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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 8 of 16

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CROSSWINDS FOUNDATION FOR FAITH AND CULTURE INCTrussvilleAL$404k1
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA FUND INCNew YorkNY$400k1
New Netherland InstituteAlbanyNY$400k1
INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOANALYTICAL ASSOCIATION FUND (DELAWARE)Coastal Hwy LewesDE$398k0
INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMICS AND PEACENew YorkNY$396k1
NEBRASKA COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATIONLincolnNE$395k1
SOUTH CAROLINA CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUMOrangeburgSC$395k0
LEVERAGE RESEARCH INCSt PetersburgFL$393k2
SOCIETY FOR ECONOMIC DYNAMICSMinneapolisMN$390k0
TUSCARAWAS COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION INCDoverOH$385k3
YORKTOWN FOUNDATION FOR FREEDOMWashingtonDC$380k0
Project REALLas VegasNV$378k2
Massachusetts Women of Color Network IncBostonMA$375k3
LIVING CITY PROJECT INCNew YorkNY$373k2
DELAWARE COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATIONNewarkDE$369k1
MAYA EXPLORATION CENTERAustinTX$367k1
RESEARCH INSTITUTE ON TURKEY INCBrooklynNY$367k0
PROJECT INVESTAlexandriaVA$361k1
NGO COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN NY INCNew YorkNY$352k0
THE BEAUTYWELL PROJECTSaint PaulMN$352k1
MARGARET D SMOCK CHARITABLE TRUST TRUSTPittsburghPA$350k1
Hamaatsa IncAlbuquerqueNM$350k0
American Center for Mongolian StudiesPhiladelphiaPA$349k4
ECONOMIC CLUB OF MINNESOTAPlymouthMN$346k1
THE THRIVING CITIES GROUPElktonVA$344k0
THE FOUNDATION FOR CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT INCNew YorkNY$339k0
THE GLENDON ASSOCIATIONSanta BarbaraCA$335k0
American Governance Foundation IncSan FranciscoCA$334k1
INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL ECONOMYINCCrawfordvilleFL$331k1
The Cloud Institute For Sustainability EducationAncramNY$329k1
EASTERN SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETYWayneNJ$313k1
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACKS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICEDurhamNC$312k0
TELOSA COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONSanta RosaCA$308k1
CENTER FOR PARTNERSHIP SYSTEMSCarmelCA$306k2
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MULTICULTURAL EDUCATIONWashingtonDC$306k1
Tsakopoulos Hellenic FoundationSacramentoCA$300k0
LIAM'S CHANCEBEHAVIORALSERVICESINCFront RoyalVA$298k1
ALABAMA COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATIONBirminghamAL$297k2
CENTER FOR CUBAN STUDIESINCBrooklynNY$296k1
PUBLIC BROADCASTING NETWORK INCChesterfieldMO$294k1
COMMUNITY HEALING NETWORK INCNew HavenCT$294k0
Secular Coalition for America Education FundWashingtonDC$293k1
ST PETERS JACOBITE SYRIAN ORTHODOXPhiladelphiaPA$293k0
UNITED STATES GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE FOUNDATIONHerndonVA$290k3
THE INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL EVOLUTIONBoulderCO$288k3
Coalition of Wisconsin Aging GroupsMadisonWI$286k1
DE-SERVING LIFEAlbuquerqueNM$283k1
CAROLINA TEACHERS OF ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGESIsle Of PalmsSC$282k0
Data For Black Lives IncMiamiFL$282k2
CHADREI YOSEF SHALOM INCLakewoodNJ$278k0