It is fairly common knowledge among Americans that working in the education sector can be qualitatively fulfilling, but in terms of pay, very underwhelming. Low pay for educators is just one of many factors helping contribute to an increasing shortage of teachers in the United States. Hence why, if you find yourself very drawn to education as a career, you may want to consider teaching on the college level, or postsecondary, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) refers to it. In order to identify the highest paying college professor jobs, we analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), and honed in in on occupations that fall into their category Educational Instruction and Library Occupations, with specific attention to postsecondary — that is college-level — teaching roles.
Read on to find out the occupations with the best average college professor salary in 2023.
15 Highest Paying College Professor Jobs in 2023
Looking at the positions that have the highest average professor salary, one of the main commonalities that jumped out was being a professor in some field of the sciences. Not all of the highest paying professor positions are in the sciences, yet 9 out of the top 15 do fall in this category. According to the OES, the average annual wage for Postsecondary Teachers is $96,130 — well above the annual average wage for All Occupations, $61,900. But within that broad category of Postsecondary Teachers lies substantial variations in the typical college professor salary.
For example, the postsecondary position with the lowest average professor salary is Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary, with an annual mean wage of $65,500. From there, it’s a sizable jump to the second lowest paying college professor position: Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary, which earn $75,330 a year on average. In general, humanities professors tend to make less than their counterparts in the sciences, law, and other specialized fields.
Below is a breakdown of the top 10 highest paying college professor jobs in the U.S.
1. Law Professors
- Average Annual Law Professor Salary: $133,950
- 75th Percentile Annual Law Professor Salary: $176,900
- Total Employment: 14,830
2. Health Specialties Professors
- Average Annual Health Specialties Professor Salary: $127,640
- 75th Percentile Annual Health Specialties Professor Salary: $167,120
- Total Employment: 207,700
3. Economics Professors
- Average Annual Economics Professor Salary: $122,750
- 75th Percentile Annual Economics Professor Salary: $144,980
- Total Employment: 11,640
4. Engineering Professors
- Average Annual Engineering Professor Salary: $114,470
- 75th Percentile Annual Engineering Professor Salary: $136,530
- Total Employment: 36,010
5. Business Professors
- Average Annual Business Professor Salary: $108,060
- 75th Percentile Annual Engineering Professor Salary: $133,750
- Total Employment: 78,410
6. Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Professors
- Average Annual Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Professor Salary: $107,540
- 75th Percentile Annual Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Professor Salary: $131,650
- Total Employment: 11,150
7. Architecture Professors
- Average Annual Architecture Professor Salary: $104,370
- 75th Percentile Annual Architecture Professor Salary: $128,980
- Total Employment: 6,420
8. Physics Professors
- Average Annual Physics Professor Salary: $100,810
- 75th Percentile Annual Physics Professor Salary: $125,950
- Total Employment: 12,860
9. Anthropology and Archeology Professors
- Average Annual Anthropology and Archeology Professor Salary: $98,940
- 75th Percentile Annual Anthropology and Archeology Professor Salary: $119,590
- Total Employment: 4,930
10. Computer Science Professors
- Average Annual Computer Science Professor Salary: $98,610
- 75th Percentile Annual Computer Science Professor Salary: $125,790
- Total Employment: 33,870
11. Political Science Professors
- Average Annual Political Science Professor Salary: $98,420
- 75th Percentile Annual Political Science Professor Salary: $122,090
- Total Employment: 15,190
12. Forestry and Conservation Science Professors
- Average Annual Forestry and Conservation Science Professor Salary: $98,160
- 75th Percentile Annual Forestry and Conservation Science Professor Salary: $115,980
- Total Employment: 1,270
13. Biological Science Professors
- Average Annual Biological Science Professor Salary: $97,800
- 75th Percentile Annual Biological Science Professor Salary: $121,530
- Total Employment: 49,920
14. Agricultural Sciences Professors
- Average Annual Agricultural Sciences Professor Salary: $96,650
- 75th Percentile Annual Agricultural Sciences Professor Salary: $118,620
- Total Employment: 8,240
15. Chemistry Professors
- Average Annual Chemistry Professor Salary: $95,250
- 75th Percentile Annual Chemistry Professor Salary: $108,000
- Total Employment: 20,650
Trends in the Highest Paying College Professor Jobs
As already pointed out, being a professor in one of the scientific fields seems to translate, in general, to higher earnings than other educational fields. The postsecondary occupation with the best average professor salary is Law Professors, who on average earn well over double the average annual salary for All Occupations ($133,950 versus $61,900). The second highest paying is being a Health Specialties Professor; this category sounds vague, but it includes notable healthcare fields, such as dentistry, laboratory technology, medicine, pharmacy, public health, therapy, and veterinary medicine. And in a capitalist and financially-obsessed country like the U.S., it isn’t too surprising Economics Professors come in at No. 3, earning an average annual wage of $122,750.
Below you’ll find a table of all the postsecondary teaching jobs in the U.S. that the BLS has wage data for. Included in the table are the occupation titles, average annual wages, and change over the last five years:
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