Prevailing Wage for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Prevailing wage for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1121) is set by the DOL using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey data. Whether your offer is for an Art Professor, Art Instructor, or Art History Professor position, DOL sets four experience-based wage levels, and the floor shifts considerably depending on where the worksite is located.
See all jobs for this roleLook up your work address
Level 1 covers entry-level postsecondary arts instructors with limited teaching experience, typically new to higher education or holding a terminal degree without established research or creative output. Employers filing at this level must document the limited scope of duties.
Level 2 is the most common filing level for postsecondary arts faculty. It applies to instructors with a few years of teaching experience, a developed course portfolio, and some scholarly or professional creative activity within their discipline.
Level 3 applies to experienced arts faculty with a sustained record of teaching, research or creative scholarship, and professional recognition in their field. Candidates at this level often hold tenured or tenure-track positions at accredited institutions.
Level 4 covers fully competent senior faculty, typically full professors with extensive teaching records, significant published or exhibited creative work, departmental leadership responsibilities, and recognized national or international standing in their discipline.
Prevailing Wage for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
See all jobs for this role
See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for this role and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.
Search visa-sponsored jobsPrevailing Wage Guide for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Watch for title aliasing between SOC codes
Postsecondary arts roles are sometimes filed under broader education SOC codes rather than SOC 25-1121. Confirm your LCA lists the correct SOC so your offer is benchmarked against the postsecondary arts faculty wage floor, not a different occupation's lower threshold.
Account for the wide metro wage spread
The gap between the lowest-paying metros like Asheville and Roanoke and top markets like San Jose and New York is substantial across all four levels. If your offer is in a lower-cost metro, verify the L2 floor for that specific worksite city before comparing national figures.
Understand how tenure track affects your level filing
Postsecondary arts employers typically file at Level 2 for assistant professors and Level 3 or 4 for associate and full professors. A mismatch between your faculty rank and the filed wage level can create complications at the LCA certification stage.
Use Migrate Mate to find arts faculty sponsors
Migrate Mate shows which universities and colleges have previously sponsored postsecondary arts faculty positions, including Art Professor and related titles, so you can focus your search on institutions with a documented H-1B or green card sponsorship history for this occupation.
Jobs for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary are hiring across the US. Find yours.
Find Jobs for this rolePrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 25-1121.00 alongside Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
Art History Professor Prevailing Wage
Art History Professor Prevailing Wage
Art History Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1121.00 (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Art Instructor Prevailing Wage
Art Instructor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Art Instructor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1121.00 (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Art Professor Prevailing Wage
Art Professor Prevailing Wage
Art Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1121.00 (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Assistant Professor Prevailing Wage
Assistant Professor Prevailing Wage
Assistant Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1121.00 (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Associate Professor Prevailing Wage
Associate Professor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Associate Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1121.00 (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Instructor Prevailing Wage
Instructor Prevailing Wage
Instructor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1121.00 (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Music Instructor Prevailing Wage
Music Instructor Prevailing Wage
Music Instructor positions fall under SOC 25-1121.00 (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Music Professor Prevailing Wage
Music Professor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Music Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1121.00 (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Professor Prevailing Wage
Professor Prevailing Wage
Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1121.00 (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Theater Professor Prevailing Wage
Theater Professor Prevailing Wage
Theater Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1121.00 (Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary?
DOL calculates prevailing wages for SOC 25-1121 using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Employers sponsoring postsecondary arts faculty for H-1B or PERM must submit a Labor Condition Application through OFLC certifying that the offered wage meets or exceeds the applicable prevailing wage for the worksite location and experience level.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I know which one applies to my offer?
DOL assigns four levels based on experience, supervision, and complexity. Level 1 is entry-level with limited experience; Level 2 is qualified with some independent teaching and research; Level 3 is experienced with a sustained scholarly or creative record; Level 4 is fully competent with senior faculty standing. Your level should match your actual duties and experience, and it must be consistently reflected on both the LCA and any USCIS petition.
Why does the prevailing wage for the same postsecondary arts role vary so much by city?
OFLC uses regional Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, so prevailing wages reflect local labor market conditions. The LCA worksite rule means the wage floor is tied to where you will physically work, not where the university is headquartered. Dense employer markets with many competing institutions, like the New York metro area, tend to produce higher OES survey wages than smaller metros with fewer higher-education employers, which is why the L2 floor in New York is far above the L2 floor in a market like Wichita or Asheville.
What happens if a sponsored arts faculty offer is below the prevailing wage?
An employer cannot certify a Labor Condition Application with OFLC if the offered wage is below the prevailing wage for the applicable SOC code, level, and worksite. For PERM-based green card cases, DOL will reject an application that fails the prevailing wage test. USCIS also reviews LCA compliance when adjudicating H-1B petitions, and a wage below the certified level can result in a request for evidence or denial.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for an Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary role at a specific U.S. location?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool to look up SOC 25-1121 by metropolitan area or state nonmetropolitan region. Enter the worksite area, select the occupation code, and the tool returns the four wage levels based on current Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Cross-check the figure against your offer letter to confirm compliance before your employer submits the LCA. Migrate Mate can also show you which institutions have sponsored this role before, giving you a practical sense of which employers are actively hiring through the visa process.
See which employers are hiring and sponsoring visas for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary right now.
Search Jobs for this role