Neil Salkind was born in Newark, New Jersey to Harry Salkind and Irene (Greenwald) Salkind. In 1964, Salkind began attending the University of Maryland-Baltimore (UMB) on a swimming scholarship. He later graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1969. Salkind also received both master's and doctorate degrees in human development from UMB, in 1972 and 1973 respectively.

Later in 1973, Salkind accepted a position as an assistant professor in the Education, Psychology, and Research Department, now the Educational Psychology Department, at the University of Kansas (KU). He held this position from 1973-1977 before being promoted to an associate professor in 1977 and then to full professor in 1983. Salkind retired from KU after 35 years of teaching in 2008.

While at KU, Salkind taught courses in children's cognitive development and research methods. He pursued research interests in children's cognitive development and, later, child and family policy. A prolific writer, Salkind wrote over 100 trade and textbooks over the course of his academic career, including notably the Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics textbook series, Exploring Research (1991), Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement (2002), An Introduction to Theories of Human Development (2004), Excel QuickGude to Statistics (2010), 100 Questions and Answers about Research Methods (2011), 100 Questions and Answers about Statistics (2014), and Excel Statistics (2015).

Salkind edited several encyclopedias, including SAGE Directions in Educational Psychology, Encyclopedia of Research Design, Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology, Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics, and Encyclopedia of Human Development. He also served as an editor for Child Development Abstracts and Bibliography and Child Development Society.

Salkind gave more than 150 professional papers and presentations and served as a member of a number of professional associations, including the Society for Research and Child Development, American Educational Research Association, and American Psychological Association.

Salkind married Leni Welitoff in 1968, and they had two children, Sara and Micah. Neil Salkind died in 2017.