Find a Job You Really Want In
Adjunct Instructors are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as adjunct instructors in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since adjunct instructors are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where adjunct instructors have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for adjunct instructors.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s adjunct instructors:
So there you have it — Vocational Education Teachers, Postsecondary is the best of the best when it comes to being an adjunct instructor.
How did Vocational Education Teachers, Postsecondary end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for adjunct instructors and for more on the top ten states.
If youâre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- 17 Best Companies to Work For in Oklahoma City
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Oklahoma
- These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Oklahoma
How we determined the best states to be an adjunct instructor
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for adjunct instructors in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well adjunct instructors get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2016:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for adjunct instructors in California is $64,780 and the average salary in Illinois is $55,120, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for adjunct instructors in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for adjunct instructors.
1. Oklahoma
Total Jobs: 2,500
Average Annual Salary: $56,210
Average Entry Level Salary: $32,470
Average Experienced Salary: $84,140
Location Quotient: 1.9
2. Iowa
Total Jobs: 1,280
Average Annual Salary: $67,360
Average Entry Level Salary: $28,700
Average Experienced Salary: $124,050
Location Quotient: 1.01
3. Arkansas
Total Jobs: 1,590
Average Annual Salary: $50,470
Average Entry Level Salary: $27,910
Average Experienced Salary: $85,660
Location Quotient: 1.61
4. Mississippi
Total Jobs: 1,370
Average Annual Salary: $53,190
Average Entry Level Salary: $25,810
Average Experienced Salary: $76,830
Location Quotient: 1.48
5. Wisconsin
Total Jobs: 1,930
Average Annual Salary: $65,520
Average Entry Level Salary: $35,270
Average Experienced Salary: $99,670
Location Quotient: 0.83
6. Texas
Total Jobs: 11,920
Average Annual Salary: $56,180
Average Entry Level Salary: $25,480
Average Experienced Salary: $92,550
Location Quotient: 1.22
7. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 400
Average Annual Salary: $62,950
Average Entry Level Salary: $36,100
Average Experienced Salary: $97,870
Location Quotient: 0.5
8. Kansas
Total Jobs: 1,150
Average Annual Salary: $53,270
Average Entry Level Salary: $30,870
Average Experienced Salary: $78,860
Location Quotient: 1.01
9. Washington
Total Jobs: 4,670
Average Annual Salary: $59,150
Average Entry Level Salary: $35,590
Average Experienced Salary: $90,910
Location Quotient: 1.84
10. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 6,430
Average Annual Salary: $52,750
Average Entry Level Salary: $35,430
Average Experienced Salary: $71,800
Location Quotient: 1.83
There You Have It – The Best States To Be An Adjunct Instructor
If you’re looking to start out your career as an adjunct instructor these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be an adjunct instructor in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For adjunct instructors
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | $56,210 |
| 2 | Iowa | $67,360 |
| 3 | Arkansas | $50,470 |
| 4 | Mississippi | $53,190 |
| 5 | Wisconsin | $65,520 |
| 6 | Texas | $56,180 |
| 7 | Nebraska | $62,950 |
| 8 | Kansas | $53,270 |
| 9 | Washington | $59,150 |
| 10 | North Carolina | $52,750 |
| 11 | Colorado | $62,170 |
| 12 | Minnesota | $57,520 |
| 13 | Kentucky | $52,010 |
| 14 | Florida | $59,950 |
| 15 | Wyoming | $51,960 |
| 16 | Utah | $52,900 |
| 17 | Delaware | $62,650 |
| 18 | Rhode Island | $64,610 |
| 19 | West Virginia | $48,700 |
| 20 | Michigan | $49,110 |
| 21 | Illinois | $55,120 |
| 22 | Georgia | $47,600 |
| 23 | Arizona | $52,870 |
| 24 | North Dakota | $56,540 |
| 25 | Alaska | $70,430 |
| 26 | Ohio | $54,350 |
| 27 | Indiana | $48,900 |
| 28 | New Mexico | $56,300 |
| 29 | Idaho | $41,590 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | $52,450 |
| 31 | Oregon | $62,440 |
| 32 | South Carolina | $48,920 |
| 33 | Missouri | $49,130 |
| 34 | New Jersey | $59,620 |
| 35 | Alabama | $42,400 |
| 36 | South Dakota | $46,710 |
| 37 | Hawaii | $67,690 |
| 38 | California | $64,780 |
| 39 | Virginia | $53,540 |
| 40 | New Hampshire | $60,220 |
| 41 | New York | $66,150 |
| 42 | Nevada | $46,000 |
| 43 | Louisiana | $45,920 |
| 44 | Tennessee | $45,010 |
| 45 | Maine | $44,480 |
| 46 | Montana | $42,160 |
| 47 | Vermont | $54,470 |
| 48 | Massachusetts | $54,030 |
| 49 | Connecticut | $48,390 |
| 50 | Maryland | $45,120 |
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.
