Education · 68 Cities Ranked

Highest Paying Cities for Business Professor (Postsecondary) (2025)

The median Business Professor (Postsecondary) salary is $168,440 in Anchorage, AK, the highest-paying city for this role. After adjusting for cost of living, New Orleans, LA offers the best purchasing power at $143,420 adjusted.

The 68 cities below are ranked by median wage for Business Professor (Postsecondary), drawn from BLS OEWS. Top-of-list cities typically combine high local labor demand with above-baseline cost-of-living, so the gross-wage ranking partly reflects COL adjustment. Reading the ranking carefully: gross median wage is the headline number, but the cost-adjusted figure (which divides by the city's cost-of-living index) tells a different story for high-COL cities. The ranking sorts on gross wage; the per-city pages surface the adjusted figure.

For workers evaluating Business Professor (Postsecondary) relocation, the top of the ranking is the obvious starting point — but the bottom of the list (low gross wage, low COL) is often where cost-adjusted real income is highest. The role-specific pages link to per-city detail.

$101,041

National Median

$168,440

Highest City

$63,070

Lowest City

Cities Ranked

Ranked by Median Salary

Rank	City	Median	Range (10th-90th)	COL Index	COL-Adjusted	Jobs
1	Anchorage, AK	$168,440	$75,290, $331,040	127	$132,630	50
2	San Jose, CA	$160,090	$74,920, $324,590	195.8	$81,762	830
3	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$148,500	$76,720, $250,700	122.4	$121,324	520
4	Reno, NV	$142,920	$63,270, $176,170	106.5	$134,197	110
5	Fresno, CA	$138,680	$78,890, $172,270	105.5	$131,450	100
6	New Orleans, LA	$137,540	$58,030, $262,590	95.9	$143,420	240
7	Madison, WI	$137,060	$78,770, $332,780	103.8	$132,042	270
8	San Francisco, CA	$128,640	$63,300, $274,540	179.6	$71,626	430
9	Los Angeles, CA	$128,470	$60,910, $262,270	166	$77,392	2,050
10	Washington, DC	$128,370	$50,830, $265,940	152.8	$84,012	1,590
11	Detroit, MI	$127,450	$46,530, $178,940	95.1	$134,017	500
12	San Diego, CA	$126,140	$51,050, $218,610	160.2	$78,739	480
13	Birmingham, AL	$125,940	$63,480, $214,320	90.4	$139,314	190
14	Hartford, CT	$124,640	$52,810, $294,680	112.6	$110,693	380
15	Pittsburgh, PA	$121,760	$52,650, $166,990	92.3	$131,918	940
16	Salt Lake City, UT	$115,870	$68,250, $295,340	101.4	$114,270	200
17	Sacramento, CA	$113,550	$78,240, $207,700	124.7	$91,059	170
18	Atlanta, GA	$108,280	$40,990, $216,520	99.2	$109,153	810
19	Philadelphia, PA	$107,170	$49,240, $207,780	118.4	$90,515	2,260
20	Baltimore, MD	$107,120	$62,460, $198,010	114.2	$93,800	1,590
21	New York, NY	$104,770	$49,140, $206,400	187.2	$55,967	6,840
22	Providence, RI	$104,570	$67,410, $198,010	119.4	$87,580	490
23	Houston, TX	$104,320	$48,730, $196,200	96.5	$108,104	1,270
24	Raleigh, NC	$103,820	$42,480, $222,010	99.8	$104,028	300
