Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of adjunct instructor salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest adjunct instructor salary of $69,711
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Georgia has the lowest adjunct instructor salary of $40,410
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The national average salary for adjunct instructors is $52,030
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The national hourly pay for adjunct instructors is $25.01
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do adjunct instructors get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for adjunct instructor by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for adjunct instructors after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for adjunct instructor salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Adjunct Instructors By State
| Rank | State | Average Adjunct Instructor Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $69,711 | $41,000 | $118,000 |
| 2 | Washington | $66,832 | $42,000 | $104,000 |
| 3 | New York | $66,246 | $39,000 | $111,000 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $66,135 | $39,000 | $111,000 |
| 5 | Vermont | $63,710 | $38,000 | $105,000 |
| 6 | Michigan | $59,233 | $37,000 | $94,000 |
| 7 | New Hampshire | $58,939 | $35,000 | $98,000 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $58,722 | $34,000 | $98,000 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $58,006 | $34,000 | $97,000 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $56,575 | $33,000 | $95,000 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | $55,730 | $36,000 | $86,000 |
| 12 | West Virginia | $55,702 | $33,000 | $91,000 |
| 13 | Hawaii | $55,158 | $35,000 | $85,000 |
| 14 | Rhode Island | $54,365 | $32,000 | $91,000 |
| 15 | Delaware | $54,316 | $32,000 | $91,000 |
| 16 | Iowa | $53,145 | $35,000 | $80,000 |
| 17 | Oregon | $52,661 | $33,000 | $83,000 |
| 18 | Nevada | $52,395 | $31,000 | $87,000 |
| 19 | Alaska | $51,678 | $36,000 | $73,000 |
| 20 | Minnesota | $50,971 | $33,000 | $76,000 |
| 21 | Virginia | $49,615 | $29,000 | $83,000 |
| 22 | Idaho | $49,542 | $31,000 | $77,000 |
| 23 | Maryland | $49,456 | $29,000 | $83,000 |
| 24 | Ohio | $49,243 | $30,000 | $79,000 |
| 25 | Montana | $49,086 | $32,000 | $73,000 |
| 26 | Kentucky | $48,715 | $30,000 | $78,000 |
| 27 | Utah | $48,653 | $30,000 | $77,000 |
| 28 | Alabama | $48,523 | $29,000 | $79,000 |
| 29 | Louisiana | $48,191 | $28,000 | $80,000 |
| 30 | Maine | $48,073 | $28,000 | $79,000 |
| 31 | North Dakota | $47,807 | $32,000 | $70,000 |
| 32 | Colorado | $47,611 | $31,000 | $72,000 |
| 33 | North Carolina | $47,403 | $28,000 | $79,000 |
| 34 | Wyoming | $47,228 | $31,000 | $70,000 |
| 35 | Arizona | $47,163 | $28,000 | $77,000 |
| 36 | Indiana | $47,002 | $29,000 | $74,000 |
| 37 | New Mexico | $45,691 | $28,000 | $73,000 |
| 38 | Arkansas | $45,645 | $28,000 | $72,000 |
| 39 | Nebraska | $45,280 | $29,000 | $68,000 |
| 40 | Mississippi | $45,266 | $27,000 | $73,000 |
| 41 | Kansas | $43,414 | $28,000 | $66,000 |
| 42 | Florida | $42,987 | $24,000 | $74,000 |
| 43 | Texas | $42,804 | $25,000 | $70,000 |
| 44 | Missouri | $42,685 | $27,000 | $66,000 |
| 45 | Illinois | $42,057 | $26,000 | $65,000 |
| 46 | South Dakota | $41,800 | $28,000 | $61,000 |
| 47 | Tennessee | $41,632 | $25,000 | $66,000 |
| 48 | South Carolina | $41,308 | $24,000 | $68,000 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $40,635 | $26,000 | $63,000 |
| 50 | Georgia | $40,410 | $24,000 | $66,000 |
Methodology: Adjunct Instructor Salary By State
To better understand adjunct instructor pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for adjunct instructors by state.
We took the average annual salary data for adjunct instructors from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for adjunct instructors.
Adjunct Instructor Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for adjunct instructors?
The highest-paid state for adjunct instructors is California with an average salary of $69,711 per year.
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What city pays adjunct instructors the most?
Bakersfield, CA pays adjunct instructors the most with an average salary of $70,761 per year.
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What is the worst state for adjunct instructors?
The worst state for adjunct instructors is Georgia with an average salary of $40,410 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
