The Process

Final Results

National Faculty Median Salary by Discipline

“Each circle represents an individual faculty member and their salary. The visualization is organized by college, department, and position. Circles in gray indicate faculty members who are currently being compensated below the national median salary, while colored circles indicate those who are being compensated above the national median. To view departments within a college, simply click the down arrow in the graph.”

Mapping Cost of Living

“When you hover each circle on the map, you will see a description box associated with the circle. When the cost of living is at 100, it indicates that faculty salaries can comfortably cover living expenses. For instance, in San Marcos, Texas, the cost of living is 101.1, slightly higher than our peers on average and median. However, in Round Rock, Texas, the cost of living is higher at 116.5 compared to our peers. For another example, let's consider CUNY Brooklyn College in New York, where the cost of living is 184.7. This means that the cost of living is much higher than the national average and the faculty salaries need to be 84% higher to afford living in the city where they work. Conversely, living in Newark, New Jersey appears to be much more affordable 122.8 than living in Brooklyn, New York.”

Inequity by Rank, Ethnicity & Gender

“A compa-ratio of 1.0 means that the employee is paid exactly at the median salary point. Values higher or lower than 1.0 show how an employee’s pay compared to this median salary point. Whereas values higher or lower than 1.0 indicate how they are paid relative to the median salary. For instance, if the median salary point is $27,000 and an employee is paid $25,000, their compa-ratio would be 0.94, indicating they earn 6% less than the median salary point.

This visualization highlights the group of faculty who may be experiencing significant salary inequity. The data demonstrates that Assistant Professors are the group whose salaries are closest to or slightly above the national median salary. Associate Professors are the next group, while Full Professors (40% lower) and Senior Lecturers (50% lower) experience the most significant inequity in their compensation. Since 2017, this inequity gap has increased across all ranks except for Assistant Professors. In 2022, over 25% of Full Professors and 40% of all Lecturers were found in this inequity category, indicating a concerning trend of underpayment.

The ethinicity chart illustrates the relationship between average salary and the number of faculty members across different racial and ethnic groups. The largest group, White/Non-Hispanic faculty, comprises around 3,000 members with an average salary just below $80,000. In contrast, Asian faculty members, though smaller in number, have the highest average salary at approximately $100,000. Hispanic faculty make up a relatively large group, following White/Non-Hispanic, with an average salary close to $80,000. International faculty also have an average salary near $80,000, while Black/African American faculty, one of the smaller groups, earn slightly less than $80,000. Lastly, the Other/Unknown category shows a small faculty size with an average salary close to $80,000. The size of each bubble represents the number of faculty members, showing significant variation in representation across racial and ethnic groups.

The gender chart shows the progression of average salaries for male and female faculty members from 2018 to 2023, highlighting a persistent gender wage gap. In 2018, male faculty earned around $76,000, while female faculty earned about $68,000. Over the years, salaries for both genders increased, but men consistently earned more. By 2021, male salaries reached approximately $80,000, compared to $72,000 for women. Although the wage gap slightly narrowed in 2022 and 2023, with male faculty earning about $82,000 and female faculty around $76,000 in 2023, a noticeable disparity remains.”