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.
PLEASE NOTE: The tools used align job descriptions, not titles, within their databases, and each survey defines its own job categories, which changes how the information is presented. As a result, average salaries may differ from one view to the next depending on how each tool aligns job descriptions against NIU's specific definitions. These tools should be read together, as a whole, to monitor compensation programs on campus.
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 | 2025 NIU (Avg) |
2025 Comparison Groups (Avg) |
2025 NIU Group Increase % |
2025 Comparison Group Increase % |
2025 Above (+) /Below (-) | 2026 NIU (Avg) |
2026 Comparison Groups (Avg) |
2026 NIU Group Increase % |
2026 Comparison Group Increase % |
2026 Above (+) /Below (-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative | $188,858.00 | $211,084.00 | 6% | 2.8% | -12% | $189,462.00 | $226,159.00 | 0.3% | 6.7% | -19% |
| Professional | $74,946.00 | $74,722.00 | 10% | 4.3% | -2% | $75,816.00 | $77,930.00 | 1.1% | 4.1% | -3% |
| Staff | $55,391.00 | $47,923.00 | 10% | 3.5% | 13% | $55,857.00 | $50,970.00 | 0.8% | 6.0% | 9% |
| Faculty (all) | $116,779.00 | $111,619.00 | 5% | 3.7% | 4% | $120,860.00 | $116,841.00 | 3.4% | 4.5% | 3% |
| Professors | $130,810.00 | $131,045.00 | 3% | 2.7% | 0% | $135,224.00 | $137,446.00 | 3.3% | 4.7% | -2% |
| Associates | $111,859.00 | $102,515.75 | 2% | 2.8% | 8% | $116,838.00 | $106,648.00 | 4.3% | 3.9% | 9% |
| Assistants | $98,511.00 | $91,758.00 | -9% | 2.8% | 7% | $95,578.00 | $95,071.00 | -3.1% | 3.5% | 1% |
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.
6. As noted above, job descriptions align specific to CUPA’s job architecture, not NIU’s.
7. The decline in average assistant professor salaries from 2025 to 2026 corresponds with the number of assistant professors promoted to associate and a year-over-year decrease in new assistant professor hires.
Data provided annually each February. Data presented is current as of February 28, 2026
*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 | FY26 Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Civil Service | $62,653.00 |
| Supportive Professional Staff | $96,949.00 |
| Principal Administrator | $151,188.00 |
| Chair | $175,763.00 |
| Ranked Faculty | $118,228.00 |
| Assistant | $94,485.00 |
| Associate | $115,946.00 |
| Professor | $131,742.00 |
| Instructor | $54,480.00 |
| Faculty Associates | $64,038.00 |
| Clinical Faculty | $93,612.00 |
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.
7. Decrease in averages for assistant professors and other groups are due to the number of promotions to associate and a decrease in headcount in the respective groups.
8. Instructors evaulated at 1.0 FTE equivalent.
9. Decrease to reported salaries typically reflect workforce composition changes, such as retirements of senior employees and the hiring of new employees at entry-level salaries, rather than actual salary
Data updated each year on December 15. Data displayed is current as of December 15, 2025.
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 | FY25 Total average 9-month-equivalent salary |
FY 26 Total average 9-month-equivalent salary |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois Public 4-year | $98,631.00 | $108,573.00 |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | $122,060.00 | $132,874.00 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | $117,196.00 | $131,040.00 |
| Northern Illinois University | $86,606.00 | $99,800.00 |
| Western Illinois University | $82,948.00 | $91,891.00 |
| University of Illinois at Springfield | $80,666.00 | $89,588.00 |
| Illinois State University | $79,599.00 | $85,250.00 |
| Eastern Illinois University | $79,276.00 | $84,987.00 |
| Northeastern Illinois University | $79,099.00 | $83,479.00 |
| Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville | $77,950.00 | $81,240.00 |
| Chicago State University | $77,117.00 | $81,196.00 |
| Governors State University | $71,813.00 | $78,557.00 |
| Southern Illinois University at Carbondale | $71,005.00 | $76,588.00 |
Data is updated annually when the IPEDS are available. Displayed data as of the May 2025 IPEDS Report
The chart below identifies the number of employees within an employment group compared to the enrollment for each fiscal year.
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.
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
To create a comparison, select employee groups from the "Add Group" menu, select choose an option from the "Metric" menu. Chart will update automatically with your selections. To remove an employee group from the comparison, click its name in the key below the chart display.
Annual base salary increases by employee group. Additional details, minimum salary adjustments, one-time payments, merit programs, and negotiated provisions are provided below the table.
| Employee Group | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 | FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Represented Faculty | 1.5%–6% A | 5% | 3% | 3% | 2% |
| Non-Represented Staff | 1.5%–6% A | 3%–5% B | 3% | 0%–3% C | 2% |
| AFSCME Clerical #1890 | 1.5%–6% A | 5% D | 3% Plus base-building additions E | 3%–3.5% F | 2% Plus additional base increases g |
| AFSCME Building Service Workers & Dining #963 | 1.5%–6% A | 5%–8% H | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| IBEW Field Technicians | 1.5%–6% A | Greater of 4% or wage floor I | Greater of 3% or wage floor I | 5% | 5% |
| Operating Engineers Grounds #150 | 6% | 5% | 3% | 3% | Pending Negotiations |
| Operating Engineers Heating Plant #399 | 1.5%–6% A | 5% | Rate Schedule Adjustment J | 3% | 3% |
| Police Officers #291 | Step Scale K | 5% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Police Sergeants #292 | 1.5%–6% A | 5% | 5% | 3.75% | 3.75% |
| Teamsters Transportation #330 | 1.5%–6% A | 5% | 3% Plus minimum pay adjustments L | 3% | 3% |
| Telecommunicators #675 | 1.5%–6% A | 5% | 3% | 3% | Pending Negotiations |
| United Faculty Alliance #4100 | 6.5% ATB + Merit M | 3.5% ATB + Merit M | 3% ATB + Merit M | 3% ATB + Merit M | Pending Negotiations |
| University Professionals of Illinois #4100 | 6% | 6% | 5% | 3% | 4% |
Most employee groups received:
Eligible employees also received one-time payments ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 depending on pay band.
FY24 employees received either negotiated wage schedule increases or increases ranging from 5%–8% depending on years of departmental service.
FY24 and FY25 increases were the greater of the negotiated percentage increase or established wage floors by classification level.
FY25 established minimum Auto Technician rates before applying negotiated percentage increases.
Annual packages include: