University Professor Salary: An In-Depth Look
The role of a university professor is often romanticized, conjuring images of brilliant minds shaping the next generation. One might imagine a professor, spectacles perched on their nose, chalkboard filled with brilliant scribbles, eloquently explaining the universe’s most confounding ideas. However, the realities of the job, particularly the financial aspects, warrant a closer examination. How much do college professors actually make? The answer, as with many professions, is nuanced and depends on a variety of factors. This article delves into the complexities of university professor salaries, exploring the different roles, institutional types, and contributing factors that influence compensation.
The Landscape of Postsecondary Education
Postsecondary teachers, often referred to as professors or faculty, specialize in a variety of subjects and fields. Most postsecondary teachers work in public and private colleges and universities, professional schools, and junior or community colleges. At colleges and universities, professors are organized into departments by degree field, such as history, science, or business. A professor may teach one or more courses within that department. Postsecondary teachers instruct students in a variety of academic subjects beyond the high school level.
Roles and Responsibilities
Postsecondary teachers’ duties vary, often based on the size of their employing institution. In large colleges or universities, they may teach courses, conduct research or experiments, publish original research, apply for grants to fund their research, or supervise graduate teaching assistants. Full-time professors, particularly those who have tenure (that is, they cannot be fired without just cause), often are expected to devote a great deal of time on original research. Tenured professors must document their analyses or critical reviews and publish their research findings. Professors may teach large classes of several hundred students (often with the help of graduate teaching assistants), smaller classes of about 40 to 50 students, seminars with a few students, or laboratories in which students practice the subject matter. Most classes are held during the day, but some are held on nights and weekends.
Professors may teach a variety of subjects, such as history, science, or business. Postsecondary teachers often find it rewarding to share their expertise with students and colleagues. However, it may be stressful, especially for beginning teachers seeking advancement, to balance teaching duties with an emphasis on research and publication. Academic calendars typically include breaks, such as between terms. The availability and type of course offerings during the summer vary by institution. Postsecondary teachers’ schedules generally are flexible.
Educational Requirements and Advancement
Educational requirements vary with the subject taught and the type of educational institution. Typically, postsecondary teachers must have a Ph.D. or other doctoral degree in their field. However, a master's degree may be enough for some postsecondary teachers at community colleges. Postsecondary teachers who work for 4-year colleges and universities typically need a Ph.D. or other doctorate in their field of degree. Doctoral programs usually take several years to complete, and students typically need a bachelor’s or master’s degree to enroll. Most Ph.D. programs require students to write a doctoral dissertation, a paper presenting original research in their field of study, which they then defend in questioning from experts. Community colleges may hire those with a master’s degree. In some fields, such as health specialties, art, law, and education, hands-on work experience is especially important. In other fields, such as biological science, physics, and chemistry, some postsecondary teachers have postdoctoral research experience.
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Postsecondary teachers who prepare students for an occupation that requires a license, certification, or registration, may need to have-or may benefit from having-the same credential. Postsecondary teachers with a doctoral degree often seek tenure-a guarantee that a professor cannot be fired without just cause. Attaining tenure may take up to 7 years of progressing through the positions by rank: assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. Some professors advance to high-level administrative positions, such as dean or president. For information on deans and other administrative positions, see the profile on postsecondary education administrators.
Essential Skills
The following are examples of qualities that are important for these workers to perform their duties: Critical-thinking skills, interpersonal skills, resourcefulness, speaking skills and writing skills. Postsecondary teachers must be able to present information in a way that students will understand.
Decoding Professor Titles and Salary Expectations
Before delving into the specifics of compensation, it's crucial to understand the different roles within academia. The path to becoming a full professor is often a long and arduous one, with varying levels of job security and pay.
Non-Tenure Track Positions
Adjunct Professors: These are part-time instructors who typically teach one or two classes per school, often at multiple institutions to make a livable wage. Many adjunct professors have a hard time making enough money to live off of when employed by only one school. Accordingly, they often pay the bills by piecing together courses at multiple schools.
