Foreign Language Instructor
Foreign Language Instructor Salary
$69K - $73K
7% of jobs
$73K - $77K
8% of jobs
$77.8K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$77K - $81K
46% of jobs
$81K - $85K
5% of jobs
$85K - $89K
5% of jobs
$91.8K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$89K - $93K
4% of jobs
$93K - $97K
5% of jobs
$97K - $101K
4% of jobs
$101K - $105K
4% of jobs
$105K - $109K
5% of jobs
$109K - $113K
4% of jobs
$69K
$79K
$115K
$86,800
/year
$41.73
/hour
Foreign Language Instructor Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$86,800
Columbus
Ohio
$83,840
Do you get a good deal as a Foreign Language Instructor?
Take The Breakroom Quiz to find out if your job offers fair pay and conditions. The 3-minute quiz lets you compare your pay, hours, benefits, and more.
Take The Breakroom Quiz
How much does a Foreign Language Instructor make?
As of Aug 10, 2026, the average annual pay for a Foreign Language Instructor in the United States is $86,800 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $41.73 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,669/week or $7,233/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $115,000 and as low as $69,000, the majority of Foreign Language Instructor salaries currently range between $78,500 (25th percentile) to $96,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $110,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Foreign Language Instructor varies greatly (by as much as 17500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Foreign Language Instructor in your area makes on average $83,840 per year, or $2,960 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $86,800. Ohio ranks number 31 out of 50 states nationwide for Foreign Language Instructor salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Foreign Language Instructor jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Foreign Language Instructor on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Foreign Language Instructor Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Foreign Language Instructor job is above the national average. Topping the list is Berkeley, CA, , with Sitka, AK, and Los Altos, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Los Altos, CA, beats the national average by $15,834 (18.2%), and Berkeley, CA, furthers that trend with another $19,481 (22.4%) above the $86,800 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Foreign Language Instructor appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 6% between Berkeley, CA, and Richmond, CA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Foreign Language Instructor role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Berkeley, CA | $106,281 | $51.10 |
Sitka, AK | $104,566 | $50.27 |
Los Altos, CA | $102,634 | $49.34 |
San Francisco, CA | $102,348 | $49.21 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $101,873 | $48.98 |
Livermore, CA | $101,815 | $48.95 |
San Jose, CA | $101,728 | $48.91 |
Los Altos Hills, CA | $101,130 | $48.62 |
Santa Cruz, CA | $100,224 | $48.18 |
Richmond, CA | $99,617 | $47.89 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Foreign Language Instructor Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Foreign Language Instructor job category, we found that Japanese Linguist jobs have average salaries greater than Foreign Language Instructor jobs.
Significantly, Japanese Linguist jobs pay $27,449 (31.6%) more than the average Foreign Language Instructor salary of $86,800. If you're qualified, finding work as a Japanese Linguist may help you make more money than that of the average Foreign Language Instructor position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Japanese Linguist | $114,249 | $54.93 |
Language Teacher | $54,168 | $26.04 |
Urdu Teacher | $44,055 | $21.18 |
Bus Driver Instructor | $43,812 | $21.06 |
Kazakhstan | $40,268 | $19.36 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
