Block] | For 2020, 2021 and 2022, our named executives were: Mr. Foster, Mr. Smith, Mr. Barbo, Ms. Girshick and Mr. LaPlume. Ms. Pease became a named executive in 2022 when she assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer. | ||
| PEO Total Compensation Amount | $ 13,447,872 | $ 13,705,580 | $ 13,483,411 |
| PEO Actually Paid Compensation Amount | (11,539,600) | 43,168,611 | 50,018,818 |
| Non-PEO NEO Average Total Compensation Amount | 3,298,049 | 4,392,906 | 2,773,587 |
| Non-PEO NEO Average Compensation Actually Paid Amount | $ (397,971) | 9,206,989 | 8,856,107 |
| Adjustment to Non-PEO NEO Compensation Footnote [Text Block] | Reconciliation of Summary Compensation Table Total to Compensation Actually Paid The table below details the adjustments made to the total compensation paid as disclosed in the Summary Compensation to arrive at the compensation actually paid for our CEO and the average for our other named executives: Year Executive(s) SCT Total Deduct Deduct Add Add Year Add Change Add Change Compensation 2022 CEO 13,447,872 10,939,883 — 989,746 7,459,567 (10,070,482 ) (12,426,419 ) (11,539,600 ) Other Named 3,298,049 2,418,873 — — 1,848,071 (1,380,356 ) (1,744,862 ) (397,971 ) 2021 CEO 13,705,580 10,422,089 — 823,145 15,460,355 13,268,849 10,332,771 43,168,611 Other Named 4,392,906 3,203,012 — — 3,965,695 2,276,985 1,774,415 9,206,989 2020 CEO 13,483,411 10,218,426 194,061 719,230 19,616,106 15,605,432 11,007,126 50,018,818 Other Named 2,773,587 1,766,995 — — 3,392,036 2,649,868 1,807,611 8,856,107 (1) These amounts were reported in the Stock Awards, Option Awards and Change in Pension Value and Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Earnings columns of our Summary Compensation Table included in our Proxy Statement in each respective year. (2) These values are calculated by valuing RSUs granted in the respective year with the stock price on the final trading day of that fiscal year, valuing PSUs granted in the respective year with the Monte Carlo value on the final trading day of that fiscal year plus the impact of EPS performance in the first year of the performance period and valuing options granted in the respective year with the Black-Scholes value on the final trading day of that fiscal year. (3) For any portion of a grant made prior to the respective year that remained unvested throughout that year, the value at the end of that year is compared to the value at the end of the prior year using the methodology described in footnote 2. (4) For any portion of a grant made prior to the respective year that vested in that year, the value of the vested portion as of the vest date is compared to the value at the end of the prior year using the methodology described in footnote 2. | ||
| Compensation Actually Paid vs. Total Shareholder Return [Text Block] | |||
| Compensation Actually Paid vs. Net Income [Text Block] | The relationship between compensation actually paid and Net Income is shown below. | ||
| Compensation Actually Paid vs. Company Selected Measure [Text Block] | Non-GAAP EPS is a component of long-term incentive design for our named executives. The relationship between compensation actually paid and non-GAAP EPS is shown below. | ||
| Total Shareholder Return Vs Peer Group [Text Block] | |||
| Tabular List [Table Text Block] | The three measures listed below are the most important for determining compensation for our named executives. Revenue and Non-GAAP Operating Income are the main components of EICP (short-term incentive), and Non-GAAP EPS determines baseline performance of PSUs granted to our named executives (long-term incentive). For more details on the elements of our compensation program, please see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Compensation Elements” on pages 49-58 of this Proxy Statement. Most Important Revenue Non-GAAP EPS Non-GAAP Operating Income | ||
| Total Shareholder Return Amount | $ 143 | 243 | 166 |
| Peer Group Total Shareholder Return Amount | 140 | 141 | 111 |
| Net Income (Loss) | $ 486,226,000 | $ 390,982,000 | $ 364,304,000 |
| Company Selected Measure Amount | 11.12 | 10.32 | 8.13 |
| PEO Name | Ms. Pease | ||
| Measure [Axis]: 1 | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Measure Name | Revenue | ||
| Measure [Axis]: 2 | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Measure Name | Non-GAAP EPS | ||
| Measure [Axis]: 3 | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Measure Name | Non-GAAP Operating Income | ||
| PEO [Member] | Current Year Equity Grants [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | $ 10,939,883 | $ 10,422,089 | $ 10,218,426 |
| PEO [Member] | Pension Value Attributable Current Year Service [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 989,746 | 823,145 | 719,230 |
| PEO [Member] | Year End Fair Value Of Equity Awards Granted In Current Year [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 7,459,567 | 15,460,355 | 19,616,106 |
| PEO [Member] | Change In Value Of Prior Year Grants Remained Unvested At Year End [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | (10,070,482) | 13,268,849 | 15,605,432 |
| PEO [Member] | Change In Value Of Prior Year Grants Vested In Current Year [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | (12,426,419) | 10,332,771 | 11,007,126 |
| PEO [Member] | Change In Fair Value Of Pension or Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Earnings [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 194,061 | ||
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Current Year Equity Grants [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 2,418,873 | 3,203,012 | 1,766,995 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Year End Fair Value Of Equity Awards Granted In Current Year [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 1,848,071 | 3,965,695 | 3,392,036 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Change In Value Of Prior Year Grants Remained Unvested At Year End [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | (1,380,356) | 2,276,985 | 2,649,868 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Change In Value Of Prior Year Grants Vested In Current Year [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | $ (1,744,862) | $ 1,774,415 | $ 1,807,611 |
