Prevailing Wage for Business Teachers, Postsecondary

The prevailing wage for Business Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1011) is set by the DOL and must be met by any U.S. employer sponsoring a visa for this role. Whether the position is titled Accounting Instructor, Business Professor, or Associate Professor, DOL assigns four experience-based wage levels, and the floor varies significantly by city.

See all jobs for this role

Look up your work address

Level 1Entry
National median
$53K
$25.60/hr

Level 1 covers entry-level instructors new to postsecondary teaching, typically with limited independent course design experience. DOL expects close oversight, straightforward course assignments, and minimal research or committee obligations. Often applies to visiting instructors or adjunct-track hires.

Level 2Qualified
National median
$78K
$37.52/hr

Level 2 is the most common filing level for Business Teachers, Postsecondary. It applies to qualified instructors who manage their own courses, hold a relevant graduate degree, and work with moderate independence. Most tenure-track assistant professor offers are filed here.

Level 3Experienced
National median
$103K
$49.57/hr

Level 3 covers experienced faculty who lead curriculum development, supervise junior instructors, or hold associate professor rank. DOL expects a record of independent scholarship or program leadership beyond standard course delivery.

Level 4Fully Competent
National median
$128K
$61.44/hr

Level 4 applies to fully competent senior faculty, typically tenured full professors or department chairs with recognized expertise, an established publication record, and responsibility for setting academic program direction.

Prevailing Wage for Business Teachers, Postsecondary by OES area

Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.

Loading map…
$15K/yr$101K/yr

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

1
Riverside, CA
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro
$101K$48.43/hr
2
Lawrence, KS
Lawrence, KS metro
$95K$45.54/hr
3
Fargo, ND
Fargo, ND-MN metro
$90K$43.31/hr
4
Madison, WI
Madison, WI metro
$86K$41.11/hr
5
Appleton, WI
Appleton, WI metro
$85K$40.79/hr
6
Fresno, CA
Fresno, CA metro
$84K$40.38/hr
7
Champaign, IL
Champaign-Urbana, IL metro
$83K$40.00/hr
8
New Haven, CT
New Haven, CT metro
$80K$38.56/hr
9
Eugene, OR
Eugene-Springfield, OR metro
$80K$38.37/hr
10
Sacramento, CA
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA metro
$77K$37.13/hr

See all jobs for this role

See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for Business Teachers, Postsecondary and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.

Search visa-sponsored jobs

Prevailing Wage Guide for Business Teachers, Postsecondary

Check whether your title triggers a different SOC

Business Instructors hired for combined teaching-and-research roles are sometimes filed under a management or economics SOC instead of 25-1011. That switch changes the prevailing wage floor, so confirm the SOC on your LCA before accepting an offer.

Verify the worksite city on your LCA

Business teachers at universities in smaller metros like Grand Junction or Pueblo face significantly lower prevailing wage floors than counterparts in Madison or Champaign. Your LCA must list the actual campus location, not a central HR office in a higher-wage city.

Understand how academic base salary is counted

For Business Professors sponsored on H-1B or PERM, only guaranteed base salary counts toward the prevailing wage floor. Summer research stipends, course-overload pay, and consulting fees paid through the university are excluded from the compliance calculation.

Use Migrate Mate to find which universities sponsor business faculty

Migrate Mate shows historical visa sponsorship counts by employer, so you can see which colleges and universities have actually sponsored Business Teachers, Postsecondary before filtering open listings by location and visa type.

Jobs for Business Teachers, Postsecondary are hiring across the US. Find yours.

Find Jobs for this role

Prevailing Wage by Reported Job Title

DOL classifies these titles under SOC 25-1011.00 alongside Business Teachers, Postsecondary, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.

Accounting Instructor Prevailing Wage

Accounting Instructor positions fall under SOC 25-1011.00 (Business 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.

Level 1
Entry
$53K
$25.60/hr
Level 2
Qualified
$78K
$37.52/hr
Level 3
Experienced
$103K
$49.57/hr
Level 4
Fully Competent
$128K
$61.44/hr

Accounting Professor Prevailing Wage

When a U.S. employer sponsors a Accounting Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1011.00 (Business Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.

Level 1
Entry
$53K
$25.60/hr
Level 2
Qualified
$78K
$37.52/hr
Level 3
Experienced
$103K
$49.57/hr
Level 4
Fully Competent
$128K
$61.44/hr

Associate Professor Prevailing Wage

Associate Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1011.00 (Business 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.

