NIU values its faculty and staff and recognizes that to achieve its mission and ensure academic success for our students, the university must strive to promote equity and competitiveness in its base salary offerings.
Human Resource Services consistently assesses the compensation of NIU employees in different job groups and within employment classifications. The following data sets provide information about how NIU's compensation compares to other institutions using various tools.
The tools used align job descriptions, not titles within their databases; so average salaries may be different in each view because of how the tool aligns job descriptions versus NIU’s specific definitions.
The table below combines the averages of the NIU-defined peer group* and the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources expense, enrollment, and high research/doctoral peer groups to determine whether the employment group’s average salaries are above or below the market.
| Job Group | 2024 NIU (Avg) |
2024 Comparison Groups (Avg) |
2024 Above (+) /Below (-) | 2025 NIU (Avg) |
2025 Comparison Groups (Avg) |
2025 NIU Group Increase % |
2025 Comparison Group Increase % |
2025 Above (+) /Below (-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative | $178,137.00 | $205,125.25 | -13% | $188,858.00 | $211,084.00 | 6% | 2.8% | -12% |
| Professional | $65,635.00 | $71,500.75 | -8% | $74,946.00 | $74,722.00 | 10% | 4.3% | -2% |
| Staff | $49,625.00 | $46,234.75 | 8% | $55,391.00 | $47,923.00 | 10% | 3.5% | 13% |
| Faculty (all) | $111,474.67 | $107,509.00 | 3% | $116,779.00 | $111,619.00 | 5% | 3.7% | 4% |
| Professors | $126,856.00 | $127,509.00 | -1% | $130,810.00 | $131,045.00 | 3% | 2.7% | 0% |
| Associates | $109,421.00 | $99,621.00 | 10% | $111,859.00 | $102,515.75 | 2% | 2.8% | 8% |
| Assistants | $107,265.00 | $89,155.75 | 10% | $98,511.00 | $91,758.00 | -9% | 2.8% | 7% |
1. Administrative group consists of Senior Leadership, Assistant/Associate Vice Presidents and Provosts, Deans, Associate and Assistant Deans, as well as chief administrative officers of the university.
2. Professionals comprise SPS.
3. Staff comprises Civil Service.
4. All funds represented in the data, student, graduate assistants, and extra help omitted.
5. Decrease in averages for assistant professors is due to the number of promotions to associate and a decrease in headcount in the assistant professor rank.
Data provided annually each February. Data presented is current as of February 13, 2025
*The NIU defined peer group was developed with input from shared leadership and governance groups on campus. The peer group represents out-of-state R2 institutions with similar institutional profiles to NIU and geographical connectedness to regions like ours (i.e., near a major metropolitan area).
This table shows average yearly salaries at NIU according to the employment groups defined by the Illinois state legislature.
| Employment Group | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Civil Service | $61,208.82 |
| Supportive Professional Staff | $78,062.63 |
| Principal Administrator | $148,144.89 |
| Chair | $176,428.65 |
| Ranked Faculty | $117,863.44 |
| Assistant | $104,829.22 |
| Associate | $111,497.40 |
| Professor | $131,477.36 |
| Instructor (Full Time) | $57,557.62 |
| Faculty Associates | $77,367.38 |
| Clinical Faculty | $78,050.40 |
| Outreach Instructor | $74,982.72 |
1. Appropriated Funds Only
2. Full Time Employees Represented Only
3. Faculty Associates include Faculty Assistants and Visiting
4. Administrators are Senior Round Table, Deans, Associate/Assistant Vice Presidents and Deans.
5. Professionals encompass all SPS employees.
6. Principal Administrators are directors, assistant/associate directors.
Data updated each year on December 15. Data displayed is current as of December 15, 2024.
