Abstract
Background:
Nursing education programs across the US continue to face ongoing shortages of nursing faculty.
Purpose:
This study examined salary differences between nursing faculty and other nurses using 2022 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses data and identified specific factors contributing to these disparities.
Methods:
Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to compare unadjusted salary differences and demographic and professional characteristics between nursing faculty and other nurses. An ordinary least squares regression model examined the association between nursing job titles and annual salaries.
Results:
The average unadjusted annual salary of nursing faculty was $8677 lower than all other nurses ($81 617 vs $90 435). The adjusted annual salary of nursing faculty was $18 346 less than staff nurses, $19 863 less than charge nurses, and $27 526 less than front-line managers.
Conclusions:
Persistent salary disparities between nursing faculty and other nursing roles may discourage nurses from pursuing academic careers.
Keywords: career choice, nursing, pay equity, salary, workforce shortages
Many nursing education programs across the US struggle to recruit and retain nursing faculty. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), in 2023, the average national nursing faculty vacancy rate was 7.8%.1 A survey of over 800 nursing programs throughout the US found that 57.8% of schools had vacant full-time faculty positions for the 2024-2025 academic year, and another 16.6% required more faculty but lacked the budget for full-time positions.2 A similar survey reported that nearly 80% of nursing programs were attempting to hire more faculty.3 In addition to hiring enough faculty, programs also face challenges in recruiting them with the necessary specialties.2,4
High faculty vacancy rates and recruitment difficulties can have significant consequences for nursing programs. Faculty in understaffed programs often face heavy workloads, which have been related to a higher likelihood of intention to leave.5,6 Faculty shortages also impact nursing programs’ ability to enroll new students. The recent AACN report found that nearly 66 000 qualified nursing applicants were denied admission in 2023, including close to 5500 qualified master’s applicants and almost 4500 qualified doctoral applicants.1 To meet the growing demand for nurses, addressing the shortage of nursing faculty is crucial.
Research indicates that low compensation is a major barrier to recruiting and retaining nursing faculty. Multiple surveys have identified salary concerns as one of the most common challenges nursing programs face when trying to recruit faculty.2,3 Similarly, Anderson et al and Dugger found that compensation was one of the leading factors in faculty turnover, with 17.0% to 21.2% of current nursing faculty reporting plans to leave within 1 year and 33.3% to 40.7% indicating an intent to leave within 5 years.5,6 Nursing programs have often expressed concerns that nursing faculty earn significantly less than their counterparts working in clinical practice, particularly considering the additional time and cost required to obtain the advanced degrees necessary to work as faculty.4,7
Although it is widely acknowledged that nursing faculty earn less than nurses in clinical practice, no studies have systematically measured the extent of these salary differences. One study found that starting salaries for nursing faculty in most associate degree nursing (ADN) programs were between $50 000 and $75 000.8 Unfortunately, the study did not examine starting salaries of faculty in other types of nursing programs, such as Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs, nor did it compare faculty salaries with those of nurses working in clinical settings. Moreover, previous studies have compared the salaries of faculty and other nurses using broad titles rather than examining the salaries of nurses in specific roles. For example, the AACN report found that, in 2023, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in clinical practice earned an average salary of $129 000—over $35 000 more than the $94 000 average salary of master’s-prepared nursing professors.1 However, this report used different data sources to compare APRN and nursing faculty salaries, which may introduce measurement bias and compromise the comparability of the estimates. Another study that examined salaries of current and former nursing faculty found that only 18.1% of current faculty made over $100 000 compared to 37.1% of former faculty.5
Purpose
Despite these findings, further research is needed to systematically measure how nursing faculty salaries compare with those of clinical nurses and other roles in the profession. To fill this gap, this study compared nursing faculty salaries with those of nurses in a variety of clinical and nonclinical roles, analyzing how these differences varied by demographic characteristics, education level, and years of experience.
