Key Takeaways
$81,344
$27,000
Higher Education Faculty Salary Analysis
NEA’s “Higher Education Faculty Salary Analysis” report examines full-time faculty and graduate assistant salaries at the national, state, and institutional levels.
The 2025 report found that U.S. faculty salaries recovered a tiny amount in 2024, as faculty purchasing power increased by 1 percent over the previous year. But NEA’s analysis shows that faculty purchasing power still hasn’t recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Purchasing power reflects the value of workers’ salaries or their ability to buy food, pay for medical bills, and keep a roof over their heads.
The bad news in 2025 is that the pay gap between women and men in higher education has persisted and HBCU faculty are still underpaid compared to their colleagues. The good news? When faculty and staff unionize and collectively bargain for better pay, they get it! The union difference is huge.
Key Findings
Faculty Purchasing Power
The 2025 report found that full-time faculty on 9- or 10-month contracts averaged $101,955, a 4.2% increase from the previous year. This resulted in a 1 percent gain in purchasing power. The problem is that such a small gain still leaves faculty feeling poorer than they were five years ago. Between 2020 and 2023, as inflation soared, faculty purchasing power declined by 7.7 percent.
Union Advocacy Pays Off
Unionized faculty who collectively bargain are paid tens of thousands of dollars more than those who don't, the new report shows. And it helps everyone around them, notes Thomson, including other staff on those campuses and even non-union faculty in the same states.
The HBCU Pay Penalty Still Hasn't Gone Away
On average, faculty at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) earn 75 cents to the dollar earned by other faculty, according to the new NEA report. Across different types of institutions, the disparity is worst at research universities. On average, faculty at historically Black research institutions like Florida A&M University (FAMU) and Tennessee State University earn $83,000. Other university faculty? $112,000.
8 Charts that Tell Everything About Faculty Pay Today
Faculty Pay in Your State
Faculty pay varies among states. This year's leader? California is #1 for average faculty pay among state colleges and universities, as well as community colleges. At the very bottom for 4-year public institutions is Mississippi and, for community college pay, Arkansas.
Maryland, Nevada, and Wisconsin showed the largest increases in faculty pay at public four-year universities.
Faculty Salary Data
| State | Avg. Salary at Public 4-Year | 4-Year Rank | Change 2022-23 to 2023-24 | Avg. Salary at Public 2-Year | Rank, 2-Year | Change 2022-23 to 2023-24 | Avg. Salary at Private | Salary Rank - Private | Change 2022-23 to 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $104,349 | - | 3.9% | $81,223 | - | 5.5% | $111,643 | - | 4.3% |
| Alabama | $92,342 | 34 | 2.6% | $66,392 | 30 | 1.8% | $67,273 | 40 | 0.1% |
| Alaska | $89,364 | 39 | 5.2% | - | - | - | $66,395 | 43 | 7.5% |
| Arizona | $105,188 | 17 | 4.7% | $82,774 | 14 | 2.9% | $78,622 | 32 | -2.7% |
| Arkansas | $78,353 | 50 | 2.0% | $53,917 | 48 | 1.3% | $64,311 | 44 | 2.4% |
| California | $133,447 | 1 | 3.4% | $120,768 | 1 | 9.2% | $135,582 | 4 | 6.2% |
| Colorado | $99,017 | 27 | 1.5% | $70,297 | 22 | 4.3% | $105,668 | 15 | 5.3% |
| Connecticut | $119,180 | 5 | 3.9% | $93,555 | 2 | 3.7% | $138,470 | 3 | 4.6% |