Lecturers (or Instructors): Lecturers (sometimes referred to as instructors) work full-time for one school, teaching a full load of classes. They do not have tenure contracts. Instead, they have short-term contracts, typically renewed yearly. They design course outlines and deliver lectures, seminars, and/or workshops.
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Tenure-Track Positions
Assistant Professor: Assistant professor is an entry-level role and can be the first step on the tenure track. However, sometimes this role does not have the possibility of tenure. In other words, while an assistant professor does not have tenure either way, this role can sometimes lead to tenure if they move up to become an associate professor. Assistant professors can work part-time or full-time, depending on the school’s needs. They often teach introductory courses or courses with pre-designed curriculum.
Associate Professor: Mid-level between assistant and full, associate professors do have tenure. Associate professors carry out many of the same tasks as assistant professors. For example, both are expected to teach, hold office hours, and grade assignments. However, associate professors often have more control over which classes they teach and how they teach them.
Full Professor: Full professors have risen to senior level. Like associate professors, full professors have tenure and the option to go on sabbaticals. In addition to regular teaching duties, they also focus on expanding their research and/or body of work. They usually have more flexible schedules and more say in how or when they teach. They can even sometimes create entirely new classes for the university.
Professor Salaries: A Statistical Overview
The median annual wage for postsecondary teachers was $83,980 in May 2024. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. Wages vary by institution type.
Average Salaries by Rank and Institution Type
According to data from the American Association of University Professors, the average full-time college professor, combining all instructor types and university categories, made $116,976 in the 2024-25 academic year. The association looked at average salaries at over 900 institutions across the nation and found that, among many qualifying factors, professors’ education and job levels, as well as the types of institutions for which they work, influence their average pay.
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Professor Salary Varies by Job Level, College Type. Generally, the three main ranks for college professors are assistant, associate, and full. Assistant professors are typically at the beginning of their tenure track and serve as full-time, introductory professors who have earned a terminal degree. Associate professors are mid-level, tenured professors, while full professors are at the senior level.Outside these three traditional ranks, there are also adjunct faculty and full-time, non-tenured faculty with titles such as lecturer or instructor. Beyond professors’ job ranks, the type of university they teach at - public, private or independent, or religiously affiliated - and the education level of the students they instruct can affect their annual pay.
Average Professor Salary by Institution Type, 2023-25
| All Institution Types | Public | Private/Independent | Religiously Affiliated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professor | $160,954 | $151,270 | $203,603 | $137,644 |
| Associate Professor | $110,840 | $108,929 | $125,272 | $100,985 |
| Assistant Professor | $95,511 | $93,808 | $108,718 | $85,991 |
| Instructor | $71,322 | $67,951 | $81,959 | $74,730 |
| Lecturer | $81,175 | $76,286 | $99,437 | $73,614 |
| No Rank | $76,955 | $76,635 | $81,349 | $76,325 |
| Combined | $116,976 | $111,758 | $142,975 | $104,343 |
The average salary for a full professor at private, doctoral institutions was the highest among all total salaries, at $238,238. Meanwhile, assistant professors at public 2-year institutions had the lowest average salary at $50,205. At baccalaureate institutions, full professors make an average of $114,186 at public universities and $138,162 at private universities.
The Plight of Adjunct Professors
While the average salaries for tenured and tenure-track positions may seem reasonable, the reality for adjunct professors is often starkly different. A 2023 report by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) details how adjunct professors - contingent faculty who are not on the tenure track - are struggling to make ends meet. The report, which surveyed more than 1,043 respondents at two- and four-year universities in May and August 2022, found that more than a quarter of adjunct professors earned less than $26,500 annually. This places them below the federal poverty line for a family of four.
The AFT’s findings also disproved the commonly held belief that adjunct professors typically hold other well-paying jobs outside teaching. Only 15% of respondents reported that they can comfortably cover their month-to-month expenses. Additionally, nearly half put off getting needed healthcare, and almost 20% rely on Medicaid. The study also detailed how much colleges and universities have increased their reliance on adjunct faculty. Today, more than 2 in 3 faculty are ineligible for tenure and 48% hold part-time positions, whereas 40 years ago, 70% were tenured or on the tenure track.
