How much do college professors make?
Answer
There is no single college professor salary: BLS publishes pay for each type. Medians range from $63,820 to $128,500 a year (May 2025).
| Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $128,500 | $64,250 | $287,900 | 20,060 | Doctoral or professional degree | +2.6% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | $107,310 | $59,270 | $322,020 | 221,270 | Doctoral or professional degree | +17.9% |
| Business Teachers, Postsecondary | $99,080 | $47,180 | $209,470 | 82,150 | Doctoral or professional degree | +5.9% |
| Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $96,980 | $49,460 | $170,200 | 35,480 | Doctoral or professional degree | +4.9% |
| Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $94,980 | $57,780 | $164,190 | 6,690 | Doctoral or professional degree | +2.7% |
| Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $84,620 | $52,150 | $169,900 | 50,190 | Doctoral or professional degree | +7.3% |
| Postsecondary Teachers | $82,250 | $48,230 | $177,070 | 1,370,560 | — | +6.0% |
| Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary | $80,340 | $49,050 | $153,600 | 41,530 | Doctoral or professional degree | +4.0% |
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary | $80,250 | $48,800 | $129,500 | 77,960 | Doctoral or professional degree | +17.1% |
| Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $79,940 | $49,180 | $139,340 | 47,670 | Doctoral or professional degree | +1.7% |
| English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | $78,760 | $48,270 | $137,250 | 57,720 | Doctoral or professional degree | 0.0% |
| Education Teachers, Postsecondary | $75,350 | $39,530 | $126,860 | 60,830 | Doctoral or professional degree | +2.5% |
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary | $63,820 | $41,960 | $108,620 | 114,110 | Bachelor's degree | −0.3% |
BLS OEWS, May 2025 (released April 30, 2026); typical education and growth from BLS Employment Projections 2025–35.
How the types of college professor compare
BLS splits college professors into more than 30 occupations by subject, so there is no single professor salary. Across all postsecondary teachers the median is $82,250, but the subject changes that number a lot. Law teachers have the highest median of the groups we track, $128,500, followed by health specialties teachers at $107,310, business teachers at $99,080, and computer science teachers at $96,980, according to May 2025 data. Environmental science teachers ($94,980, median) and biological science teachers ($84,620, median) sit above the overall figure. Below it are psychology at $80,340, nursing at $80,250, mathematics at $79,940, English at $78,760, and education at $75,350, the lowest of the academic subjects listed here. Career and technical education teachers, who teach trades and vocational programs, have the lowest median, $63,820, of these groups.
The top-paying subjects are fields with strong job markets outside academia, where schools compete with law firms, hospitals and tech companies for law, medical and computing faculty. Training differs too. Most university faculty in academic subjects hold a Ph.D., health and law faculty often hold a professional doctorate plus a license and work experience, and career and technical instructors may be hired on industry experience and certifications. Health specialties is by far the largest group, with 221,270 jobs, ahead of career and technical education teachers at 114,110.
College Professor salary by state
Median annual pay by type
| Alabama | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| Alaska | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Arizona | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Arkansas | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| California | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Colorado | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Connecticut | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Delaware | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| District of Columbia | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Florida | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Georgia | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hawaii | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Idaho | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Illinois | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| Iowa | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kansas | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kentucky | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Louisiana | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Maine | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Maryland | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Massachusetts | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Michigan | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Minnesota | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mississippi | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Missouri | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Montana | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nebraska | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nevada | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Hampshire | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Jersey | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Mexico | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New York | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Carolina | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Dakota | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ohio | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oklahoma | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oregon | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pennsylvania | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rhode Island | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Carolina | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Dakota | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Texas | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Utah | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Vermont | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Virginia | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Washington | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| West Virginia | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wisconsin | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wyoming | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Median annual pay by state, BLS OEWS, May 2025. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. Each occupation’s own page has its full state table with cost-of-living-adjusted pay.
What college professors do
A college professor teaches courses beyond high school and, at many schools, also produces original research. The title covers a wide range of jobs. At a large research university, a professor might teach two courses a term, run a lab or research group, write grant proposals, publish in journals and supervise graduate students. At a community college, the same title usually means teaching four or five classes a term and spending most of the remaining time with students.
Professors work inside academic departments such as English, biology, nursing or business, and they answer to a department chair and dean. Class sizes run from lecture halls of several hundred, where graduate teaching assistants lead discussion sections and grade, down to seminars of a handful of students. Many courses are now taught online or in a hybrid format. Part-time adjunct instructors are paid per course and mostly teach, often at more than one campus, while full-time faculty also serve on committees that hire colleagues, review curricula and run the department.
