Art and Music Professor salary
From 562 certified H-1B filings (FY2025–FY2026). Base salary only.
- Occupation code 25-1121: Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
- Also filed as: Assistant Professor of Music, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
At a glance
- Mostly Level I (entry-level). 73% of Art and Music Professor filings are Level I, compared with 19% across all H-1B filings.
- Top filer: Savannah College of Art and Design. 22 filings (4% of the total), median $83,040.
- Median up 14% since FY2020. From $64,005 in FY2020 to $73,128 in FY2026 (Q1–Q3). Nominal, not adjusted for inflation.
Art and Music Professor H-1B salary overview
Employers filed 562 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Art and Music Professor jobs in FY2025–FY2026 (occupation code 25-1121, Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). The median base salary is $72,000, 41% below the median for all H-1B filings ($122,699), and half of the filings fall between $61,500 and $84,856. The most common wage level is Level I (entry-level), at 73% of filings. New York, NY has the most filings (19), and Savannah College of Art and Design is the employer that files the most (22).
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Percentiles from certified H-1B filings, base salary only. Metro areas with at least 10 filings.
Top employers for Art and Music Professor
Employers with the most Art and Music Professor filings. Bar: share of all Art and Music Professor filings. Figure: median base salary.
Pay by level
Entry-level · 73% of filings
Mid-level · 24% of filings
Senior · 3% of filings
Expert · 0% of filings
Show the table
By experience level
| Wage level | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Level I · Entry | $66,998 | 338 |
| Level II · Qualified | $77,799 | 110 |
| Level III · Experienced | $91,540 | 13 |
| Level IV · Fully competent | – | 0 |
Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.
Art and Music Professor pay by city
Median base salary in each metro area. Rent: HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027.
Show all 9 metro areas
| Metro area | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | $90,375 | 19 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $93,192 | 16 |
| Savannah, GA | $82,082 | 16 |
| Atlanta, GA | $75,400 | 15 |
| Boston, MA | $91,895 | 14 |
| Chicago, IL | $74,600 | 13 |
| Columbus, OH | $69,004 | 10 |
| Houston, TX | $77,667 | 10 |
| Ithaca, NY | $73,223 | 10 |
Metro areas with at least 10 filings for this occupation.
What a Art and Music Professor does
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Typical tasks
- Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, performances, projects, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare students for performances, exams, or assessments.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as acting techniques, fundamentals of music, and art history.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
Preparation
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
O*NET occupation: Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1121.00). This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
H-1B pay vs. all U.S. workers
Across all U.S. workers in this occupation (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary), the median annual wage was $78,620 in May 2025, with 93,560 people employed. The median H-1B base salary in FY2025–FY2026 is $72,000, 8% lower.
| H-1B filings | All U.S. workers (BLS, May 2025) | |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $52,819 | $47,570 |
| 25th percentile | $61,500 | $61,620 |
| Median | $72,000 | $78,620 |
| 75th percentile | $84,856 | $103,850 |
| 90th percentile | $98,463 | $163,350 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). BLS wages cover all wage and salary workers and include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are the base salary offered on certified LCAs. The two sources cover different periods. BLS reports wages of $239,200 or more as a single top value.
Salary details
Salary range
| Percentile | Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $52,819 |
| 25th | $61,500 |
| 50th (median) | $72,000 |
| 75th | $84,856 |
| 90th | $98,463 |
Salary by year
Median salary
Filings per year
Show as table
| Fiscal year | Median | P25 | P75 | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $64,005 | $53,826 | $79,625 | 226 |
| FY2021 | $61,500 | $52,010 | $70,363 | 215 |
| FY2022 | $66,471 | $55,312 | $76,725 | 301 |
| FY2023 | $67,390 | $55,720 | $78,827 | 309 |
| FY2024 | $67,277 | $57,008 | $80,000 | 280 |
| FY2025 | $70,720 | $60,000 | $85,000 | 322 |
| FY2026 | $73,128 | $64,668 | $83,077 | 240 |
Questions
How much does an H-1B Art and Music Professor make?
The median base salary in certified H-1B filings for Art and Music Professor jobs is $72,000 (562 filings, FY2025–FY2026). Half of the filings are between $61,500 and $84,856.
What does an entry-level Art and Music Professor earn on an H-1B?
Level I (entry-level) filings have a median of $66,998. Level I accounts for 73% of Art and Music Professor filings.
Do H-1B Art and Music Professors earn more than other U.S. workers in the same job?
The H-1B median base salary ($72,000) is 8% lower than the median wage of all U.S. workers in this occupation ($78,620, BLS May 2025). The sources measure pay differently, so treat this as a rough comparison.