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Average Professor - Liberal Arts Salary in Bulgaria for 2026

A professor of liberal arts in Bulgaria earns about 57,360 BGN a year. That's 48% above the national average of 38,700 BGN.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Bulgaria sit around 32,020 BGN a year, while the very top stretches to 89,280 BGN. Everything on this page is in Bulgarian lev (BGN, symbol лв), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Bulgaria, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.


How much does a professor of liberal arts make in Bulgaria?

Average salary
57,360 BGN
4,780 BGN per month
Lowest reported
32,020 BGN
2,668 BGN per month
Highest reported
89,280 BGN
7,440 BGN per month

A typical professor of liberal arts working in Bulgaria brings home around 4,780 BGN a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 32,020 BGN, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 89,280 BGN for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior professor of liberal arts working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.


How professor of liberal arts pay ranges in Bulgaria

A good way to think about salary in Bulgaria is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all professors of liberal arts in Bulgaria earn less than 54,280 BGN a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 40,140 BGN (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 70,940 BGN (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of professors of liberal arts sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 32,020 BGN. The highest stretch to 89,280 BGN, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

32,020
Low
54,280
Median
89,280
High
40,140
25th
70,940
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in BGN

Professor of liberal arts pay by experience in Bulgaria

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a professor of liberal arts in Bulgaria, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical professor of liberal arts salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    35,300 BGN
  • 2-5 Years
    +31% from previous
    46,160 BGN
  • 5-10 Years
    +30% from previous
    59,940 BGN
  • 10-15 Years
    +18% from previous
    70,840 BGN
  • 15-20 Years
    +12% from previous
    79,260 BGN
  • 20+ Years
    +6% from previous
    83,760 BGN

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 31%. That is the point at which a professor of liberal arts typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.


Professor of liberal arts pay by education in Bulgaria

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving professor of liberal arts pay in Bulgaria. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average professor of liberal arts salary in Bulgaria broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Master's Degree
    36,700 BGN
  • PhD
    +81% from previous
    66,260 BGN

Professor of liberal arts gender pay gap in Bulgaria

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Bulgaria is no exception. Male professors of liberal arts in Bulgaria earn an average of 61,180 BGN a year, while female professors of liberal arts earn around 58,200 BGN. That works out to a 5% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Professor - Liberal Arts gender pay gap

5%

Men earn this much more than women on average in Bulgaria.

Men 61,180 BGN
Women 58,200 BGN

Pay raises for a professor of liberal arts in Bulgaria

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in Bulgaria sees a raise of about 10% every 22 months, which works out to roughly 5% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in Bulgaria, the national average raise is around 7% every 20 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in Bulgaria:

  • Banking
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Professor of liberal arts bonus rates in Bulgaria

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

51%

51% of professors of liberal arts in Bulgaria reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a professor of liberal arts a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5% of base salary. The remaining 49% of professors of liberal arts reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in Bulgaria

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Professor of liberal arts: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in Bulgaria is about 2% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

2%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Bulgaria on average.

Public sector 40,040 BGN
Private sector 39,160 BGN

Professor of liberal arts salary by city in Bulgaria

Professor of liberal arts pay is not even across Bulgaria. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Sofia
  • Plovdiv
  • Varna
  • Burgas
  • Rousse
  • Stara Zagora
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
SofiaCity63,700 BGN62,100 BGN32,200-95,420 BGN
PlovdivCity62,420 BGN57,820 BGN32,960-93,600 BGN
VarnaCity60,920 BGN57,800 BGN31,520-91,840 BGN
BurgasCity60,180 BGN54,280 BGN31,040-92,240 BGN
RousseCity56,100 BGN59,940 BGN25,940-88,620 BGN
Stara ZagoraCity53,160 BGN57,320 BGN24,860-86,520 BGN


Professor - Liberal Arts in Bulgaria: FAQs

  • How much does a professor of liberal arts make per month in Bulgaria?

    A professor of liberal arts in Bulgaria earns about 4,780 BGN a month before tax, based on an annual average of 57,360 BGN.

  • What's the salary range for a professor of liberal arts in Bulgaria?

    Entry-level professors of liberal arts in Bulgaria start near 32,020 BGN. Top-end pay reaches around 89,280 BGN. The middle 50% of earners sit between 40,140 and 70,940 BGN.

  • Is the median professor of liberal arts salary in Bulgaria higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 54,280 BGN, lower than the average of 57,360 BGN. Half of professors of liberal arts in Bulgaria earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for professors of liberal arts in Bulgaria?

    Men working as a professor of liberal arts in Bulgaria earn around 5% more than women on average (61,180 vs 58,200 BGN a year).

  • Do professors of liberal arts in Bulgaria get bonuses?

    About 51% of professors of liberal arts in Bulgaria reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5% of base salary.

  • Do professors of liberal arts earn more in the public or private sector in Bulgaria?

    In Bulgaria, the public sector pays a professor of liberal arts about 2% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do professors of liberal arts in Bulgaria get a pay raise?

    A professor of liberal arts in Bulgaria sees a raise of around 10% every 22 months, equivalent to roughly 5% a year.