Data and Methods
Data
Data for this study were obtained from the 2022 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN), which was administered by the US Census Bureau. The NSSRN is collected every 4 years by the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The 2022 NSSRN survey targeted registered nurses (RNs) holding an active RN license as of December 31, 2021. The dataset provides comprehensive information on RNs across the country, including education background, employment characteristics, licensure and certification status, and demographic details. Participants were invited to complete the survey via web, paper, or telephone upon request. Out of approximately 125 000 RNs selected to receive the survey, a total of 49 234 completed it, yielding a response rate of 40.6%. The sample was then weighted to represent the estimated 4.2 million RNs in the US. Details on the sampling methodology and the calculation of weighted estimates are available in the 2022 NSSRN Methodology Report.9
Statistical Analysis
We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the 2022 NSSRN to examine salary differences between nursing faculty and nurses in other roles. Additionally, we explored factors associated with salary disparities among these nurses. The study sample included all RNs, including APRNs (referred to as all RNs), who were employed full-time in their primary nursing position, as indicated by a response of “Full-time (including full-time for an academic year)” to survey question C13: “For the primary nursing position you held on December 31, 2021, did you work full-time or part-time in 2021?”
The outcome under study was the annual pre-tax earnings from the respondents’ primary nursing position, as reported in survey question C34: “Please estimate your 2021 pre-tax annual earnings from your primary nursing position. Include overtime and bonuses, but exclude sign-on bonuses.” The main independent variable of interest was the job title of the primary nursing position, based on responses to question C11: “Which one of the following best describes the job title of the primary nursing position you held on December 31, 2021?” We consolidated the original 27 job titles into 16 categories. Job titles were selected individually if they accounted for at least 1% of all responses. Additionally, “Consultant” and “Researcher” were included despite representing less than 1% of responses, as they may reflect alternative career paths for current nursing faculty in the future. All other titles were regrouped into an “Other” category. Nursing faculty were identified as those who reported their job title as an “Academic Educator, Professor, or Instructor in a School of Nursing.”
Potential confounding variables, such as demographics, socioeconomic factors, job characteristics, and geographic locations, were identified based on existing literature.10-13 These variables included: age; sex (male and female); race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic American Indian, and Hispanic); highest level of nursing education (diploma in nursing, ADN and LPN-to-RN program, BSN, MSN/post-Masters certificate, and DNP/PhD in nursing); marital and parental status (married with children, married no children, separated with children, separated no children, never married with children, and never married no children); years in nursing since obtaining first RN license (0-5, 6-10, 11-20, 21-30, and 31 years or more); APRN status (including separate binary indicators for clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist, nurse midwife, nurse practitioner); annual work hours in the primary nursing position; employment setting (hospital, inpatient, outpatient, nonpatient, and 2 or more); clinical specialty (general medical surgery, newborn or pediatrics, chronic care/rehab, psychiatry, cardiology, emergency/critical care, ambulatory care, eldercare, community or public health, obstetrician and gynecologist, and other); residence in rural areas or health professional shortage areas; and US census division of residence.
For the analysis, 95% CIs were calculated for annual earnings by nursing job title. Descriptive statistical analyses (eg, frequencies, means, and percentages), and Pearson chi-square tests were used to examine the distributions and the differences in demographic and professional characteristics between nursing faculty and nurses in other roles. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis (coefficient; 95% CI) was conducted to evaluate the associations between nursing job titles and annual salaries and to compare the annual earnings of nursing faculty to nurses in other roles, adjusting for potential confounding variables. Three potential sensitivity analyses were included in this study to assess the robustness of the findings. The first analysis focused on full-time RNs only, excluding all APRNs from the sample (referred to as non-APRN RNs). The second robustness check restricted the study sample to all RNs who reported working at least 40 hours per week. The third analysis focused on the hourly wage of all full-time RNs.
All variance estimates were calculated using the jackknife replication method, as specified in the NSSRN technical documentation. Data analyses were conducted using STATA version 17.0 (StataCorp LLC, College Station, Texas) and SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc, Cary, North Carolina), applying appropriate procedures for complex survey data. A significance level of .05 was used for all statistical tests.
Results
As of December 2021, an estimated 2 869 603 RNs were employed in full-time nursing positions in the US. Most non-APRN RNs served as staff nurses (46.0%), charge nurses (9.5%), and front-line managers (4.9%). In contrast, only a small fraction of nurses (1.6%) reported working as nursing faculty (Supplemental Digital Content Table S1, available at http://links.lww.com/NE/C105).
The average annual salary for nursing faculty was $81 617, approximately $8818 less than that of nurses in other roles (Figure 1; Supplemental Digital Content Table S1, available at http://links.lww.com/NE/C105). In comparison, staff nurses earned an average of $83 250, charge nurses $87 067, and front-line managers $98 546. Among these groups, only front-line managers had a statistically significantly higher income than nursing faculty (Figure 1). School nurses were the only group with significantly lower earnings than nursing faculty.
