Money · 1 of 5
What college instructors make
Median
$63,820
Bottom tenth
$41,960
Top tenth
$108,620
The national median is $63,820 a year, the bottom tenth earn $41,960 or less and the top tenth $108,620 or more (2025 federal wage survey). These are the federal figures for career and technical education teachers at the college level, which is the instructor who teaches welding, nursing, automotive or business at a two-year college. Professors at four-year universities are counted separately and paid on a different scale.