Level 1
Entry
$53K
$25.60/hr
Level 2
Qualified
$78K
$37.52/hr
Level 3
Experienced
$103K
$49.57/hr
Level 4
Fully Competent
$128K
$61.44/hr

Business Administration Professor Prevailing Wage

Business Administration Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1011.00 (Business 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.

Level 1
Entry
$53K
$25.60/hr
Level 2
Qualified
$78K
$37.52/hr
Level 3
Experienced
$103K
$49.57/hr
Level 4
Fully Competent
$128K
$61.44/hr

Business Instructor Prevailing Wage

When a U.S. employer sponsors a Business Instructor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1011.00 (Business Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.

Level 1
Entry
$53K
$25.60/hr
Level 2
Qualified
$78K
$37.52/hr
Level 3
Experienced
$103K
$49.57/hr
Level 4
Fully Competent
$128K
$61.44/hr

Business Professor Prevailing Wage

Business Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1011.00 (Business 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.

Level 1
Entry
$53K
$25.60/hr
Level 2
Qualified
$78K
$37.52/hr
Level 3
Experienced
$103K
$49.57/hr
Level 4
Fully Competent
$128K
$61.44/hr

Instructor Prevailing Wage

Instructor positions fall under SOC 25-1011.00 (Business 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.

Level 1
Entry
$53K
$25.60/hr
Level 2
Qualified
$78K
$37.52/hr
Level 3
Experienced
$103K
$49.57/hr
Level 4
Fully Competent
$128K
$61.44/hr

Management Professor Prevailing Wage

When a U.S. employer sponsors a Management Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1011.00 (Business Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.

Level 1
Entry
$53K
$25.60/hr
Level 2
Qualified
$78K
$37.52/hr
Level 3
Experienced
$103K
$49.57/hr
Level 4
Fully Competent
$128K
$61.44/hr

Marketing Professor Prevailing Wage

Marketing Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1011.00 (Business 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.

Level 1
Entry
$53K
$25.60/hr
Level 2
Qualified
$78K
$37.52/hr
Level 3
Experienced
$103K
$49.57/hr
Level 4
Fully Competent
$128K
$61.44/hr

Professor Prevailing Wage

Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1011.00 (Business 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.

Level 1
Entry
$53K
$25.60/hr
Level 2
Qualified
$78K
$37.52/hr
Level 3
Experienced
$103K
$49.57/hr
Level 4
Fully Competent
$128K
$61.44/hr

Frequently Asked Questions

How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Business Teachers, Postsecondary?

DOL calculates the prevailing wage for SOC 25-1011 using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. OFLC publishes the resulting wage tables annually. The figure reflects actual wages paid to business faculty in a given geographic area, not a national average, and is updated each fiscal year.

What do the four wage levels mean and how do I know which one applies to my offer?

DOL defines four levels based on experience, supervision, and job complexity. Level 1 is entry-level with close supervision; Level 2 is qualified and largely independent; Level 3 is experienced with leadership duties; Level 4 is fully competent at a senior or program-director scope. Your employer determines the level when filing the LCA, and it must accurately reflect the actual duties in the job description, not simply the title.

Why does the prevailing wage for the same business faculty role differ so much from city to city?

OFLC bases wages on regional Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys, so the floor reflects local labor market conditions. A Business Professor role in Madison, Wisconsin draws on wages paid by a dense cluster of research universities, pushing the floor higher. A comparable position in Grand Junction, Colorado reflects a smaller, lower-wage market. The LCA must cite the actual worksite location, so the employer cannot use a higher-wage metro to satisfy requirements for a campus in a lower-wage area.

What happens if my job offer is below the prevailing wage for a sponsored position?

An employer cannot file a certified LCA or submit an H-1B or PERM petition unless the offered wage meets or exceeds the applicable prevailing wage for the worksite location and wage level. If the offer falls short, OFLC will not certify the LCA. The employer must raise the offered salary to the floor before the immigration process can proceed. USCIS also reviews wage compliance when adjudicating petitions.

How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for Business Teachers, Postsecondary at a specific U.S. location?

Use the OFLC Wage Search tool to look up SOC 25-1011 wages by metropolitan area or county. Select the fiscal year, enter the occupation code, and choose your worksite location to see all four wage levels. To identify which employers have actively sponsored business faculty roles and in which cities, Migrate Mate filters sponsored job listings by role and location so you can compare opportunities against the OFLC floor you looked up.

See which employers are hiring and sponsoring visas for Business Teachers, Postsecondary right now.

Search Jobs for this role