Figure 1.
Annual income by nursing position (95% CIs).
Source: 2022 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN).Note: Other nurse roles include Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Wound or Ostomy Nurse, Public Health Nurse, Community Health Nurse, Patient Educator, Infection Control Nurse, Advice or Triage Nurse, Informatics Nurse, Transport, EMS, or Flight Nurse, Surveyor, Auditor, or Regulator, No Position Title, and Other.
Nursing faculty had notably different demographic and professional characteristics compared to nurses in other roles. A significantly higher proportion of nursing faculty were female (92.4% vs 85.7%) and non-Hispanic White (74.0% vs 63.3%) compared to their counterparts (Supplemental Digital Content Figure S1, available at http://links.lww.com/NE/C104). Additionally, their average age was nearly 52 years, approximately 7 years older than other nurses (Supplemental Digital Content Table S2, available at http://links.lww.com/NE/C106). They were also significantly more likely to hold an MSN degree or higher compared to other nurses (89.4% vs 19.3%) and to possess 21 or more years of experience in the nursing field (58.7% vs 29.2%; Supplemental Digital Content Figure S1, available at http://links.lww.com/NE/C104). Furthermore, on average, nursing faculty worked 2236 hours per year, which was about 241 hours more than their counterparts.
Figure 2 presents the adjusted salary disparities between nursing faculty and nurses in other roles based on the OLS regression results, which controlled for a range of factors including demographics, education, and work experience. Nursing faculty were found to earn significantly less than nurses in all other positions included in the model, with the exception of school nurses. Specifically, nursing faculty earned $18 346 less annually than staff nurses (95% CI: $13 325-$23 367), $19 863 less than charge nurses (95% CI: $14 632-$25 093), and $27 526 less than front-line managers (95% CI: $22 385-$32 667)—the 3 most common non-APRN nursing positions examined (Figure 2).
Figure 2.
Adjusted differences in annual income between nursing faculty and nurses in other positions.
Source: 2022 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN).Note: Other nurse roles include Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Wound or Ostomy Nurse, Public Health Nurse, Community Health Nurse, Patient Educator, Infection Control Nurse, Advice or Triage Nurse, Informatics Nurse, Transport, EMS, or Flight Nurse, Surveyor, Auditor, or Regulator, No Position Title, and Other.
While nursing faculty earned significantly less than most other clinical nursing professionals, this income gap was even more pronounced when their qualifications and experience were considered. On average, nursing faculty possessed higher levels of education and greater professional experience than their counterparts—attributes that would typically require higher salaries in clinical roles. For example, when a staff nurse was modeled with the same qualifications and experience as a typical nursing faculty (based on the most common or average values for nursing faculty characteristics), their expected salary increased from $83 250 to $94 132, which was $10 882 more than what the average staff nurse earned. Similarly, the expected salary for charge nurses rose from $87 353 to $95 469 ($8116 more), and for front-line management, the salary increased from $98 546 to $103 312 ($4766 more). This suggests that nursing faculty are forgoing substantially higher earnings by choosing academic positions over clinical practice.
Detailed results from the OLS regression examining the relationship between nursing-related factors and annual salary are presented in Supplemental Digital Content Table S3, available at http://links.lww.com/NE/C107. For example, female nurses earned significantly less than their male counterparts, with an average salary difference of $6340. Non-Hispanic Asian nurses earned $4479 more than non-Hispanic White nurses. Earnings also differed significantly by educational attainment and years of experience. For instance, nurses with a diploma earned $4688 less than those with a bachelor’s degree, whereas those with a DNP or PhD earned $15 890 more. Nurses with less than 5 years of experience earned $11 542 less than those with 11 to 20 years of experience, while those with 21 to 30 years of experience earned $4734 more.
Results from 3 robustness checks were largely consistent with the main findings. Whether the sample was restricted to non-APRN RNs, restricted to all RNs working more than 40 hours per week, or the model specification was changed to use hourly wage, nursing faculty still earned significantly less than nurses in other roles. Detailed information on these robustness checks is available upon request.
