University salaries
Staff, admin, and other non-faculty roles
Compare university salary, staff wages, and higher ed pay for non-faculty roles now.
University salary by role
A postsecondary education administrator in the United States is paid $129,800 a year on the latest mean for people employed by colleges and universities. That university salary covers deans and senior administrators, not office staff. The table shows what other non-faculty roles are paid now. These higher ed wages are national means for different jobs, so they are not one ranking. Faculty pay is listed with professor salaries. Professor salaries
| Rôle | Pay now | What this is |
|---|---|---|
| Postsecondary education administrators | $129,800 | US mean in colleges, May 2025 |
| Human resources specialists | $78,350 | US mean in colleges, May 2025 |
| Librarians | $77,480 | US mean in colleges, May 2025 |
| Computer user support | $62,700 | US mean in colleges, May 2025 |
| Maintenance and repair workers | $53,960 | US mean in colleges, May 2025 |
| Groundskeepers | $44,430 ($21.36 an hour) | US mean in colleges, May 2025 |
| Janitors and cleaners | $41,280 ($19.85 an hour) | US mean in colleges, May 2025 |
Student workers are not in this table. This survey does not publish a student-worker wage. Hourly pay is the campus scale and the state minimum.
The latest published movement is a median raise, not a new dollar average. In 2025-26, staff rose 3.0%, professionals 2.8%, and administrators 2.9%, while prices rose 2.7% through November 2025. Those raises are already in that survey year. The next national rise is not agreed.
Local university wages for other countries are on the country salary pages. États-Unis · Australie · Royaume-Uni · Germany · Nouvelle Zélande · Afrique du Sud · japonais · Chine
Sources
University salary by role type
Three of the means above, for the roles people ask about most. A senior administrator mean is not the pay scale for librarians or custodians.
Postsecondary education administrators
$129,800
US mean, May 2025
Librarians
$77,480
US mean, May 2025
Janitors and cleaners
$41,280
US mean, May 2025
What changes staff pay
The same job title does not pay the same everywhere. These are the differences that move a university wage before you negotiate.
Rôle
Admin and professional roles are paid more than maintenance and custodial work.
Experience
Senior staff are paid more than people new to the role.
Localisation
City and state change the university wage, and cost of living changes what it buys.
Institution size
Larger universities often pay more than small colleges.
Pay beyond base salary
Base salary is only part of higher ed wages. Health insurance, retirement contributions, and tuition remission change the offer. Some staff sell teaching materials. Public reviews do not set the salary. Teachers Pay Teachers · Réserver mon professeur
Compare a real offer
Use these university salary figures when you negotiate, or look at open staff jobs and faculty pay.
Frequently asked questions about university salaries
What is the average university admin salary?
In the United States, postsecondary education administrators average $129,800 a year. That mean covers deans and senior administrators, not office staff. Faculty pay is a different survey. Professor salaries
What is the average HR salary at a university?
Human resources specialists employed by colleges and universities average $78,350 a year.
What do groundskeepers earn at universities?
Groundskeepers employed by colleges and universities average $44,430 a year, or $21.36 an hour.
What is the average janitor salary in higher ed?
Janitors and cleaners employed by colleges and universities average $41,280 a year, or $19.85 an hour.
What do university librarians earn?
Librarians employed by colleges and universities average $77,480 a year.
What is student worker pay at universities?
This survey does not publish a student-worker wage. Hourly pay is the campus scale and the state minimum.
University Salaries 2026
Page 5
Academic Jobs, the higher education salary benchmark, based on 227,099 university job posts since January 1, 2026, drawn from millions of historical job posts.
| Université | pays | Professor median | Lecturer median | Live jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMU | United Kingdom | — | — | 0 |
| UoB | United Kingdom | — | £44,943 | 34 |
| UCalgary | Canada | — | — | 13 |
| New Anglia University | Anguilla | $42,000 | — | 3 |
| RV Educational Institutions | India | — | — | 0 |
| St. Patrick's Pontifical University | Ireland | — | €47,707 | 0 |
| Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, National Institute on Aging | United States | — | — | 0 |
| Maastricht University Medical Center+ | Netherlands | — | — | 0 |
| Einstein Forum | Germany | — | — | 0 |
| Global Affairs Canada | Canada | — | — | 0 |
| Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research | Germany | — | — | 0 |
| Anatolia College | Greece | — | — | 0 |
| COA | United States | $87,000 | — | 1 |
| Rockefeller | United States | — | — | 14 |
| UAlberta | Canada | — | $79,328 | 23 |
| Waterloo | Canada | $197,500 | — | 18 |
| HMC | United States | — | — | 4 |
| University of Mannheim | Germany | — | — | 4 |
| Panthéon-Sorbonne | France | — | — | 0 |
| UB | Switzerland | — | — | 35 |
| Essex | United Kingdom | £41,000 | £51,962 | 34 |
| UNIGE | Switzerland | — | — | 9 |
| UofG | United Kingdom | £43,557 | £46,601 | 43 |