| Delaware | $121,990 | 3 | 2.7% | $81,882 | 15 | 5.5% | $78,086 | 34 | -1.2% |
| District of Columbia | $83,630 | 46 | 0.4% | - | - | - | $128,763 | 6 | 2.9% |
| Florida | $107,149 | 13 | 4.1% | $66,415 | 29 | 3.8% | $95,240 | 22 | 3.0% |
| Georgia | $95,190 | 31 | 4.2% | $60,416 | 39 | 4.2% | $94,245 | 23 | 3.7% |
| Hawaii | $119,443 | 4 | 4.1% | $87,789 | 7 | 4.5% | $80,968 | 30 | 3.1% |
| Idaho | $84,225 | 45 | 2.8% | $64,992 | 33 | 8.1% | $67,299 | 39 | 3.0% |
| Illinois | $106,064 | 14 | 6.4% | $89,319 | 5 | 4.8% | $118,017 | 10 | 4.3% |
| Indiana | $101,684 | 21 | 3.9% | $56,923 | 43 | 3.4% | $98,792 | 18 | 4.4% |
| Iowa | $108,102 | 12 | 2.0% | $67,028 | 28 | 1.6% | $74,065 | 37 | 3.1% |
| Kansas | $89,708 | 37 | 3.1% | $61,848 | 38 | 2.2% | $59,561 | 47 | 3.3% |
| Kentucky | $83,327 | 47 | 2.8% | $55,789 | 47 | 2.3% | $66,993 | 41 | 0.5% |
| Lousiana | $79,520 | 49 | 4.6% | $55,953 | 45 | 2.1% | $96,955 | 21 | 4.3% |
| Maine | $92,904 | 33 | 4.3% | $65,987 | 32 | 1.6% | $99,817 | 17 | 5.1% |
| Maryland | $115,268 | 6 | 6.9% | $84,890 | 11 | 3.6% | $122,352 | 9 | 7.1% |
| Massachusetts | $109,142 | 11 | 2.6% | $71,042 | 21 | 3.5% | $140,251 | 2 | 4.1% |
| Michigan | $112,298 | 7 | 2.8% | $91,022 | 3 | 1.8% | $75,972 | 36 | 3.0% |
| Minnesota | $104,351 | 20 | 3.8% | $76,654 | 16 | 4.0% | $86,189 | 26 | 2.4% |
| Mississippi | $78,015 | 51 | 1.8% | $56,725 | 44 | 3.4% | $66,643 | 42 | 1.7% |
| Missouri | $89,443 | 38 | 5.2% | $67,475 | 27 | 7.5% | $102,671 | 16 | 4.7% |
| Montana | $84,296 | 44 | 5.1% | $58,500 | 41 | 8.3% | $59,016 | 48 | 1.8% |
| Nebraska | $95,837 | 30 | 3.7% | $68,245 | 24 | 3.8% | $78,101 | 33 | 3.3% |
| Nevada | $105,568 | 15 | 10.7% | $85,472 | 10 | 11.6% | - | - | - |
| New Hampshire | $100,947 | 24 | 5.4% | $73,561 | 20 | 0.4% | $133,701 | 5 | 4.2% |
| New Jersey | $129,661 | 2 | 3.1% | $84,148 | 12 | 2.3% | $141,158 | 1 | 5.6% |
| New Mexico | $91,094 | 36 | 4.8% | $67,647 | 26 | 9.8% | $84,002 | 28 | 0.5% |
| New York | $104,460 | 19 | 2.8% | $90,443 | 4 | 2.0% | $124,607 | 8 | 3.5% |
| North Carolina | $98,421 | 28 | 4.4% | $58,655 | 40 | 5.1% | $106,841 | 13 | 4.8% |
| North Dakota | $86,852 | 42 | 7.3% | $64,113 | 35 | 3.9% | $61,312 | 46 | 2.7% |
| Ohio | $101,619 | 22 | 1.8% | $73,741 | 19 | 1.9% | $83,261 | 29 | 3.2% |
| Oklahoma | $88,372 | 41 | 7.6% | $62,308 | 37 | 12.5% | $76,410 | 35 | 3.6% |
| Oregon | $100,734 | 25 | 3.9% | $86,747 | 9 | 2.5% | $89,067 | 25 | 3.3% |
| Pennsylvania | $104,820 | 18 | 0.8% | $75,253 | 18 | 2.3% | $110,499 | 11 | 4.1% |
| Rhode Island | $105,299 | 16 | 1.9% | $67,727 | 25 | -1.8% | $128,241 | 7 | 2.6% |
| South Carolina | $94,872 | 32 | 6.1% | $57,542 | 42 | 5.6% | $67,335 | 38 | 2.6% |
| South Dakota | $84,406 | 43 | 6.6% | $66,134 | 31 | 3.1% | $64,080 | 45 | 4.4% |
| Tennessee | $92,121 | 35 | 4.6% | $63,486 | 36 | 6.2% | $97,276 | 20 | 2.7% |
| Texas | $101,189 | 23 | 4.6% | $69,622 | 23 | 4.7% | $107,806 | 12 | 4.0% |
| Utah | $112,057 | 8 | 6.5% | $82,893 | 13 | 8.1% | $106,446 | 14 | 7.8% |
| Vermont | $88,475 | 40 | -1.5% | - | - | - | $98,146 | 19 | 4.2% |
| Virginia | $112,022 | 9 | 5.3% | $76,188 | 17 | 4.6% | $84,600 | 27 | 3.2% |
| Washington | $110,332 | 10 | 4.5% | $86,918 | 8 | 9.7% | $90,106 | 24 | 5.3% |
| West Virginia | $80,874 | 48 | 1.9% | $55,880 | 46 | 2.4% | $54,580 | 49 | 1.6% |
| Wisconsin | $99,102 | 26 | 7.0% | $89,027 | 6 | 2.5% | $79,862 | 31 | 2.8% |
| Wyoming | $97,591 | 29 | 4.2% | $64,947 | 34 | 2.9% | - | - | - |