Discussion
This study advances the understanding of nursing faculty salaries in comparison to other types of nurses using data from the 2022 NSSRN. Results of the regression analysis indicated that nursing faculty earned significantly less than all other nursing positions (with the exception of school nurses) after controlling for demographics, educational attainment, work experience, and other relevant factors. In terms of the most common non-APRN nursing positions captured by the NSSRN, nursing faculty earned an average of $18 346 less annually compared to staff nurses, $19 863 less than charge nurses, and $27 526 less than front-line managers. These findings were consistent with prior research suggesting that nursing faculty earn less than their clinical counterparts.1,5 However, our study builds on this evidence by using nationally representative survey data and statistical analysis to offer a more comprehensive comparison of salaries and a deeper understanding of the factors influencing full-time nurse compensation.
This disparity in compensation is likely a major driver of high nursing faculty vacancy rates as well as difficulties with nursing faculty recruitment and retention.2,5,6 To address the nursing faculty shortage and expand nursing education program capacity for qualified applicants, it will be essential to increase nursing faculty compensation whenever possible to ensure that these nurses, particularly those with advanced degrees, are not lured away by more lucrative career opportunities outside academia. Research on nursing faculty has found that improving compensation was one of the most effective strategies for improving recruitment and retention.14,15 Given that addressing nursing faculty pay disparities may be challenging for many institutions, additional strategies may also be necessary. Research suggests that encouraging nursing students to pursue academic careers, providing mentorship for new nursing faculty, and increasing access to and awareness of scholarship opportunities (including federal funding opportunities such as Nurse Corps) would also be effective for improving nurse faculty recruitment and retention.7,15
The results of our study also indicated that full-time nursing faculty reported working an average of 241 hours per year more than full-time nurses with other job titles. These results are concerning as previous research on nursing faculty has tied high workload to an increased intent to leave.5,6 Additionally, high workloads have been shown to limit the time nursing faculty can devote to scholarship and research.4 Thus, in addition to the above strategies, addressing nursing faculty workloads is also essential for reducing turnover.
Limitations
There are several limitations in our study. First, information that nurses provided when responding to the NSSRN is self-reported, which may lead to response and recall bias. Participants may make other errors that are relevant to the study results, such as reporting hours that they were on call as hours worked. Second, some of the nurse titles, such as Middle Management or Administration (Director, House Supervisor, Associate Dean, and Department Head) and Senior Management or Administration (CEO, Vice President, CNO, CNE, and Dean), may include a combination of nurses working in academia (eg, Associate Deans and Deans) and nurses working in other positions, potentially blurring the distinctions between these roles.
Third, the number of months worked is an important factor, especially for nursing faculty who often have 9-month contracts but may also work on 10- or 12-month contracts, leading to differences in annual salaries. However, the variable “months worked” for the primary nursing position has nearly 90.0% missing and, consequently, cannot be reliably analyzed. To address this problem, we included “annual hours worked” in the primary nursing position as a control variable in the model. On average, nursing faculty were found to work more annual hours than other nurses. We also conducted a supplementary analysis using hourly wages as the outcome, and this approach produced results that were largely consistent with the primary model. Fourth, the 2022 NSSRN data do not include information about nonsalary compensation or benefits, such as health insurance, paid leave, retirement contributions, and so on. Thus, our analysis focuses only on annual earnings, potentially underestimating the full economic value of different nursing roles.
Conclusion
This study highlights the significant income disparity between nursing faculty and other nursing roles, reinforcing common concerns about pay disparities between nurses working in academic and clinical settings. This gap becomes even more pronounced when factoring in the higher education levels and greater work experience of nursing faculty. Many nurses forgo substantial earning potential in clinical practice and other roles when becoming nursing faculty. This compensation gap presents a major barrier for nursing education programs, which continue to face challenges in filling educator positions. Closing this wage gap is essential to reinforcing the nursing education pipeline. Targeted efforts to improve compensation as well as to provide scholarship and mentorship opportunities for those pursuing academic careers are needed to attract and retain the skilled faculty necessary to prepare the future nursing workforce.
Footnotes
The Health Workforce Technical Assistance Center (HWTAC) is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $450 000 with 0% financed with nongovernmental sources. The content provided here is that of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, HRSA, HHS, or the US Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Cite this article as: Pang J, Shirey S, Armstrong D. Exploring the pay disparity between nursing faculty and clinical nurses. Nurse Educ. 2026;51(1): 1-6. doi:10.1097/NNE.0000000000002026
Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal’s website (www.nurseeducatoronline.com).
Early Access: November 05, 2025
Contributor Information
Jinman Pang, Email: jpang@albany.edu.
Sage Shirey, Email: sshirey@albany.edu.
David Armstrong, Email: dparmstrong@albany.edu.
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