Best states for a graduate school dean

Q: What is the best state for graduate school deans?

The best state to be a graduate school dean is Connecticut based on graduate school dean salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for graduate school deans?

The highest paying state for graduate school deans is Arkansas based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for graduate school deans?

The worst state for graduate school deans is Georgia, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

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Graduate school dean opportunities vary in different parts of the country. In order to help you determine the best states for graduate school deans, we ranked all fifty states from best to worst for graduate school deans.As graduate school deans are popular in the U.S., we wanted to bring you a list of the best states for graduate school deans. In case you are trying to decide where to start your career as a graduate school dean, or if you are considering moving to a different city or state, we got you covered.

To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for graduate school deans. Connecticut is the best state for graduate school deans, where the median salary is $89,565.Connecticut is the best state, and New London is the city with the highest pay for graduate school deans.

10 best states for graduate school deans in 2025

1. Connecticut
Total graduate school dean jobs: 271
Average annual salary: $89,565
Lowest 10 percent earn: $63,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $126,000
Location Quotient:
2.37
Graduate school dean jobs in Connecticut
2. Montana
Total graduate school dean jobs: 75
Average annual salary: $80,524
Lowest 10 percent earn: $59,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $108,000
Location Quotient:
1.88
Graduate school dean jobs in Montana
3. Oregon
Total graduate school dean jobs: 266
Average annual salary: $79,592
Lowest 10 percent earn: $59,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $107,000
Location Quotient:
1.86
Graduate school dean jobs in Oregon
4. Michigan
Total graduate school dean jobs: 382
Average annual salary: $76,788
Lowest 10 percent earn: $55,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $107,000
Location Quotient:
1.43
Graduate school dean jobs in Michigan
5. Nevada
Total graduate school dean jobs: 61
Average annual salary: $82,341
Lowest 10 percent earn: $57,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $118,000
Location Quotient:
0.85
Graduate school dean jobs in Nevada
6. Wyoming
Total graduate school dean jobs: 30
Average annual salary: $74,591
Lowest 10 percent earn: $54,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $102,000
Location Quotient:
1.45
Graduate school dean jobs in Wyoming
7. California
Total graduate school dean jobs: 911
Average annual salary: $85,359
Lowest 10 percent earn: $59,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $122,000
Location Quotient:
0.9
Graduate school dean jobs in California
8. Maine
Total graduate school dean jobs: 48
Average annual salary: $76,730
Lowest 10 percent earn: $56,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $105,000
Location Quotient:
1.05
Graduate school dean jobs in Maine
9. Ohio
Total graduate school dean jobs: 245
Average annual salary: $77,333
Lowest 10 percent earn: $55,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $108,000
Location Quotient:
0.7
Graduate school dean jobs in Ohio
10. New York
Total graduate school dean jobs: 542
Average annual salary: $77,407
Lowest 10 percent earn: $54,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $109,000
Location Quotient:
1.23
Graduate school dean jobs in New York

Graduate school dean jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a graduate school dean