As mentioned above, many adjunct professors struggle to make the money they need. In the same report, 25% said they earn less than $25,000 annually, which is below the federal poverty line for families of four. 33% said they earn less than $50,000 annually. Additionally, many adjunct professors end up having to piece together a schedule by working for several different schools. Almost 50% of the adjunct faculty who responded said they earn less than $3,500 per entire course they teach. No matter how much extra time and energy they put into supporting their students’ learning, they will still only get paid this small, fixed rate. On top of struggling with monthly expenses, 63.7% said they’ve postponed dental care due to lack of insurance or unaffordable copays. 43.3% said they’ve postponed medical or mental healthcare services for the same reason, and another 43.3% said they didn’t go to a healthcare professional at all when they couldn’t afford to. Of those who did eventually see a healthcare professional when needed, 17.6% cut costs by not filling their prescription. On top of struggling with monthly and medical expenses, 36.5% said they cannot imagine how they will ever afford retirement.
Factors Influencing Professor Salaries
Several factors contribute to the variation in university professor salaries. These include:
- Location: The state and city you live in can affect your income.
- Field: The field you specialize in and the subject you teach can greatly affect teaching salary.
- Experience: Ample experience in your field and experience teaching can often affect the salary offered to you.
- Terminal Degree: The terminal degree that you complete can affect your income. For example, professors who’ve earned a Ph.D.
- Institution Type: Public, private, and religiously affiliated institutions offer different salary scales.
- Rank: Assistant, associate, and full professors earn different salaries based on their experience and tenure status.
- Relevant supplemental income: So if you’re worried about salary, these factors may work in your favor. But they may also work against you. And if that’s the case, there’s a solution: simply plan to use your brilliance to win the Nobel Peace Prize and stack those winnings on top of your existing salary. This would make you a competitive candidate and give you better financial security.
Trends in Professor Salaries
Tuition costs are increasing, as is pay for university presidents. But salaries for college professors are mostly stagnant. Despite rapidly rising student costs and executive compensation, professors’ pay only rose about 4%, or by just under 1% when adjusting for inflation. have been minimal. Between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years, the increase in average professor salaries was just 3.8% for all professor ranks at all institution types. When adjusted for inflation, however, this shift was only 0.9%.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. Projected employment of postsecondary teachers varies by occupation (see table). The number of people attending postsecondary institutions is expected to grow over the projections decade. Students will continue to seek higher education to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to meet their career goals. As more people enter colleges and universities, more postsecondary teachers will be needed to serve these additional students. Colleges and universities are likely to hire more part-time teachers to meet this demand. A growing number of older people, who are more likely than young people to need medical care, will create increased demand for healthcare. However, despite expected increases in enrollment, employment growth in public colleges and universities will depend on state and local government budgets.
Exceptional Cases: The Million-Dollar Professors
Though most university professors make less than $250,000 annually, a small contingent has topped the $1 million annual salary mark. This is normally because of other roles they hold at their institutions. In 2021, Zev Rosenwaks of Cornell University earned $8.8 million as a tenured clinical professor, according to tax filings from that year. Rosenwaks’ salary was nearly eight times the salary of the university’s president at that time. Rosenwaks was one of several Cornell professors to rake in millions in 2021. Associate clinical professors Hey-Joo Kang and Kieyhun Daniel Riew, as well as assistant clinical professor Rony Elias, each earned over $3 million that year. Besides Cornell, other prestigious universities occasionally offer professors salaries in the millions. In 2022, Harvard’s Baker Foundation professors Rohit Deshpandé and W. Carl Kester each earned more than $2 million in reportable compensation, according to tax filings. One of the institution’s computer science professors, David J. Malan, also earned $1.3 million in reportable compensation during the same year. A year prior, University of Southern California professors Laura Mosqueda and Charles Zukoski each earned just over $1 million, according to tax filings.
Job Outlook
Postsecondary teachers held about 1.4 million jobs in 2024. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link below goes to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area. Occupational employment projections are developed for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) or individual state Employment Projections offices. All state projections data are available at www.projectionscentral.org. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of postsecondary teachers. Instructional coordinators oversee school curriculums and teaching standards. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
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