Healthcare Administration Degrees

Healthcare administration pay data

Healthcare Administrator Salary

Edited by Taylor Rupe, B.A. Psychology, University of Washington Seattle · B.S. Computer Science, Oregon State University

Last updated

The national median healthcare administrator salary is $123,860 for the medical and health services manager occupation. Explore the full pay distribution and state figures below, then compare them with the responsibilities and requirements of a specific job. These figures cover the occupation across experience levels; they do not identify a starting salary.

$123,860
National median
$73,390
Lowest tenth earn under
$224,340
Top tenth earn over
597,080
People employed

What Healthcare Administrators Earn Nationally

The tenth percentile is $73,390 and the ninetieth is $224,340. Those boundaries contain the middle 80% of wages. The ninetieth-percentile wage is about 3.1 times the tenth-percentile wage, but neither figure is a minimum or maximum for the occupation.

National wage distribution for SOC 11-9111, BLS OEWS May 2025
Lowest tenth earn under $73,390
Lower quarter earn under $94,700
Median $123,860
Upper quarter earn over $166,100
Top tenth earn over $224,340
People employed 597,080

BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 11-9111 (Medical and Health Services Managers).

The mean, $140,970, sits above the median, which is the signature of a long upper tail rather than a symmetrical spread. When a recruiter or a school quotes an "average" for this field, check which of the two they mean: the difference is $17,110.

Healthcare Administrator Salary by State

All states and the District of Columbia, ordered by median pay. Where a state has its own ranking page, the link goes to the programs available there.

Median annual pay for Medical and Health Services Managers in all states and the District of Columbia
State Median pay Against national People employed
New York $164,120 +$40,260 33,200
District of Columbia $155,140 +$31,280 2,010
Hawaii $147,630 +$23,770 2,650
New Jersey $145,650 +$21,790 16,900
Washington $145,290 +$21,430 7,490
Oregon $141,690 +$17,830 5,550
California $141,480 +$17,620 75,090
Colorado $134,910 +$11,050 8,400
Delaware $134,820 +$10,960 1,560
Massachusetts $134,360 +$10,500 17,600
Alaska $132,240 +$8,380 1,640
Georgia $131,910 +$8,050 11,130
Maryland $131,810 +$7,950 17,030
Connecticut $130,790 +$6,930 8,020
New Hampshire $130,410 +$6,550 2,460
Virginia $129,270 +$5,410 10,210
Arizona $128,850 +$4,990 11,840
Vermont $128,690 +$4,830 860
Wisconsin $128,320 +$4,460 7,230
New Mexico $124,300 +$440 3,150
Minnesota $122,700 $-1,160 11,350
South Dakota $122,050 $-1,810 1,140
Florida $120,360 $-3,500 42,700
Maine $120,320 $-3,540 2,450
Nevada $119,990 $-3,870 5,360
Rhode Island $119,260 $-4,600 3,370
Illinois $117,850 $-6,010 22,460
Idaho $117,770 $-6,090 3,920
Utah $114,980 $-8,880 4,860
North Carolina $114,410 $-9,450 14,820
Texas $114,150 $-9,710 58,420
West Virginia $112,010 $-11,850 2,080
Kansas $111,030 $-12,830 5,120
Wyoming $108,030 $-15,830 1,180
Nebraska $107,700 $-16,160 3,770
Michigan $107,570 $-16,290 16,060
Tennessee $107,120 $-16,740 14,160
Ohio $106,140 $-17,720 24,390
Montana $105,840 $-18,020 1,870
South Carolina $105,620 $-18,240 9,350
North Dakota $105,170 $-18,690 1,220
Louisiana $104,550 $-19,310 7,470
Missouri $104,370 $-19,490 10,800
Indiana $104,140 $-19,720 12,340
Pennsylvania $103,670 $-20,190 30,480
Kentucky $103,450 $-20,410 8,600
Iowa $101,940 $-21,920 6,200
Oklahoma $101,270 $-22,590 6,030
Mississippi $98,160 $-25,700 4,280
Alabama $97,790 $-26,070 10,360
Arkansas $94,340 $-29,520 6,440

BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 11-9111. The 51 areas include all states and the District of Columbia. For each area's wage percentiles, use the state salary explorer.

