Women had the lowest overall average salaries in comparison with men at doctoral universities with the highest research activity. They also had the lowest representation on the full-time instructional staff at such universities. They slightly outnumbered men, however, at master’s institutions with larger or medium-size programs. In terms of pay, they did best in comparison with men as full-time instructors or lecturers at master’s institutions with smaller programs or at those same ranks at baccalaureate institutions that specialized in diverse fields.
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Doctoral institutions
Highest research activity
| Professor | 16,102 | 25.0% | $188,191 | $192,554 | $175,231 | 91.0% |
| Associate professor | 7,882 | 40.9% | $116,655 | $120,375 | $111,354 | 92.5% |
| Assistant professor | 7,256 | 43.4% | $101,228 | $105,830 | $95,337 | 90.1% |
| Instructor | 1,122 | 52.9% | $68,709 | $71,063 | $66,674 | 93.8% |
| Lecturer | 5,063 | 56.3% | $71,110 | $76,520 | $66,918 | 87.5% |
| No academic rank | 2,805 | 47.4% | $79,363 | $82,694 | $75,685 | 91.5% |
| All instructional staff total | 40,230 | 37.7% | $132,300 | $145,190 | $111,338 | 76.7% |
Higher research activity
| Professor | 4,880 | 25.0% | $137,505 | $140,030 | $129,869 | 92.7% |
| Associate professor | 4,846 | 39.7% | $95,619 | $96,943 | $93,588 | 96.5% |
| Assistant professor | 3,827 | 47.6% | $81,515 | $84,888 | $77,786 | 91.6% |
| Instructor | 1,881 | 55.8% | $69,276 | $73,174 | $66,282 | 90.6% |
| Lecturer | 1,382 | 52.3% | $59,126 | $61,155 | $57,297 | 93.7% |
| No academic rank | 416 | 47.6% | $67,357 | $73,387 | $60,779 | 82.8% |
| All instructional staff total | 17,232 | 40.3% | $97,768 | $105,185 | $86,770 | 82.5% |
Moderate research activity
| Professor | 4,334 | 33.5% | $107,549 | $110,314 | $102,124 | 92.6% |
| Associate professor | 4,925 | 48.0% | $83,478 | $85,835 | $80,951 | 94.3% |
| Assistant professor | 4,929 | 52.7% | $63,217 | $62,518 | $63,846 | 102.1% |
| Instructor | 1,272 | 52.7% | $49,167 | $50,042 | $48,400 | 96.7% |
| Lecturer | 565 | 46.4% | $59,876 | $62,556 | $56,807 | 90.8% |
| No academic rank | 267 | 51.7% | $62,234 | $63,471 | $61,107 | 96.3% |
| All instructional staff total | 16,292 | 46.0% | $79,780 | $83,936 | $74,940 | 89.3% |
•••
Master’s institutions
Larger programs
| Professor | 8,655 | 37.6% | $96,869 | $99,404 | $92,692 | 93.2% |
| Associate professor | 10,513 | 50.3% | $76,536 | $78,166 | $74,949 | 95.9% |
| Assistant professor | 11,126 | 57.5% | $64,739 | $66,269 | $63,630 | 96.0% |
| Instructor | 3,475 | 60.5% | $49,381 | $49,396 | $49,371 | 99.9% |
| Lecturer | 1,445 | 54.5% | $57,858 | $60,412 | $55,727 | 92.2% |
| No academic rank | 2,564 | 72.2% | $44,511 | $46,336 | $43,825 | 94.6% |
| All instructional staff total | 37,778 | 52.1% | $71,679 | $76,819 | $67,088 | 87.3% |
Medium programs
| Professor | 3,404 | 38.6% | $82,507 | $83,396 | $81,101 | 97.2% |
| Associate professor | 4,048 | 50.0% | $67,745 | $68,660 | $66,836 | 97.3% |
| Assistant professor | 4,465 | 56.1% | $58,439 | $58,770 | $58,182 | 99.0% |
| Instructor | 764 | 63.2% | $48,350 | $47,858 | $48,639 | 101.6% |
| Lecturer | 468 | 55.8% | $51,250 | $54,089 | $48,963 | 90.5% |
| No academic rank | 277 | 52.7% | $46,251 | $46,226 | $46,274 | 100.1% |
| All instructional staff total | 13,426 | 50.2% | $66,240 | $68,561 | $63,941 | 93.3% |
Smaller programs
| Professor | 1,459 | 34.1% | $76,336 | $76,344 | $76,323 | 100.0% |
| Associate professor | 1,775 | 44.7% | $66,303 | $67,766 | $64,501 | 95.2% |
| Assistant professor | 2,116 | 54.3% | $55,712 | $54,775 | $56,500 | 103.1% |
| Instructor | 473 | 60.3% | $45,972 | $44,541 | $46,912 | 105.3% |
| Lecturer | 151 | 59.6% | $42,106 | $40,268 | $43,399 | 107.8% |
| No academic rank | 72 | 50.0% | $30,160 | $33,149 | $27,251 | 82.2% |
| All instructional staff total | 6,046 | 47.2% | $62,326 | $64,037 | $60,422 | 94.4% |
•••
Baccalaureate institutions
Arts and sciences focus
| Professor | 8,615 | 37.5% | $106,418 | $108,245 | $103,381 | 95.5% |
| Associate professor | 7,775 | 48.0% | $79,208 | $80,031 | $78,316 | 97.9% |
| Assistant professor | 7,656 | 53.9% | $64,554 | $65,242 | $63,968 | 98.0% |
| Instructor | 1,357 | 61.5% | $50,845 | $52,081 | $50,070 | 96.1% |
| Lecturer | 778 | 61.6% | $64,478 | $65,175 | $64,043 | 98.3% |
| No academic rank | 1,230 | 52.4% | $66,803 | $69,768 | $64,107 | 91.9% |
| All instructional staff total | 27,411 | 47.6% | $81,266 | $85,211 | $76,933 | 90.3% |
Diverse fields
| Professor | 2,622 | 33.9% | $68,487 | $69,106 | $67,278 | 97.4% |
| Associate professor | 2,836 | 44.5% | $58,263 | $58,910 | $57,457 | 97.5% |
| Assistant professor | 3,994 | 52.2% | $51,000 | $51,980 | $50,105 | 96.4% |
| Instructor | 1,012 | 58.1% | $40,742 | $38,655 | $42,292 | 109.4% |
| Lecturer | 134 | 57.5% | $36,723 | $35,704 | $37,488 | 105.0% |
| No academic rank | 826 | 27.7% | $58,539 | $62,940 | $46,187 | 73.4% |
| All instructional staff total | 11,424 | 44.9% | $56,258 | $58,432 | $53,553 | 91.6% |
Note: Data cover full-time instructional staff members at degree-granting four-year 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 here. Questions or comments on the Almanac should be sent to the Almanac editor
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data</small></p>