Higher Education Salary Report 2026: United States
Salary report and benchmark
Full professors in the United States earn around $163,836 (AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey, 2025–26).
How academic pay works in the United States
Academic Jobs, the higher education salary benchmark, based on 185,378 university job posts since January 1, 2026, drawn from millions of historical job posts.
Academic pay in the United States varies widely by institution type, rank and state.
Faculty typically progress from assistant professor to associate professor to full professor, usually on a tenure track, and most contracts cover nine months, with summer teaching or research funded separately.
Public universities often publish salaries, while private institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, and MIT tend to pay at the top of the market.
In 2026, full professors in the US earn around $163,836, compared with $84,292 for lecturers and instructors (AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey, 2025–26).
The AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey and IPEDS are the main national benchmarks.
Academic Jobs tracks 185,378 US higher education roles since January 1, 2026, to show where demand and pay are moving.
| Die Rolle | Pay now | What this is |
|---|---|---|
| Lecturer/Instructor | $81,916 | 17,969 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $81,042. |
| Adjunct Faculty | $104,000 | 16,868 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Assistant Professor | $108,500 | 9,680 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $105,150. |
| Tenure-track | $102,497 | 4,751 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $100,991. |
| Associate Professor | $176,400 | 4,342 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $173,202. |
| Clinical Professor/Prof of Practice | $196,291 | 3,838 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $188,310. |
| Professor | $192,422 | 3,628 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $185,000. |
| Post-Doc | $71,679 | 3,570 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $70,308. |
| Scientist/Associate | $83,500 | 2,309 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Research Fellow | $73,800 | 1,982 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $73,025. |
| Clinical Educator | $114,400 | 1,906 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $105,000. |
| Research | $75,000 | 1,629 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $75,489. |
| Director/Manager | $130,000 | 1,489 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $127,500. |
| Visiting Professor | $75,000 | 871 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Post Doc Research Fellow | $71,680 | 810 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
50 more roles
| Die Rolle | Pay now | What this is |
|---|---|---|
| Adjunct Professor | $160,025 | 804 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $164,500. |
| Research Assistant | $59,280 | 759 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $59,328. |
| Program Director | $107,500 | 751 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Program Coordinator | $67,638 | 724 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Tenure | $175,000 | 545 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Librarian | $74,946 | 542 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $75,900. |
| Research Technician | $56,800 | 521 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $59,328. |
| Research Coordinator | $66,250 | 468 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $68,650. |
| Faculty Researcher | $95,000 | 387 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $94,257. |
| Sessional Lecturer | $78,000 | 381 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $81,042. |
| Teaching Assistant | $46,942 | 375 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $49,500. |
| Academic Advisor | $97,100 | 335 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Assistant Director | $89,000 | 212 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $87,504. |
| Lab Manager | $64,477 | 210 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $63,440. |
| Academic Coordinator | $72,800 | 205 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $70,000. |
| Academic Coach | $68,191 | 203 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $67,248. |
| Tutor | $49,920 | 203 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $52,000. |
| Senior Lecturer | $110,547 | 198 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $110,000. |
| Clinical Chair | $260,000 | 197 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $253,050. |
| Endowed | $182,500 | 190 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Research Manager | $86,063 | 190 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $84,096. |
| Research Professor | $129,624 | 180 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $132,925. |
| Curriculum Developer | $72,800 | 162 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Visiting Fellow | $70,000 | 134 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $68,000. |
| Learning Specialist | $69,754 | 118 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $69,829. |
| Instructional Designer | $73,500 | 105 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Visiting Scholar | $75,000 | 104 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Senior Research Assistant | $87,127 | 89 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $81,810. |
| Faculty Development Specialist | $94,485 | 56 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| PhD Researcher | $56,500 | 49 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $48,846. |
| Educational Technologist | $69,500 | 48 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Senior Professor | $181,000 | 37 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $188,711. |
| Sessional Academic | $72,800 | 33 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Instructor | $90,010 | 32 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $75,000. |
| Research Associate | $71,740 | 7 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Research Scientist/Associate | $97,100 | 5 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Non-Tenured Track | $93,108 | 4 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Clinical Professor | $287,500 | 3 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Exam Supervisor | $41,600 | 3 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year $62,400. |
| Emeritus Professor | $30,250 | 2 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Fellowship | $313,500 | 2 posts since January 1, 2026. |
| Academic Dean/Dept. Head | $500,000 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Faculty | $136,482 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Instructor/Lecturer | $58,000 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Lecturer | $4,282,720 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Non tenure-track | $54,000 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Research, Scientist/Associate | $67,500 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Senior Instructor | $97,082 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Tenure-track Research | $88,000 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. |
| Visiting Lecturer | $56,250 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. |
Sources
Academic pay
Assistant professor
$97,232
US average, academic year
Associate professor
$113,427
US average, academic year
Full professor
$163,836
US average, academic year
Leser
$84,292
US average, academic year
What changes pay
Rank
A professor scale sits above a lecturer or assistant professor scale.
Institution
Research universities and teaching-focused colleges do not use the same bands.
Contract
Nine-month, twelve-month, and casual contracts are not the same annual pay.
Standort
Capital-city loadings and regional scales change the same title.
Compare a real offer
Use this salary report when you negotiate, or compare professor salaries and university salaries.