A typical day
- Write a syllabus for each course and build lectures, slides, labs and assignments
- Teach classes in person or online and lead discussions
- Grade papers, exams and projects, and keep grade records
- Hold office hours and advise students on courses, majors and careers
- Run research projects, apply for grants and write papers for journals or books
- Sit on department and campus committees, such as hiring or curriculum review
- Read new work in the field and present at academic conferences
Also called: professor, university professor, professors, college professors, assistant professor, associate professor, creative writing professor, english instructor.
How to become a college professor
Full guideMost college professors at four-year schools earn a bachelor's degree and then a Ph.D. in their subject, which takes a median of about 8.6 years from bachelor's degree to doctorate. Community colleges often hire instructors with a master's degree, which can mean teaching after about 6 years of college.
- Typical time
- About 12-13 years (bachelor's, Ph.D., often a postdoc)
- Fastest: About 6 years (bachelor's plus master's, for community college teaching)
- Minimum education
- Master's degree in the teaching discipline for many community college and adjunct jobs; a Ph.D. or other doctorate for most four-year college and university faculty jobs
- License
- Not licensed; faculty in licensed professions (for example nursing) may need to hold that profession's license
- Typical training cost
- $16.0K–$43.5K
- See the guide for what it includes
Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a college professor: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.
Is it worth it? Training cost against pay
Compare careers- Training time
- About 12-13 years (bachelor's, Ph.D., often a postdoc)
- Typical path in our guide
- Training cost
- $16.0K–$43.5K
- Tuition and exam fees, before aid
- Median pay
- $82,250
- $31,270 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
- Cost vs. one year's pay
- 19–53%
- Training cost as a share of a year at the median
Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($31,270 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year to 1.4 years after training ends (about 12-13 years (bachelor's, ph.d., often a postdoc) in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.
Job outlook for college professors
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
- Projected growth
- +6.0%
- All occupations +3.5%
- Jobs in 2025
- 1,684,500
- 1,785,900 projected for 2035
- Openings each year
- 123,800
- New jobs plus replacements
- Self-employed
- 0.2%
- Not in the pay figures above
BLS projects postsecondary teacher jobs to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, from 1,684,500 to 1,785,900, which is faster than the 3.5% expected for all occupations. That works out to about 123,800 openings a year, most of them created when faculty retire or leave. Rising enrollment and the need to train more healthcare workers drive the growth. The catch is the type of job: BLS expects much of the new hiring to be part-time, and full-time tenure-track positions to stay limited in every subject. Hiring at public colleges also depends on state budgets, which can freeze searches in lean years.
Outlook shown for postsecondary teachers; each type’s growth is in the table at the top.
Related careers and their pay
Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.
College Professor salary FAQ
Do you need a PhD to be a college professor?
At four-year colleges and universities, usually yes: tenure-track faculty in most academic subjects hold a Ph.D. or another doctorate in their field. Community colleges often hire instructors with a master's degree, and accreditors generally accept a master's degree that includes at least 18 graduate semester hours in the subject taught. Some fields, such as nursing, law, art and trades, weigh professional experience and licenses heavily alongside the degree.
What is the difference between an adjunct and a professor?
An adjunct is a part-time instructor hired by the course or by the term, usually without a long-term contract, research duties or committee work. A full-time professor holds a ranked position, such as assistant, associate or full professor, with a salary, benefits and expectations for teaching, research and service. Many adjuncts teach at several schools at once, and some are working professionals who teach one evening class in their field.
What does tenure mean for a professor?
Tenure is a permanent appointment: a tenured professor can be dismissed only for just cause or in serious financial emergencies. Faculty earn it after a probationary period on the tenure track, which can last up to about seven years, through a review of their research, teaching and service. Tenure usually comes with promotion from assistant to associate professor. Many faculty today work off the tenure track, on renewable contracts or as adjuncts.
How many hours a week do professors work?
Class time is only part of the job. A full-time professor teaching three courses might spend nine hours a week in class, but preparing lectures, grading, office hours, advising, committee meetings and research fill the rest of the week, and many work well beyond 40 hours during the term. Schedules are flexible outside fixed class and office hours, and summer is often spent on research rather than teaching.
Sources
Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 25-1000
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
- O*NET 31.0 Database (25-1199.00, 25-1123.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
- Postsecondary Teachers, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
- Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2024, Table 1-12: Median years to research doctorate, by broad field of doctorate, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NSF) · checked October 28, 2026
- Faculty Credentials: Guidelines (Standard 6.2.a, updated April 2018), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC); copy hosted by the Alabama Community College System · checked October 28, 2026
- 2026-27 Academic Year Tuition and Fees, University of Florida, Division of Finance and Planning · checked October 28, 2026
- License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026
- 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, American Association of University Professors (AAUP) · checked October 28, 2026
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