Data for 1981-1981 on faculty salaries in California state colleges and universities are presented and interpreted. In addition to information on the University of California and the California State University and Colleges, salary data are also included for the California community colleges. Segmental salary requests and projections from the comparison institutions for both salaries and the cost of fringe benefits are examined, along with the general economic status of the profession. Indices for determining the cost-of-living are presented, and various economic forecasts are analyzed. The financial welfare of faculty vis-a-vis other professional groups are compared; studies of outside income received by faculty are reviewed, and the problem of competition for faculty from the business and governmental sectors is addressed. Among the conclusions are the following: University of California and California State University faculty have a salary advantage over the combined average salary paid by their comparison institutions (both within and outside California); however, they will need increases to equal the projected salaries at their comparison institutions; in most cases, employees in other professions have received greater salary increases than faculty at either the University or the State University over the past 10 years, although State University faculty have fared slightly better than University faculty; full-time faculty in the community colleges earn about two-and-one-half times as much as part-time faculty for each weekly faculty contact hour taught. It is suggested that faculty salary range adjustments geared solely to comparison institution data are insufficient. Information on the study methodology and supplemental information are appended. (SW)