State Rankings of Cost of Living Adjusted Faculty Compensation

In this paper we rank states based on higher education faculty compensation. Data on 574 universities across each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia are aggregated to develop a state compensation average. The analysis examines states both on a raw basis and on a cost of living adjusted basis. Rankings are reported for various academic classifications of faculty. Rankings based on salary data alone and salary and benefit combined data are presented. The results indicate that rankings of states based on raw and cost of living adjusted data are markedly different. The results suggest that faculty seeking employment opportunities should carefully consider cost of living issues. Administrators should design salary packages that reflect the local cost of living conditions in their area to attract quality faculty