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a graduate school dean

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	Connecticut	$89,565	$63,000	3,588,184	271
2	Montana	$80,524	$59,000	1,050,493	75
3	Oregon	$79,592	$59,000	4,142,776	266
4	Michigan	$76,788	$55,000	9,962,311	382
5	Nevada	$82,341	$57,000	2,998,039	61
6	Wyoming	$74,591	$54,000	579,315	30
7	California	$85,359	$59,000	39,536,653	911
8	Maine	$76,730	$56,000	1,335,907	48
9	Ohio	$77,333	$55,000	11,658,609	245
10	New York	$77,407	$54,000	19,849,399	542
11	Minnesota	$73,667	$54,000	5,576,606	272
12	Rhode Island	$71,095	$50,000	1,059,639	80
13	South Dakota	$76,185	$56,000	869,666	17
14	District of Columbia	$80,447	$56,000	693,972	61
15	New Jersey	$74,487	$52,000	9,005,644	373
16	New Hampshire	$70,676	$51,000	1,342,795	110
17	Alaska	$69,509	$59,000	739,795	86
18	Wisconsin	$73,096	$53,000	5,795,483	146
19	Massachusetts	$74,226	$53,000	6,859,819	322
20	Vermont	$72,182	$52,000	623,657	29
21	North Carolina	$74,555	$51,000	10,273,419	205
22	Washington	$74,300	$55,000	7,405,743	219
23	West Virginia	$73,600	$51,000	1,815,857	30
24	Maryland	$74,653	$52,000	6,052,177	252
25	Pennsylvania	$70,455	$49,000	12,805,537	398
26	Missouri	$67,351	$47,000	6,113,532	294
27	Louisiana	$67,026	$45,000	4,684,333	115
28	Delaware	$69,346	$48,000	961,939	48
29	Kentucky	$69,453	$49,000	4,454,189	61
30	Idaho	$65,251	$47,000	1,716,943	74
31	Illinois	$63,558	$45,000	12,802,023	844
32	North Dakota	$67,713	$50,000	755,393	20
33	Iowa	$65,117	$47,000	3,145,711	96
34	Colorado	$63,812	$46,000	5,607,154	311
35	Nebraska	$64,383	$46,000	1,920,076	66
36	Arizona	$58,764	$41,000	7,016,270	307
37	Virginia	$66,198	$45,000	8,470,020	227
38	Kansas	$57,665	$41,000	2,913,123	122
39	South Carolina	$62,385	$42,000	5,024,369	105
40	Alabama	$62,738	$43,000	4,874,747	65
41	Indiana	$59,947	$42,000	6,666,818	197
42	Utah	$63,060	$45,000	3,101,833	44
43	New Mexico	$55,973	$39,000	2,088,070	79
44	Tennessee	$60,229	$41,000	6,715,984	106
45	Hawaii	$65,471	$54,000	1,427,538	10
46	Oklahoma	$53,089	$37,000	3,930,864	119
47	Florida	$59,399	$39,000	20,984,400	304
48	Texas	$53,732	$37,000	28,304,596	552
49	Mississippi	$54,366	$37,000	2,984,100	49
50	Arkansas	$52,962	$37,000	3,004,279	59
51	Georgia	$53,297	$36,000	10,429,379	147

Highest paying states for graduate school deans

Rank	State	Avg. Graduate School Dean Salary
1	Connecticut	$89,565
2	Montana	$80,524
3	Oregon	$79,592
4	Michigan	$76,788
5	Nevada	$82,341
6	Wyoming	$74,591
7	California	$85,359
8	Maine	$76,730
9	Ohio	$77,333
10	New York	$77,407
11	Minnesota	$73,667
12	Rhode Island	$71,095
13	South Dakota	$76,185
14	District of Columbia	$80,447
15	New Jersey	$74,487
16	New Hampshire	$70,676
17	Alaska	$69,509
18	Wisconsin	$73,096
19	Massachusetts	$74,226
20	Vermont	$72,182
21	North Carolina	$74,555
22	Washington	$74,300
23	West Virginia	$73,600
24	Maryland	$74,653
25	Pennsylvania	$70,455
26	Missouri	$67,351
27	Louisiana	$67,026
28	Delaware	$69,346
29	Kentucky	$69,453
30	Idaho	$65,251
31	Illinois	$63,558
32	North Dakota	$67,713
33	Iowa	$65,117
34	Colorado	$63,812
35	Nebraska	$64,383
36	Arizona	$58,764
37	Virginia	$66,198
38	Kansas	$57,665
39	South Carolina	$62,385
40	Alabama	$62,738
41	Indiana	$59,947
42	Utah	$63,060
43	New Mexico	$55,973
44	Tennessee	$60,229
45	Hawaii	$65,471
46	Oklahoma	$53,089
47	Florida	$59,399
48	Texas	$53,732
49	Mississippi	$54,366
50	Arkansas	$52,962
51	Georgia	$53,297

Best states for a graduate school dean

10 best states for graduate school deans in 2025

1. Connecticut

2. Montana

3. Oregon

4. Michigan

5. Nevada

6. Wyoming

7. California

8. Maine

9. Ohio

10. New York

Graduate school dean jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a graduate school dean

Detailed list of the best states for a graduate school dean

Highest paying states for graduate school deans

Graduate school dean best states FAQs

What is the best state for graduate school deans?

What is the highest paying state for graduate school deans?

What is the worst state for graduate school deans?

Search for graduate school dean jobs

Total graduate school dean jobs:	271
Average annual salary:	$89,565
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$63,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$126,000
Location Quotient:	2.37