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

Social Science nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 435 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
$122,500
The typical social science nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $122,500 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$53k
75th pct
$209k
90th pct
$415k
435 organizations · 2021 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $53k and $209k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $415k, roughly 3.4 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$414,837Top 10% of earners
75th$208,68225% earn more than this
50th · median$122,500The typical executive
25th$52,75225% earn less than this
10th$19,85410% 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$30k$65,991$114k221
$1M – $10M$119k$171,808$253k166
$10M – $100M$312k$426,067$545k41
$100M – $500M$854k$1,022,915$1.2M7
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
Geography

Pay varies by state.

District of Columbia pays $136,006 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.

Board & trustee pay

Social Science board & trustee pay norms

14% of social science nonprofits pay at least one board member or trustee, with a typical per-person payment of $46,060 across a median board of 5 paid members.

Organizations paying board members
14%
Median board pay
$46,060
Median paid board size
5
By filing type
Form 990: 17%
Form 990-EZ: 9%
Form 990-PF: 12%
Directory

Social science research organizations, think tanks, policy institutes, and academic societies. Covers economics, political science, sociology, and interdisciplinary research. There are 771 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

771 organizations · Page 6 of 16

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
ARC4JUSTICE INCLexingtonMA$862k2
JIMENA INCSan RafaelCA$850k1
CINCINNATI UNION COOPERATIVE INITIATIVECincinnatiOH$843k2
AREA AGENCIES ON AGING ASSOCIATION OF MICHIGANLansingMI$837k1
THE VALLEY ECONOMIC ALLIANCESherman OaksCA$824k1
AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY ABROAD INCTucsonAZ$810k0
UN MUNDO SIN MORDAZACollege StationTX$793k1
STEP UP SAVANNAH INCSavannahGA$788k2
FEMINIST INSTITUTENew YorkNY$788k0
VIRGINIA COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATIONRichmondVA$784k1
Society for Prevention Researc IncorporatedFairfaxVA$777k0
Lives in the Balance IncFreeportME$777k4
CARING FIELDS FELINES INCPalm CityFL$763k1
FRANK NORRIS FOUNDATION TIMBERMART SOUTHAthensGA$757k2
MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING NETWORK OF TRAINERS INCORPORATEDAlexandriaVA$752k0
Montana Family Institute IncLaurelMT$752k2
INSTITUTE FOR STATE POLICY LEADERSArlingtonVA$751k0
EARTH LAW CENTER INCDurangoCO$748k0
NORTH CAROLINA COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATION INCRaleighNC$742k1
FOUNDATION FOR CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND INITIATIVESWashingtonDC$741k7
International Freedom Educational Foundation IncMc LeanVA$722k0
CONFERENCE ON LANGUAGE MODELING INCAppletonWI$712k0
NATIONAL POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATIONBethesdaMD$709k1
KNOWLEDGE ECOLOGY INTERNATIONALWashingtonDC$703k1
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS INCMariettaGA$699k0
TRANSATLANTIC LEADERSHIP NETWORKWashingtonDC$697k3
KANSAS COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATIONWichitaKS$697k1
EMPLOYMENT POLICIES INSTITUTE FOUNDATION dba EMPLOYMENT POLICIES INSTITUTEArlingtonVA$692k6
ENDOWGreenwood VillageCO$682k1
NATIONAL LATINX PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (C/O AMC SOURCE)Ft LauderdaleFL$678k0
H2C LEADERSHIP FOUNDATIONIvylandPA$676k0
LIFE WORTH LIVING INCBridgetonNJ$674k1
EVOLUTION INSTITUTE INCSan AntonioFL$673k0
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGYNewarkDE$667k1
THE SADIE COLLECTIVEWashingtonDC$667k1
THE MENTOR GROUP INSTITUTE FOR INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION INCBraintreeMA$665k2
GOOD SCIENCE PROJECTHoustonTX$650k1
CENTER FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION RESEARCH INCGainesvilleFL$639k2
Bronowski FoundationChicagoIL$633k0
US Council of Muslim OrganizationsBridgeviewIL$633k1
HUSKY RESEARCH CORPORATION INCBloomsburgPA$632k0
FLORIDA COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATION INCTampaFL$629k1
ASSOCIATION FOR POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORTLewisburgPA$621k0
AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION - INT'L CENTRE FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION FNDN INCNew YorkNY$618k5
ARCHIVES FOR RESEARCH IN ARCHETYPAL SYMBOLISMINCNew YorkNY$617k2
CENTER FOR HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES RESEARCH & ACTIONScrantonPA$612k1
CONSORTIUM OF SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATIONS INCWashingtonDC$611k1
THE ALLIANCE FOR BUSINESS LEADERSHIP INCBostonMA$604k1
NATIONAL LABOR COLLEGEWashingtonDC$600k0
THE SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS INCKnoxvilleTN$597k2