College Professors and Instructors salary in the US
From the median paycheck to the top 10%, this page breaks down earnings for college professors and instructors using American Community Survey records.
How much do college professors and instructors earn?
The typical (median) annual earnings for college professors and instructors come to $71,594, which is 36% more than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. That ranks 54th of 171 occupation groups — above the middle of the pack, though short of the top quarter. Behind these numbers are 74,590 survey records — a large enough sample to break the results down further below.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $160,061 |
| Top 25% start at | $109,982 |
| Median (top 50%) | $71,594 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $34,604 |
How wide is the pay range?
This is a field with a long upper tail: $109,982 gets you into the top quarter, but the top 10% starts near $160,061, 2.2× what the median worker earns. At the other end, a quarter of college professors and instructors earned $34,604 or less, which partly reflects part-time and part-year work — the survey counts everyone with earnings, not only full-time staff. The median is 2.1 times that lower-quarter line.
Earnings by age
The career curve is steep: workers aged 25–34 have a median of $36,356, but by 45–54 it reaches $89,493 (+146%). By 65+ the median is $61,202, down 32% from the high point, as many people phase into retirement.
Men and women
There is a 18% gap at the median: $78,710 for men and $64,435 for women. Women make up roughly 50% of the survey records here (an unweighted count, so treat it as approximate). Differences in hours, specialty and seniority account for part of any gap, which the survey doesn't separate out.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $78,710 | 37,112 |
| Women | $64,435 | 37,478 |
Does education change the pay?
Credentials make a large difference. Workers with a doctorate have a median of $98,479, 123% more than those with a bachelor's degree ($44,150). 32,659 of the records belong to people with a doctorate, the biggest single group; we suppress levels with fewer than 100.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $52,793 | 1,595 |
| Some college / associate | $46,388 | 2,761 |
| Bachelor's | $44,150 | 10,587 |
| Master's | $50,763 | 23,195 |
| Professional degree | $83,958 | 3,793 |
| Doctorate | $98,479 | 32,659 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
Most of the sample comes from California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania, the five states where this occupation is most common in the data. Among them, Pennsylvania has the highest median at $81,140 and Florida the lowest at $65,991, a 23% spread. These are nominal dollars — living costs differ just as much between states and aren't adjusted for. 50 states have enough records (100+) for their own figure.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $76,367 | 9,028 |
| New York | $80,438 | 5,854 |
| Texas | $66,988 | 5,673 |
| Florida | $65,991 | 3,505 |
| Pennsylvania | $81,140 | 3,237 |
Occupations with similar pay
Similar typical earnings show up for human resources specialists ($71,594), first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers ($73,981), executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants ($68,433), and computer support specialists ($68,216). They aren't interchangeable careers, though the middle of the pay distribution is close.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Human Resources Specialists | $71,594 | 0% |
| First-Line Supervisors Of Mechanics, Installers, And Repairers | $73,981 | +3% |
| Executive Secretaries And Executive Administrative Assistants | $68,433 | −4% |
| Computer Support Specialists | $68,216 | −5% |
| First-Line Supervisors Of Construction Trades And Extraction Workers | $68,216 | −5% |
About these figures
A note on definitions: figures cover everyone 25+ with earnings in this occupation over 2020–2024, inflation-adjusted to 2024, full-time or not. Medians are weighted to the US population; suppressed cells are those under 100 records. The occupation total is 74,590 records.
See where your pay ranks among college professors and instructors
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Open the calculatorSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.