Salaries for nursing faculty and program administrators should be top of mind for every university executive who is aware of the upward wage pressures created by the nursing shortage. It is increasingly difficult to compete for qualified faculty in a time of high demand for nurses.

What are nurses in academia making now? The most recent American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) salary study tells us what schools across the country paid last year. The tables below will help you know where your nursing faculty and leaders stand in this competitive market. If your school is significantly out of line with what others are paying, you may already be finding it difficult to recruit and retain this essential resource.


Mean and Median Salaries for All Full-Time Nurse Faculty
by Rank and Degree Level, 2021-2022

Academic Year Basis Calendar Year Basis
Rank and Degree Level Mean Median Mean Median
Professor
Doctoral $120,012 $113,436 $146,682 $138,645
Nondoctoral $69,962 $71,448 $85,509 $87,325
Associate Professor
Doctoral $95,166 $92,009 $116,314 $112,455
Nondoctoral $71,617 $69,289 $87,531 $84,686
Assistant Professor
Doctoral $82,719 $81,000 $101,101 $99,000
Nondoctoral $68,115 $66,059 $83,252 $80,739
Instructor
Doctoral $71,162 $69,699 $86,976 $85,188
Nondoctoral $64,693 $64,000 $79,069 $78,222
Data from AACN 2021-2022 Faculty Salary Study (934 schools)

Salaries of Deans/Directors/Chairs of Baccalaureate
and Higher Degree Programs in Nursing
by Program Type, Number of Full-Time Faculty,
Description of Nursing Program, and Type of Institution

Quartile 10th 25th 50th/Median 75th 90th
By Program Type
Baccalaureate Only $79,347 $91,000 $111,222 $130,000 $152,038
Baccalaureate and Master’s $88,000 $105,844 $126,496 $150,000 $180,000
Baccalaureate, Master’s and Doctoral $109,429 $132,000 $178,000 $261,000 $347,150
Graduate Only $115,000 $165,000 $210,000 $312,000 $442,000
By Number of Full-Time Faculty
10 or less $79,736 $91,544 $110,000 $127,500 $150,000
11–20 Faculty $95,000 $112,734 $127,812 $150,000 $181,856
21–30 Faculty $107,000 $121,572 $143,986 $165,501 $210,000
31–40 Faculty $140,000 $156,000 $189,000 $234,819 $321,420
41–60 Faculty $137,113 $185,895 $252,500 $317,941 $348,000
More than 60 $179,199 $240,428 $324,500 $375,928 $449,500
By Description of Nursing Program
College of Nursing $125,000 $160,626 $219,000 $304,500 $348,000
School of Nursing $95,580 $119,919 $145,644 $195,000 $335,000
Department of Nursing $83,589 $95,447 $115,000 $134,000 $168,056
Division of Nursing $85,786 $98,765 $114,854 $130,778 $150,000
Program of Nursing $73,000 $92,500 $115,000 $128,670 $152,000
By Type of Institution
Public $97,000 $118,000 $142,520 $220,000 $334,750
Secular $89,445 $115,963 $141,651 $187,000 $307,038
Religious $85,000 $95,000 $115,000 $142,860 $190,000
University $90,406 $110,000 $135,000 $188,000 $315,000
College $84,000 $102,000 $124,500 $150,000 $195,000
Data from AACN 2021-2022 Dean* Salary Study (966 schools)
*The term “dean” refers to the chief executive officer of a school of nursing, regardless of the institutionally determined title (director, chair, head, coordinator, and so on).

If you’d like more information from these salary studies, contact Dr. Carole Eldridge, Synergis CNO, at [email protected]