Higher Education Faculty Pay 2023

Key Takeaways

When faculty belong to a union, they get paid more. In 2022, union faculty earned $5,000 more, on average, than non-union faculty—in the same states.
The faculty of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) earned $24,000 less, on average, than their colleagues at other institutions, or 75 cents to the dollar in 2021-22.
Women earned 85 cents to every dollar earned by men in public higher education institutions in 2021-22

$17,000

The average difference in pay between union faculty and faculty in non-union states.

2.1%

Average salary increase for full-time faculty on 9/10-month contracts from the year prior.

Higher Education Faculty Salary Analysis

In this report, we consider trends in faculty salary by rank, gender, and collective bargaining status in 2021-22.

In 2021-22, state budgets were a mixed bag, with some restoring funding to pre-pandemic levels or higher, and others cutting funding.

This analysis reflects the status of faculty of record in November 2021. The fact that real, or nominal, salaries continued to increase during states’ ongoing financial flux is promising for the financial future of faculty once the economy stabilizes.

Key Findings

Faculty who collectively bargain earn more. Specifically, community college faculty with union contracts get paid, on average, $19,000 more than their non-union colleagues. At comprehensive institutions, the union advantage is $14,000; at research universities, it’s $6,000.

While salaries increased an overall 2.1% for full-time (9/10-month) faculty in 2022, inflation stripped them of purchasing power. On average, faculty experienced a $4,837 loss.

Pay parity almost exists in community colleges, where women earned 97% to 98% of men’s wages in 2022, but notably, community colleges have the lowest-paid faculty among public institutions.

In 2021-22, the faculty of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) earned $24,000 less, on average, than their colleagues at other institutions, or 75 cents to the dollar.

In some states, HBCU faculty are paid about half as much as those teaching in non-HBCU land-grant universities. For example, HBCU faculty in Missouri and Ohio earn 51 cents to the dollar of non-HBCU colleagues.

Charts

Filter by State:

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State	Public 4-year	Public 4-year Rank	Public 4-year Percent Change	Public 2-year	Public 2-year Rank	Public 2-year Percent Change	Private	Private Rank	Private Percent Change
Alabama	$86,762	34	2.7%	$62,997	27	2.7%	$65,650	39	1.4%
Alaska	$84,063	38	-0.1%			0.0%	$60,098	44	-1.2%
Arizona	$99,098	15	5.0%	$76,990	11	2.7%	$74,152	34	0.6%
Arkansas	$74,163	49	-2.5%	$51,204	48	1.5%	$61,846	43	2.2%
California	$121,071	1	1.1%	$105,759	1	3.6%	$122,200	4	1.6%
Colorado	$92,181	26	3.6%	$62,819	28	0.3%	$95,660	14	0.2%
Connecticut	$109,530	5	-0.9%	$85,602	4	-1.7%	$125,745	3	3.7%
Delaware	$116,394	3	0.8%	$74,977	13	3.1%	$79,190	27	3.0%
District of Columbia	$87,026	32	-1.2%			0.0%	$119,460	6	3.0%
Florida	$100,126	13	1.7%	$62,576	30	2.7%	$89,836	21	2.5%