How Much Do Assistant Professors Make?
Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary assistant professors make, you've come to the right place.
Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for assistant professors and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of assistant professors are offering as compensation.
Keep reading to learn more about how much assistant professors can expect to make in the United States.
At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Assistant Professors
According to data from 2023, there were about 1,807,717 positions for assistant professors in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for assistant professors was reported to be $83,637. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 115,981 job postings related to positions for assistant professors.
How Much Money Do Assistant Professors Make?
Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money assistant professors and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.
Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for assistant professors.
Annual Salary for Assistant Professors
According to the BLS, the lowest earners for assistant professors and related professions earned about $47,990 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $174,848 annually.
As mentioned previously, the median salary for assistant professors in the United States in 2023 was $83,637.
Annual Salary Range For Assistant Professors In 2023
Hourly Salary for Assistant Professors
The BLS also breaks down compensation for assistant professors by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for assistant professors in 2023 was $40. Lowest hourly earners took home $23 while the highest reported hourly salaries for assistant professors was $84.
Hourly Salary Range For Assistant Professors In 2023
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Advertised Compensation for Assistant Professors
Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for assistant professors, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for assistant professors.
Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™
Annual Salary from Job Postings for Assistant Professors
Advertised Annual Salary
During a review of 223,117 job postings related to assistant professors, advertised salary was included in 46,161 of them, which was 21%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for assistant professors was $80,832 per year.
Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Assistant Professors
Advertised Hourly Salary
A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for assistant professors. Based on 40% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for assistant professors in the United States is about $39.
Salary Trend for Assistant Professors
If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for assistant professors. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.
Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for assistant professors dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for assistant professors have increased 34%.
Advertised Wage Trend For Assistant Professors
What's the Job Growth for Assistant Professors?
Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for assistant professors over the next 10 years.
According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 1,807,218 jobs for assistant professors in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 200,197 jobs will be added. That's a 11.1% increase over the next 10-year period.
Employment Projections For Assistant Professors
Additional Links
Ready to dig deeper into career information about assistant professors? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for assistant professors.
What do assistant professors do?
Assistant Professors: How do you become one?
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