Women made up about a quarter of professors and close to 40 percent of all full-time instructional staff members at doctoral institutions with the highest and higher research activity. At other four-year institutions, they made up about a third of all professors and closer to half of all instructional staff. Their salaries compared least favorably with men’s over all at private nonprofit doctoral institutions with the highest research activity, where they made about three-quarters of what men did in 2015-16.
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Public institutions
Doctoral
Highest research activity
| Professor | 40,110 | 25.2% | $135,404 | $138,707 | $125,618 | 90.6% |
| Associate professor | 29,856 | 41.7% | $92,092 | $94,834 | $88,284 | 93.1% |
| Assistant professor | 26,102 | 46.8% | $79,833 | $83,397 | $75,843 | 90.9% |
| Instructor | 6,810 | 59.8% | $51,875 | $54,671 | $50,021 | 91.5% |
| Lecturer | 10,725 | 54.9% | $59,476 | $63,571 | $56,115 | 88.3% |
| No academic rank | 3,732 | 50.2% | $57,637 | $59,824 | $55,370 | 92.6% |
| All instructional staff total | 117,335 | 39.7% | $97,618 | $106,490 | $84,246 | 79.1% |
Higher research activity
| Professor | 13,280 | 27.5% | $108,473 | $111,352 | $100,886 | 90.6% |
| Associate professor | 14,213 | 43.0% | $81,082 | $83,377 | $78,060 | 93.6% |
| Assistant professor | 11,909 | 49.1% | $70,253 | $73,294 | $67,141 | 91.6% |
| Instructor | 3,692 | 59.0% | $50,371 | $51,580 | $49,547 | 96.1% |
| Lecturer | 5,771 | 57.3% | $51,816 | $53,534 | $50,528 | 94.4% |
| No academic rank | 2,146 | 53.7% | $64,559 | $70,490 | $59,466 | 84.4% |
| All instructional staff total | 51,011 | 43.6% | $79,560 | $86,093 | $71,145 | 82.6% |
Moderate research activity
| Professor | 5,179 | 33.7% | $94,128 | $96,126 | $90,202 | 93.8% |
| Associate professor | 5,236 | 47.3% | $74,971 | $76,163 | $73,650 | 96.7% |
| Assistant professor | 4,767 | 53.2% | $63,834 | $66,097 | $61,858 | 93.6% |
| Instructor | 1,455 | 61.6% | $44,240 | $44,667 | $43,973 | 98.4% |
| Lecturer | 2,685 | 56.4% | $50,310 | $52,299 | $48,783 | 93.3% |
| No academic rank | 311 | 53.1% | $44,624 | $44,765 | $44,501 | 99.4% |
| All instructional staff total | 19,633 | 47.6% | $71,231 | $75,840 | $66,160 | 87.2% |
Master’s
Larger programs
| Professor | 17,629 | 36.6% | $92,885 | $94,584 | $89,947 | 95.1% |
| Associate professor | 16,478 | 46.9% | $75,071 | $76,258 | $73,731 | 96.7% |
| Assistant professor | 16,200 | 53.9% | $64,751 | $66,045 | $63,650 | 96.4% |
| Instructor | 4,959 | 63.3% | $47,689 | $48,002 | $47,509 | 99.0% |
| Lecturer | 5,669 | 56.1% | $51,128 | $52,337 | $50,195 | 95.9% |
| No academic rank | 1,274 | 56.0% | $51,037 | $52,495 | $49,884 | 95.0% |
| All instructional staff total | 62,209 | 48.1% | $72,627 | $76,462 | $68,506 | 89.6% |
Medium programs
| Professor | 3,874 | 35.8% | $84,526 | $85,729 | $82,381 | 96.1% |
| Associate professor | 3,754 | 47.5% | $68,608 | $69,739 | $67,364 | 96.6% |
| Assistant professor | 3,921 | 54.8% | $59,262 | $60,256 | $58,447 | 97.0% |
| Instructor | 1,150 | 63.6% | $46,289 | $44,699 | $47,218 | 105.6% |
| Lecturer | 1,249 | 60.2% | $46,515 | $47,238 | $46,040 | 97.5% |
| No academic rank | 411 | 54.7% | $54,725 | $57,249 | $52,705 | 92.1% |
| All instructional staff total | 14,359 | 48.9% | $66,269 | $69,598 | $62,809 | 90.2% |
Smaller programs
