SalaryExplorer

SOC 25-1124 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary — Columbus

Columbus, OH · 2 metro areas compared

$79,980 /year
210jobs in area
+0.8%vs US median

At $79,980, median pay for Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary in Columbus, OH tracks the national median of $79,350 closely.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $79,35010TH$38,24025TH$58,890MEDIAN$79,98090TH$105,310

How pay has moved

$84,155$59,1052019202020212022202320242025$79,980
$70,270 in 2019 to $79,980 in 2025, +13.8% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to decline

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
-0.2%
Openings per year
1,900
Typical entry-level education
Doctoral or professional degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Columbus, OH.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

At $79,980, median pay for Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary in Columbus, OH tracks the national median of $79,350 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $58,890 and $99,960. The lowest tenth earn under $38,240, while the highest tenth earn more than $105,310.

Employment stands at 210, or 0.2 jobs per thousand held locally. Cleveland leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $63,910. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 172nd of 611 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Columbus, OH · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$38,240−51.8%
25th$58,890−25.8%
Median (50th)$79,980+0.8%
75th$99,960+26.0%
90th$105,310+32.7%
Mean$73,540−7.3%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Ohio

Median annual wage for Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Cleveland$63,910160
2Cincinnati$62,800170

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Columbus run 4.5% below the national average, so the median of $79,980 goes as far as $83,749 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 5.5% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$79,980as reported by BLS

Local price level

95.5US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$83,749US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $79,980 a year, 0.8% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $38,240 to $105,310 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 210 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Cleveland, at $63,910.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary in Columbus, OH?

The median annual wage is $79,980, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $79,350, so pay in Columbus, OH is 0.8% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Columbus, OH earns more than $105,310 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $38,240 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Cleveland, at $63,910 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 210 jobs in this occupation in Columbus, OH. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.