Plan a nursing instructor offer from the postsecondary faculty wage, not from staff-nurse pay. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 reports 77,960 Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, with a national median annual wage of $80,250 and a 10th-to-90th percentile spread of $48,800 to $129,500. BLS counts this role within Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1072).
| Fact | Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (BLS SOC 25-1072) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| National employment | 77,960 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Annual median wage | $80,250 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 10th–90th percentile (annual) | $48,800–$129,500 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 25th and 75th percentiles (annual) | $63,510 and $101,090 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Annual mean wage | $86,410 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
How much to pay a nursing instructor: the short answer
Start with those national BLS figures, then move the range using the state and metro tables for the campus. These wages are for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary. Do not substitute staff-nurse wages or secondary health science teacher wages.
Place the individual offer by experience and by scope. O*NET OnLine (accessed September 25, 2026) describes the work as evaluating and grading class, laboratory, and clinic work; supervising students’ laboratory and clinical work; demonstrating patient care in hospital clinical units; delivering lectures on pharmacology, mental health nursing, and community health care practices; coordinating training with clinics, hospitals, health agencies, or vocational schools; and acting as advisers to student organizations. A heavier skills-lab load, more clinical sections, evening or weekend clinicals, advisory-committee work beyond the usual, or student-organization duty belongs higher in the local band than a standard classroom-plus-lab-plus-clinical load.
Write the posting so skills-lab days, clinical sites, and student-organization duty are visible; that is what the candidate is pricing.
National pay for nursing instructors
BLS reports these annual wages for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary. They are wages for the instructor occupation as BLS counts it, not a blended nurse-educator figure from another source.
| Percentile | Annual wage, Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (BLS SOC 25-1072) |
|---|---|
| 10th | $48,800 |
| 25th | $63,510 |
| Median (50th) | $80,250 |
| 75th | $101,090 |
| 90th | $129,500 |
Treat $80,250 as the national midpoint of that spread when you have no local row yet. Once you have a state or metro median, use these percentiles as the shape of pay across the occupation, not as labels for experience.
Pay by state
Hawaii has the highest published annual median at $129,530 (1,890 employed; location quotient 6.02). A location quotient above 1 means the occupation is more concentrated in that area’s employment than nationally. West Virginia has the lowest published annual median at $62,210 (400 employed; location quotient 1.14). District of Columbia ($107,770), Delaware ($98,170), Nevada ($96,500), and Connecticut ($95,500) sit at the high end of the state table. Arkansas ($63,090), Kansas ($62,870), and South Dakota ($66,630) sit at the low end. Alaska’s annual median is $85,650; Vermont’s is $66,660.
Large-employment states in the same BLS occupation include Texas (6,830 employed; median $84,930), New York (6,340; $82,950), California (5,610; $81,960), Illinois (4,940; $79,150), Florida (4,320; $82,410), Pennsylvania (4,290; $78,460), and Ohio (4,290; $76,700). Massachusetts (2,280; $85,130) and Wisconsin (1,760; $84,700) sit near the national median.
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (BLS SOC 25-1072), selected states | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank by median | State | Employment | Annual median | Location quotient |
| 1 | Hawaii | 1,890 | $129,530 | 6.02 |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 110 | $107,770 | 0.32 |
| 3 | Delaware | 240 | $98,170 | 1 |
| 4 | Nevada | 870 | $96,500 | 1.11 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 1,380 | $95,500 | 1.63 |
| 9 | Texas | 6,830 | $84,930 | 0.97 |
| 12 | New York | 6,340 | $82,950 | 1.3 |
| 16 | Florida | 4,320 | $82,410 | 0.87 |
| 18 | California | 5,610 | $81,960 | 0.61 |
| 29 | Illinois | 4,940 | $79,150 | 1.62 |
| 32 | Pennsylvania | 4,290 | $78,460 | 1.41 |
| 40 | Ohio | 4,290 | $76,700 | 1.54 |
| 49 | Arkansas | 830 | $63,090 | 1.27 |
| 50 | Kansas | 470 | $62,870 | 0.65 |
| 51 | West Virginia | 400 | $62,210 | 1.14 |
Set the local range from your state row, not from the national median alone. If your state is not in the table, use the medians named in the paragraphs above when they match your state, and keep the national percentiles as the occupation’s spread.
