<p>Average annual salary by academic rank, 2008-09:</p>
<p>Stanford:
Assistant Prof. $100,800
Associate Prof. $128,000
Professor $181,900</p>
<p>Caltech:
Assistant Prof. $105,500
Associate Prof. $126,200
Professor $172,500</p>
<p>UC Berkeley:
Assistant Prof. $81,300
Associate Prof. $96,100
Professor $143,500</p>
<p>UC Irvine
Assistant Prof. $75,100
Associate Prof. $84,600
Professor $131,800</p>
<p>Pomona College:
Assistant Prof. $75,100
Associate Prof. $96,600
Professor $135,300</p>
<p>Pitzer College:
Assistant Prof. $69,100
Associate Prof. $85,500
Professor $110,500</p>
<p>Source: AAUP/Chronicle of Higher Education</p>
<p>This disparity is pretty typical. Generally the top private universities pay significantly more than both the top publics and top LACs; top research universities (public and private) pay better than lower-ranked universities (public and private) and LACs; top LACs generally pay better than lower-ranked LACs, and so on. To some degree, though, the disparity between LACs and universities reflects a different mix of fields. As others have pointed out, liberal arts fields generally pay less than law, medicine, business, or engineering; and within the liberal arts, sciences often pay better than humanities or social sciences.</p>