| Professor | 1,671 | 36.9% | $83,106 | $83,368 | $82,662 | 99.2% |
| Associate professor | 1,897 | 43.7% | $69,049 | $70,057 | $67,767 | 96.7% |
| Assistant professor | 1,939 | 52.4% | $59,608 | $60,360 | $58,935 | 97.6% |
| Instructor | 559 | 59.6% | $46,308 | $45,139 | $47,104 | 104.4% |
| Lecturer | 656 | 49.2% | $49,654 | $51,153 | $48,106 | 94.0% |
| No academic rank | 31 | 48.4% | $52,178 | $62,746 | $41,883 | 66.7% |
| All instructional staff total | 6,753 | 46.4% | $65,929 | $68,093 | $63,456 | 93.2% |
Baccalaureate
Arts and sciences focus
| Professor | 834 | 33.1% | $91,477 | $93,983 | $86,338 | 91.9% |
| Associate professor | 873 | 43.3% | $72,751 | $75,060 | $69,626 | 92.8% |
| Assistant professor | 892 | 46.7% | $59,486 | $61,235 | $57,438 | 93.8% |
| Instructor | 263 | 54.0% | $49,180 | $52,488 | $46,250 | 88.1% |
| Lecturer | 165 | 55.8% | $50,348 | $50,510 | $50,221 | 99.4% |
| No academic rank | 35 | 45.7% | $42,917 | $43,967 | $41,716 | 94.9% |
| All instructional staff total | 3,062 | 43.1% | $70,512 | $74,496 | $65,122 | 87.4% |
Diverse fields
| Professor | 1,491 | 34.6% | $82,297 | $83,298 | $80,386 | 96.5% |
| Associate professor | 1,934 | 43.6% | $68,133 | $69,281 | $66,659 | 96.2% |
| Assistant professor | 2,586 | 49.9% | $58,534 | $60,089 | $56,973 | 94.8% |
| Instructor | 938 | 60.9% | $48,763 | $49,565 | $48,250 | 97.3% |
| Lecturer | 519 | 55.7% | $54,232 | $56,849 | $52,151 | 91.7% |
| No academic rank | 110 | 43.6% | $49,944 | $52,864 | $46,006 | 87.0% |
| All instructional staff total | 7,578 | 47.0% | $64,044 | $66,975 | $60,728 | 90.7% |
Private nonprofit institutions
Doctoral
Highest research activity
| Professor | 15,853 | 24.3% | $184,433 | $188,494 | $171,849 | 91.2% |
| Associate professor | 7,765 | 40.2% | $114,093 | $117,831 | $108,587 | 92.2% |
| Assistant professor | 7,100 | 42.2% | $98,965 | $103,466 | $92,918 | 89.8% |
| Instructor | 852 | 51.2% | $67,527 | $69,281 | $65,871 | 95.1% |
| Lecturer | 4,865 | 56.0% | $69,484 | $75,289 | $64,926 | 86.2% |
| No academic rank | 3,064 | 45.5% | $78,319 | $82,193 | $74,044 | 90.1% |
| All instructional staff total | 39,499 | 36.8% | $129,872 | $142,351 | $108,810 | 76.4% |
Higher research activity
| Professor | 4,874 | 24.0% | $134,890 | $137,149 | $127,664 | 93.1% |
| Associate professor | 4,828 | 39.9% | $93,099 | $94,280 | $91,302 | 96.8% |
| Assistant professor | 3,810 | 46.9% | $79,838 | $83,034 | $76,194 | 91.8% |
| Instructor | 1,787 | 55.3% | $66,106 | $69,628 | $63,358 | 91.0% |
| Lecturer | 1,188 | 52.7% | $59,941 | $62,172 | $57,948 | 93.2% |
| No academic rank | 373 | 54.4% | $60,424 | $65,958 | $55,794 | 84.6% |
| All instructional staff total | 16,860 | 39.7% | $96,144 | $103,432 | $85,089 | 82.3% |
Moderate research activity
| Professor | 4,314 | 33.6% | $106,656 | $109,415 | $101,227 | 92.5% |
| Associate professor | 4,899 | 47.2% | $82,570 | $84,886 | $79,995 | 94.2% |
| Assistant professor | 5,060 | 52.8% | $63,179 | $62,769 | $63,544 | 101.2% |
| Instructor | 1,185 | 52.0% | $46,737 | $46,288 | $47,150 | 101.9% |
| Lecturer | 538 | 46.1% | $60,432 | $62,484 | $58,049 | 92.9% |
| No academic rank | 235 | 53.6% | $63,735 | $64,621 | $62,997 | 97.5% |
| All instructional staff total | 16,231 | 45.7% | $79,206 | $83,297 | $74,390 | 89.3% |
Master’s
Larger programs
| Professor | 8,568 | 37.1% | $94,958 | $97,274 | $91,047 | 93.6% |
