How much do adjunct economics professors make per course?

Across 35 economics adjunct postings that disclose pay, the median is $3,500 per course; the middle half of listings fall between $2,491 and $6,188.

Do online adjunct economics jobs pay less?

Online economics listings show a median of $1,800 per course against $3,500 overall (from 2 online postings with disclosed pay). Institutions usually pay online and in-person sections at the same rate; the gap reflects which institutions hire online.

What would that be per year?

At the $3,500 median, three courses a term over two terms is about $21,000 before tax, with no benefits. Loads are usually capped below the level that would trigger benefits eligibility.

Adjunct economics professor pay per course

From real economics adjunct and lecturer postings across U.S. colleges and universities, refreshed daily. Live and recently closed listings both count.

Median per course · economics: $3,500
Middle half of listings (25th–75th): $2,491 – $6,188
Typical range (5th–95th): $943 – $14,239
Institutions disclosing pay: 31

Based on 35 listings that disclose per-course pay.

Highest-paying institutions

Median per course among institutions with at least three disclosed-pay economics listings.

University of North Texas System$4,641n=3

By state

States with at least five disclosed-pay economics listings.

California$8,215n=6
Texas$3,150n=8

Twelve-month trend

$8,077

Mar 2026

$3,108

Apr 2026

$10,230

May 2026

$8,262

Jun 2026

$4,641

Jul 2026

$4,175

Aug 2026

$4,651

Sep 2026

$3,500

Oct 2026

Median per-course pay of listings posted each month.

What the median means per year

Adjuncts are paid per course, so annual income depends on load. At $3,500 per course:

2 courses × 2 terms: $14,000
3 courses × 2 terms: $21,000
4 courses × 3 terms: $42,000

Before tax, no benefits. Most institutions cap adjuncts below the load that would trigger benefits eligibility.

Frequently asked questions

How much do adjunct economics professors make per course?: Across 35 economics adjunct postings that disclose pay, the median is $3,500 per course; the middle half of listings fall between $2,491 and $6,188.
Do online adjunct economics jobs pay less?: Online economics listings show a median of $1,800 per course against $3,500 overall (from 2 online postings with disclosed pay). Institutions usually pay online and in-person sections at the same rate; the gap reflects which institutions hire online.
What would that be per year?: At the $3,500 median, three courses a term over two terms is about $21,000 before tax, with no benefits. Loads are usually capped below the level that would trigger benefits eligibility.

Where these numbers come from

Every figure is computed from adjunct, lecturer, and part-time faculty postings that OpenLecture tracks across 4,000+ U.S. institutions, refreshed daily. Closed listings stay in the sample, so the picture covers roughly the past year.
Only postings that state a per-course amount are compared. Hourly and annual quotes are reported separately and never converted.
Where a range is posted, the top of the range is used. Figures below $500 or above $25,000 per course are excluded as mislabelled periods.
Medians are shown, not averages, so a handful of outliers cannot move them. Pages with fewer than 25 disclosed-pay listings carry a warning.
Roughly a quarter of adjunct postings disclose pay at all; these numbers describe the institutions that do.

Open adjunct economics jobs Online economics adjunct jobs All disciplines