Pay by metro
Among major metro areas, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX has an annual median of $103,010 (1,580 employed). Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX is $98,970 (1,180). Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV is $94,740 (750). Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is $93,540 (740). New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ employs 5,290 at $92,050. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN employs 3,840 at $80,440. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA employs 2,350 at $79,680. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN is $67,520 with a location quotient of 1.83; Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI is $84,700 with a location quotient of 2.02.
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (BLS SOC 25-1072), major metro areas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro area | Employment | Annual median | Location quotient |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 1,580 | $103,010 | 0.96 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 1,180 | $98,970 | 0.58 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 750 | $94,740 | 0.47 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 740 | $93,540 | 0.7 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 5,290 | $92,050 | 1.11 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 740 | $87,920 | 0.92 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 1,310 | $86,030 | 0.93 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 830 | $84,700 | 2.02 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 1,560 | $83,550 | 1.15 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 2,050 | $81,040 | 1.41 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 3,840 | $80,440 | 1.7 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 2,350 | $79,680 | 0.75 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 1,420 | $71,740 | 1.2 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 1,010 | $67,520 | 1.83 |
When the job sits in a published metro, prefer that metro row over the state row for the offer band. If the metro is unpublished, use the state table. Readers comparing several labor markets can pair these medians with where to find nursing instructor candidates.
How to place an offer for this role
Move toward the higher end of the local band when the load includes clinical coordination, multiple clinical sites, evening or weekend clinicals, simulation-heavy skills-lab days, or advising a student organization. Those duties match the O*NET tasks of supervising laboratory and clinical work, demonstrating patient care in clinical units, coordinating training with industry partners, and advising student organizations. Move toward the middle of the band for a standard classroom-plus-lab-plus-clinical load with typical advisory-committee duty on the nursing program of study.
Name the systems the instructor will use. O*NET lists computer-based training and learning-management tools including Common Curriculum, Moodle, and Sakai CLE; Blackboard software; MEDITECH software; Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs; and originality-checking tools including DOC Cop and iParadigms Turnitin. Keep the written offer tied to the actual schedule—term calendar, clinical days, and lab days—so the candidate can see what the wage buys.
Verify any license or credential the candidate lists with the body that issues it before the start date. Follow your district’s or college’s own clearance process. Keep interviews and screening job-related. Under the laws enforced by the EEOC (accessed September 25, 2026), it is illegal to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex (including transgender status, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. This guide is general information as of September 25, 2026, not legal advice.
Using these figures in the posting
Publish a range built from the local OEWS median and the national percentiles, not a single number. State that the figures come from BLS OEWS May 2025 for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1072). Spell out classroom, skills-lab, clinical, and work-based learning days so applicants can match the wage to the load.
If you are still defining those duties, start with the nursing instructor job description template. For a full hiring sequence around the offer, use how to hire a nursing instructor. When the range and load are set, post the opening on ACTE Job Bank.
Do not mix this occupation with nearby titles
SOC 25-1072 is postsecondary nursing instructors. A secondary health science teacher is a different occupation with different OEWS rows; use nursing instructor vs. health science teacher rather than blending wages here, and set secondary pay from how much to pay a health science teacher. If the opening is really a medical assisting instructor or a health science teacher, use that occupation’s OEWS row instead of stretching 25-1072.
FAQ
How much should I pay a nursing instructor?
Start from the BLS OEWS May 2025 state or metro median for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1072), not from staff-nurse pay. The national median is $80,250, with 10th and 90th percentiles of $48,800 and $129,500. Place the individual offer by skills-lab load, clinical sections, evening or weekend clinicals, and student-organization duty.
What is the median nursing instructor salary?
The national median annual wage for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary is $80,250 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That figure is the midpoint for the occupation BLS counts, not a blended nurse-educator wage.
How does nursing instructor pay vary by state?
Published state medians range from $62,210 in West Virginia to $129,530 in Hawaii. Use your state row to set the local range rather than the national median alone.
How does nursing instructor pay vary by metro?
Among major metro areas, annual medians include $103,010 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, $92,050 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, and $67,520 in Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN. Prefer the metro row when it is published; otherwise use the state table.
How do I set a pay range for a nursing instructor?
Publish a range, not a single number, anchored on your state or metro median and informed by the national percentiles ($63,510 at the 25th and $101,090 at the 75th). Move higher in that band for clinical coordination, multiple sites, evening or weekend clinicals, simulation-heavy lab days, or student-organization advising.