| Associate professor | 10,330 | 49.8% | $75,225 | $76,731 | $73,731 | 96.1% |
| Assistant professor | 10,964 | 57.0% | $63,230 | $64,703 | $62,134 | 96.0% |
| Instructor | 3,346 | 60.5% | $49,002 | $48,182 | $49,534 | 102.8% |
| Lecturer | 1,289 | 54.9% | $55,260 | $57,671 | $53,294 | 92.4% |
| No academic rank | 2,236 | 71.4% | $43,887 | $46,200 | $42,989 | 93.1% |
| All instructional staff total | 36,733 | 51.4% | $70,648 | $75,470 | $66,218 | 87.7% |
Medium programs
| Professor | 3,449 | 38.7% | $81,531 | $82,600 | $79,854 | 96.7% |
| Associate professor | 4,042 | 49.2% | $66,132 | $67,295 | $64,946 | 96.5% |
| Assistant professor | 4,407 | 55.9% | $57,327 | $57,879 | $56,894 | 98.3% |
| Instructor | 759 | 63.0% | $47,687 | $46,978 | $48,110 | 102.4% |
| Lecturer | 452 | 57.3% | $53,345 | $56,133 | $51,253 | 91.3% |
| No academic rank | 265 | 53.2% | $43,667 | $45,134 | $42,349 | 93.8% |
| All instructional staff total | 13,374 | 49.8% | $65,258 | $67,769 | $62,748 | 92.6% |
Smaller programs
| Professor | 1,383 | 33.0% | $75,471 | $76,072 | $74,258 | 97.6% |
| Associate professor | 1,765 | 45.0% | $63,778 | $65,193 | $62,063 | 95.2% |
| Assistant professor | 2,114 | 53.5% | $56,718 | $55,867 | $57,450 | 102.8% |
| Instructor | 500 | 58.6% | $43,513 | $42,730 | $44,071 | 103.1% |
| Lecturer | 137 | 54.7% | $43,061 | $40,960 | $44,883 | 109.6% |
| No academic rank | 32 | 75.0% | $44,934 | $53,812 | $42,104 | 78.2% |
| All instructional staff total | 5,931 | 46.8% | $61,662 | $63,470 | $59,620 | 93.9% |
Baccalaureate
Arts and sciences focus
| Professor | 8,675 | 36.9% | $104,685 | $106,399 | $101,761 | 95.6% |
| Associate professor | 7,759 | 47.5% | $77,424 | $78,459 | $76,278 | 97.2% |
| Assistant professor | 7,639 | 54.1% | $63,103 | $63,883 | $62,441 | 97.7% |
| Instructor | 1,397 | 60.7% | $49,832 | $51,042 | $49,050 | 96.1% |
| Lecturer | 709 | 62.6% | $63,039 | $64,202 | $62,345 | 97.1% |
| No academic rank | 1,242 | 52.6% | $65,353 | $67,901 | $63,047 | 92.9% |
| All instructional staff total | 27,421 | 47.3% | $79,715 | $83,740 | $75,228 | 89.8% |
Diverse fields
| Professor | 2,624 | 34.0% | $67,467 | $68,491 | $65,487 | 95.6% |
| Associate professor | 2,931 | 44.0% | $56,896 | $57,795 | $55,756 | 96.5% |
| Assistant professor | 3,865 | 51.9% | $50,262 | $50,960 | $49,617 | 97.4% |
| Instructor | 1,005 | 59.0% | $39,374 | $38,212 | $40,193 | 105.2% |
| Lecturer | 135 | 58.5% | $35,322 | $34,959 | $35,585 | 101.8% |
| No academic rank | 783 | 27.2% | $62,012 | $66,985 | $47,943 | 71.6% |
| All instructional staff total | 11,343 | 44.7% | $55,636 | $58,115 | $52,553 | 90.4% |
Note: Data cover full-time instructional staff members at degree-granting four-year public and private nonprofit institutions in the United States that are eligible to participate in Title IV financial-aid programs. Summary data are given for average salaries within each relevant Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The salaries are adjusted to a standard nine-month work year, and averages are weighted. Medical-school instructional staff are excluded. Tribal colleges and special-focus institutions are also excluded from the above categories. More-detailed institutional and summary faculty-salary data can be viewed online at data.chronicle.com.
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data