Compare State Pay with Local Costs and Opportunities

New York pays a median of $164,120 and Arkansas pays $94,340. That is a gap of $69,780 for the same occupation across two state workforces. The difference includes their mix of employers and roles; it does not tell you what an identical job would pay in both locations.

These wage figures are not adjusted for living costs. Compare housing, transportation, taxes, and other recurring costs in the places you would actually consider living. A higher salary does not by itself show how much money would remain after your expenses.

The second caveat matters more for a job search. High pay and many jobs are not the same list: only 4 of the ten best-paying states are also among the ten largest employers of these managers. A high median on a thin workforce describes a good job that is hard to get, which is why every state page carries the employment count beside the wage.

Where the Healthcare Management Jobs Actually Are

The ten states employing the most of these managers, which is the list to read alongside the pay table above rather than instead of it.

States employing the most Medical and Health Services Managers, with median pay
State People employed Median pay
California 75,090 $141,480
Texas 58,420 $114,150
Florida 42,700 $120,360
New York 33,200 $164,120
Pennsylvania 30,480 $103,670
Ohio 24,390 $106,140
Illinois 22,460 $117,850
Massachusetts 17,600 $134,360
Maryland 17,030 $131,810
New Jersey 16,900 $145,650

Those ten hold 338,270 of the 597,080 jobs in the occupation, about 57% of it, and they split evenly on pay: five sit above the national median and the rest below. The spread inside them is $60,450, from Pennsylvania at $103,670 to New York at $164,120. Where the jobs are and where the work pays are close to independent questions, which is why this table and the one above it are worth reading together rather than one instead of the other.

BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 11-9111.

How Healthcare Administration Pay Compares with Nearby Jobs

Three occupations a reader here is realistically choosing between. One of them pays better than this field, and it is on the list for that reason.

Median and percentile pay for healthcare management against adjacent occupations
Occupation Median Lowest tenth Top tenth Employed
Medical and Health Services Managers $123,860 $73,390 $224,340 597,080
Registered Nurses The job many healthcare managers leave to take this one $97,550 $68,940 $137,470 3,379,720
General and Operations Managers The same work outside healthcare $105,770 $50,090 $253,390 3,503,020
Financial Managers A management track that pays more $166,570 $94,310 $323,270 841,710

All figures BLS OEWS, May 2025, so the comparison is like for like.

Comparing Healthcare Administrator Salary with Other Careers

The healthcare management median is $26,310 higher than the registered nursing median. At the ninetieth percentile, the difference is $86,870. Those comparisons describe different workforces, not the raise an individual nurse would receive. If you are considering a clinical management role, compare its offer with your current total compensation and working hours.

General and operations managers have a median of $105,770, compared with $123,860 for healthcare managers. The healthcare management tenth percentile is $23,300 higher. Percentiles describe wage boundaries within each occupation, not minimum salaries or the pay available to every new entrant.

Financial managers have a median $42,710 above healthcare management and a ninetieth-percentile wage of $323,270. Use those figures alongside the education, experience, responsibilities, and working conditions of the specific positions you could pursue.

Common Questions About Healthcare Administrator Salary

What is the average healthcare administrator salary?
The mean annual wage is $140,970, while the median is $123,860. The mean is the arithmetic average; the median divides the wage distribution in half. Both describe the occupation across employers and experience levels.
What is a starting salary in healthcare administration?
Use local job postings with the responsibilities and experience requirements you can meet. The BLS tenth percentile is $73,390, but it identifies the lower tenth of wages, not workers starting their careers. Neither that figure nor the median is a starting-salary estimate.
Which state pays healthcare administrators the most?
New York has the highest median in this dataset at $164,120, compared with Arkansas at $94,340. The $69,780 difference compares entire state workforces. It does not isolate the effect of moving, changing employers, or choosing a job title, and it is not adjusted for living costs.
Do healthcare administrators earn more than nurses?
The occupation-wide median is higher: $123,860 compared with $97,550 for registered nurses, a difference of $26,310. These are different workforces, so the gap is not a promised raise. Compare a specific offer with your actual hours, benefits, overtime, and shift differentials.
Does a master's degree increase a healthcare administrator's salary?
Some employers prefer a master's degree, and advancement into executive positions may require one, according to BLS. Compare that requirement with the roles you want and your degree cost. The occupation's wage distribution does not establish a salary increase caused by earning a master's.

Sources for This Salary Data