25	Portland, OR	$103,130	$52,400, $192,830	130.1	$79,270	580
26	Boston, MA	$103,110	$59,000, $295,500	152.1	$67,791	3,250
27	Knoxville, TN	$103,010	$67,530, $319,760	90.3	$114,075	260
28	Spokane, WA	$102,510	$55,420, $132,980	97.4	$105,246	120
29	Rochester, NY	$102,320	$56,170, $215,320	92.9	$110,140	410
30	Seattle, WA	$101,930	$59,850, $274,890	149.4	$68,226	630
31	Minneapolis, MN	$101,770	$66,030, $303,460	106.2	$95,829	560
32	Austin, TX	$101,730	$51,260, $309,700	103	$98,767	740
33	St. Louis, MO	$101,730	$48,210, $331,940	90	$113,033	910
34	Buffalo, NY	$101,430	$52,680, $216,130	92.5	$109,654	380
35	Dallas, TX	$100,610	$40,560, $204,100	104.1	$96,647	1,870
36	Milwaukee, WI	$100,120	$33,300, $183,250	97.4	$102,793	690
37	Bridgeport, CT	$98,830	$49,920, $168,350	137.5	$71,876	0
38	Richmond, VA	$98,170	$47,750, $221,250	102.1	$96,151	400
39	Las Vegas, NV	$98,080	$45,140, $209,490	109	$89,982	270
40	Memphis, TN	$96,180	$61,530, $163,440	84	$114,500	220
41	Cincinnati, OH	$94,960	$23,050, $217,250	91.2	$104,123	640
42	Chicago, IL	$93,670	$35,030, $215,500	107.3	$87,297	2,450
43	Omaha, NE	$92,660	$53,540, $179,670	91.8	$100,937	110
44	Lexington, KY	$89,430	$39,430, $213,940	91.3	$97,952	190
45	Albany, NY	$84,980	$40,470, $135,030	100.7	$84,389	430
46	Greensboro, NC	$84,330	$53,530, $157,120	91.3	$92,366	270
47	Albuquerque, NM	$82,900	$42,680, $178,210	94	$88,191	210
48	Des Moines, IA	$82,730	$38,310, $122,770	93.3	$88,671	100
49	Greenville, SC	$82,140	$38,780, $155,650	90.1	$91,165	290
50	Boise, ID	$81,260	$59,800, $212,460	102.1	$79,589	0
51	Miami, FL	$81,050	$49,120, $166,560	123.1	$65,841	900
52	Columbus, OH	$80,670	$38,660, $222,830	93.1	$86,649	750
53	Nashville, TN	$80,660	$46,660, $166,710	100.3	$80,419	360
54	Phoenix, AZ	$80,600	$63,470, $162,010	100.7	$80,040	920
55	Kansas City, MO	$79,790	$38,530, $201,600	95.4	$83,637	280
56	Tulsa, OK	$79,100	$50,060, $164,850	86.8	$91,129	130
57	Jacksonville, FL	$78,930	$59,870, $123,570	95.1	$82,997	160
58	Tampa, FL	$78,610	$59,230, $142,280	99.6	$78,926	330
59	San Antonio, TX	$78,360	$38,070, $170,580	91.5	$85,639	660
60	Indianapolis, IN	$78,270	$41,140, $318,250	90.1	$86,870	430
61	Louisville, KY	$78,050	$47,830, $127,300	90.2	$86,530	110
62	Little Rock, AR	$74,870	$35,500, $159,700	88.2	$84,887	80
63	Charlotte, NC	$74,530	$29,410, $184,120	96.7	$77,073	440
64	Denver, CO	$74,490	$30,800, $176,670	112.8	$66,037	790
65	Oklahoma City, OK	$74,170	$38,340, $217,940	86.5	$85,746	260
66	Colorado Springs, CO	$72,020	$32,070, $166,020	104.5	$68,919	210
67	Orlando, FL	$65,730	$47,810, $124,830	103.1	$63,754	300
68	Wichita, KS	$63,070	$47,700, $83,310	84	$75,083	60

Ranked by Purchasing Power (COL-Adjusted)

Cost-of-living adjusted salaries show where your Business Professor (Postsecondary) paycheck goes furthest. A lower COL index means your dollars stretch further.