This table shows the average yearly faculty salaries at NIU and other four-year public institutions in Illinois. The information was compiled from The Chronicle of Higher Education’s faculty compensation data.
| Institution | Total at Rank | Total Average |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois Public 4-year | 8,801 | $98,631 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 2,395 | $122,060 |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | 1,763 | $117,196 |
| Northern Illinois University | 803 | $86,606 |
| Western Illinois University | 447 | $82,948 |
| Illinois State University | 881 | $80,666 |
| Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville | 637 | $79,599 |
| Southern Illinois University at Springfield | 199 | $79,276 |
| Northeastern Illinois University | 259 | $79,099 |
| Chicago State University | 142 | $77,950 |
| Eastern Illinois University | 379 | $77,117 |
| Southern Illinois University at Carbondale | 651 | $71,813 |
| Governors State University | 245 | $71,005 |
Data is updated annually when the IPEDS are available. Displayed data as of the May 2024 IPEDS Report
The chart below identifies the number of employees within an employment group compared to the enrollment for each fiscal year (FY19-FY25). It represents declining enrollment and increasing headcount for almost all categories.
In 2021, the university re-aligned its SPS and Civil Service staff, transitioning many SPS to Civil Service titles and migrating approximately 15 employees from the “Senior Leadership” group to the SPS group. These employees were senior directors or assistant vice presidents.
The chart below identifies the overall personnel spending for each employment group, compared to the enrollment of each fiscal year, (FY19-FY25), and represents a declining enrollment and an increasing cost for almost all employment categories.
In 2021, the university re-aligned its SPS and Civil Service staff, transitioning many SPS to Civil Service titles and migrating approximately 15 employees from the “Senior Leadership” group to the SPS group. These employees were senior directors or assistant vice presidents
Data presented in these charts represents totals for all base salaries, including increments of active employees, off-cycle (i.e., not aligned with the budget cycle) increases, promotions, and other base adjustments. These charts are not meant to reflect the approved increment for the group.
| Employment Categories | FY20 % Increase | FY21 % Increase | FY22 % Increase | FY23 % Increase | FY24 % Increase | FY25 % Increase | Total $ Increase in FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Service | 7% | 4% | 6% | 7% | 8% | 4% | $1,446,908.99 |
| SPS | 6% | 2% | 7% | 7% | 9% | 5% | $1,528,763.46 |
| Grand Total | 6% | 3% | 7% | 7% | 8% | 5% | $2,975,672.45 |
| Employment Categories | FY20 % Increase | FY21 % Increase | FY22 % Increase | FY23 % Increase | FY24 % Increase | FY25 % Increase | Total $ Increase in FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Service | 7% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 6% | $1,414,838.35 |
| AFSCME (Clerical) #1890 | 8% | 3% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 8% | $942,424.96 |
| AFSCME (BSW and Dining) #963 | 4% | 4% | 3% | 6% | 3% | 3% | $126,084.29 |
| Carpenters #790 | 3% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 3% | 3% | $17,804.80 |
| Electricians #364 | 5% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 7% | $58,240.00 |
| Operating Engineers (Heating Plant) #399 | 3% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 9% | 7% | $145,308.80 |
| Operating Engineers (Grounds) #150 | 9% | 4% | 3% | 7% | 6% | 4% | $33,904.00 |
| IBEW - Field Techs | 3% | -2% | 18% | 6% | 7% | 3% | $6,981.00 |
| Telecommunicators #675 | 3% | 3% | 7% | 13% | 5% | 8% | $10,712.00 |
| Security Guards #414 | 3% | 6% | 9% | 0% | 13% | 3% | $2,652.00 |
| Police Officers #291 | 4% | 5% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 4% | $43,592.64 |
| Police Sergeants #292 | 3% | 3% | 4% | 6% | 6% | 1% | $6,093.36 |
| Teamsters #330 (Transportation) | 4% | 3% | 11% | 6% | 5% | 17% | $21,040.50 |
| Faculty | 6% | 4% | 5% | 9% | 4% | 4% | $2,219,850.90 |
| United Faculty Alliance #4100 | 6% | 6% | 5% | 8% | 4% | 4% | $1,904,572.42 |
| University Professionals of Illinois #4100 | 7% | -2% | 3% | 12% | 3% | 5% | $315,278.48 |
| Grand Total | 6% | 4% | 5% | 8% | 5% | 5% | $3,634,689.25 |
1. Smaller or negative increases were seen overall due to a drop in headcount and voluntary wage reductions in FY21 due to COVID.
2. Increases were larger in FY22 and FY23 due to restoration of voluntary reductions in FY20 and FY21 from COVID.
3. Average salaries include all increases, including promotions or position changes.
4. All funds are represented in the above data.