Skip to main content
Updated through 2024NTEE V · Social Science

Social Science nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 409 social science 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 that conduct research and education in the social sciences, including economics, political science, and sociology.

Median executive pay
$120,010
The typical social science nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $120,010 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$55k
75th pct
$208k
90th pct
$415k
409 organizations · 2021 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $55k and $208k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $415k, roughly 3.5 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$414,750Top 10% of earners
75th$207,60025% earn more than this
50th · median$120,010The typical executive
25th$55,49925% earn less than this
10th$21,54410% 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 social science nonprofits in that revenue range.

Revenue band25thMedian75thOrgs
Under $1M$31k$73,129$114k207
$1M – $10M$117k$158,037$248k155
$10M – $100M$316k$466,198$597k41
$100M – $500M$939k$1,045,810$1.3M6
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
Geography

Pay varies by state.

District of Columbia pays $135,415 more than the national median across social science nonprofits.

By role

Benchmark a specific Social Science role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within social science nonprofits.

Directory

Social science research organizations, think tanks, policy institutes, and academic societies. Covers economics, political science, sociology, and interdisciplinary research. There are 733 social science 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 Social Science

733 organizations · Page 2 of 15

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
MIDWESTERN HIGHER EDUCATION COMPACTMinneapolisMN$9.9M7
OSLC DEVELOPMENTS INCEugeneOR$9.6M5
AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION FOUNDATIONINCAlexandriaVA$9.3M0
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$9.2M1
ASSOCIATION OF THE BAR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK FUND INCNew YorkNY$9M9
THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICYWashingtonDC$8.9M8
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR TRIAL ADVOCACYLouisvilleCO$8.7M17
Institute of Women & Ethnic StudiesNew OrleansLA$8.2M5
INSTITUTE FOR PROGRESSWashingtonDC$8.2M6
Foundation for Economic Education IncAtlantaGA$8.2M8
AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATIONWashingtonDC$7.8M7
AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATIONWashingtonDC$7.7M8
SR1RidgelandMS$7.3M1
OREGON RESEARCH INSTITUTESpringfieldOR$7.1M12
ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE - CHICAGOChicagoIL$6.7M1
THE MOLINA FOUNDATIONLos AlamitosCA$6.7M1
INSTITUTE FOR CHILD SUCCESS INCGreenvilleSC$6.7M8
REVERSIBLE DESTINY FOUNDATION INCBrooklynNY$6.6M0
INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS INCBrooklynNY$6.6M6
Democratic Socialists of America IncNew YorkNY$6.4M16
SECURED FINANCE NETWORK INCNew YorkNY$6.3M6
COMMON JUSTICE INCBrooklynNY$6M7
COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATIONNew YorkNY$6M8
BLACK ECONOMIC COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS INCRoxbury CrossingMA$5.8M5
AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATIONArlingtonVA$5.8M6
SENIOR CONNECTIONS INCWorcesterMA$5.7M3
Society for Research in Child Development IncWashingtonDC$5.6M2
Children and Family Futures IncIrvineCA$5.5M5
RESEARCH FOR ACTION INCPhiladelphiaPA$5.2M8
AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCHGreat BarringtonMA$5.1M7
CENTER FOR EUROPEAN POLICY ANALYSISWashingtonDC$5.1M5
INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR VALUING IMPACTS INCDoverDE$5.1M5
INTERCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONSan AntonioTX$5.1M10
GLOBAL WITNESS FOUNDATIONPalo AltoCA$4.9M0
NBCC FOUNDATION INCGreensboroNC$4.9M2
AMERICA'S TURNING POINT INCIndianapolisIN$4.8M2
COLLECTIVE HERITAGE INSTITUTESanta FeNM$4.8M5
THE ECONOMIC CLUB OF NEW YORKNew YorkNY$4.7M5
POLITICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES INCSomervilleMA$4.7M4
SIFMA FOUNDATION FOR INVESTOR EDUCATION (FIE) INCNew YorkNY$4.6M6
MK LEVEL PLAYING FIELD INSTITUTEOaklandCA$4.5M7
SAN DIEGO VOLUNTEER LAWYER PROGRAM INCSan DiegoCA$4.5M4
AMERICAN ACTION FORUM INCWashingtonDC$4.3M7
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ASSOCIATION INCStorrsCT$4.2M3
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH INCNew YorkNY$4.2M1
SCHOLARS STRATEGY NETWORKBostonMA$4.1M2
PACIFIC RESOURCES FOR EDUCATION AND LEARNINGHonoluluHI$4.1M7
BETTER MARKETS INCWashingtonDC$3.9M7
COMMON SENSE INSTITUTEGreenwood VillageCO$3.9M6
JOINT CENTER FOR POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STUDIES INCWashingtonDC$3.9M7