Rank	City	COL-Adjusted	Raw Median	COL Index
1	New Orleans, LA	$143,420	$137,540	95.9
2	Birmingham, AL	$139,314	$125,940	90.4
3	Reno, NV	$134,197	$142,920	106.5
4	Detroit, MI	$134,017	$127,450	95.1
5	Anchorage, AK	$132,630	$168,440	127
6	Madison, WI	$132,042	$137,060	103.8
7	Pittsburgh, PA	$131,918	$121,760	92.3
8	Fresno, CA	$131,450	$138,680	105.5
9	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$121,324	$148,500	122.4
10	Memphis, TN	$114,500	$96,180	84
11	Salt Lake City, UT	$114,270	$115,870	101.4
12	Knoxville, TN	$114,075	$103,010	90.3
13	St. Louis, MO	$113,033	$101,730	90
14	Hartford, CT	$110,693	$124,640	112.6
15	Rochester, NY	$110,140	$102,320	92.9
16	Buffalo, NY	$109,654	$101,430	92.5
17	Atlanta, GA	$109,153	$108,280	99.2
18	Houston, TX	$108,104	$104,320	96.5
19	Spokane, WA	$105,246	$102,510	97.4
20	Cincinnati, OH	$104,123	$94,960	91.2
21	Raleigh, NC	$104,028	$103,820	99.8
22	Milwaukee, WI	$102,793	$100,120	97.4
23	Omaha, NE	$100,937	$92,660	91.8
24	Austin, TX	$98,767	$101,730	103
25	Lexington, KY	$97,952	$89,430	91.3
26	Dallas, TX	$96,647	$100,610	104.1
27	Richmond, VA	$96,151	$98,170	102.1
28	Minneapolis, MN	$95,829	$101,770	106.2
29	Baltimore, MD	$93,800	$107,120	114.2
30	Greensboro, NC	$92,366	$84,330	91.3
31	Greenville, SC	$91,165	$82,140	90.1
32	Tulsa, OK	$91,129	$79,100	86.8
33	Sacramento, CA	$91,059	$113,550	124.7
34	Philadelphia, PA	$90,515	$107,170	118.4
35	Las Vegas, NV	$89,982	$98,080	109
36	Des Moines, IA	$88,671	$82,730	93.3
37	Albuquerque, NM	$88,191	$82,900	94
38	Providence, RI	$87,580	$104,570	119.4
39	Chicago, IL	$87,297	$93,670	107.3
40	Indianapolis, IN	$86,870	$78,270	90.1
41	Columbus, OH	$86,649	$80,670	93.1
42	Louisville, KY	$86,530	$78,050	90.2
43	Oklahoma City, OK	$85,746	$74,170	86.5
44	San Antonio, TX	$85,639	$78,360	91.5
45	Little Rock, AR	$84,887	$74,870	88.2
46	Albany, NY	$84,389	$84,980	100.7
47	Washington, DC	$84,012	$128,370	152.8
48	Kansas City, MO	$83,637	$79,790	95.4
49	Jacksonville, FL	$82,997	$78,930	95.1
50	San Jose, CA	$81,762	$160,090	195.8
51	Nashville, TN	$80,419	$80,660	100.3
52	Phoenix, AZ	$80,040	$80,600	100.7
53	Boise, ID	$79,589	$81,260	102.1
54	Portland, OR	$79,270	$103,130	130.1
55	Tampa, FL	$78,926	$78,610	99.6
56	San Diego, CA	$78,739	$126,140	160.2
57	Los Angeles, CA	$77,392	$128,470	166
58	Charlotte, NC	$77,073	$74,530	96.7
59	Wichita, KS	$75,083	$63,070	84
60	Bridgeport, CT	$71,876	$98,830	137.5
61	San Francisco, CA	$71,626	$128,640	179.6
62	Colorado Springs, CO	$68,919	$72,020	104.5
63	Seattle, WA	$68,226	$101,930	149.4
64	Boston, MA	$67,791	$103,110	152.1
65	Denver, CO	$66,037	$74,490	112.8
66	Miami, FL	$65,841	$81,050	123.1
67	Orlando, FL	$63,754	$65,730	103.1
68	New York, NY	$55,967	$104,770	187.2

Frequently Asked Questions

Anchorage, AK pays the highest median Business Professor (Postsecondary) salary at $168,440. However, after cost-of-living adjustment, New Orleans, LA offers the most purchasing power at $143,420 adjusted.

The national median Business Professor (Postsecondary) salary is $101,041 based on BLS data. Salaries range from $63,070 to $168,440 depending on city.

Not necessarily. A city with higher nominal pay may have a higher cost of living that offsets the salary difference. Compare the "COL-Adjusted" column in both tables above, cities with lower costs of living often offer better real purchasing power.