Healthcare Administration Salary: How Much Can You Make?

10 Min Read Published September 20, 2024
Healthcare Administration Salary Guide 2024

As the field of healthcare only continues to grow, the need for healthcare administrators does too. Healthcare administration is an important role in the healthcare industry, and many people are drawn to it because it is a rewarding career path with the ability to make a real impact in healthcare. It also comes with many benefits, including upward mobility and potentially high salaries. So how much do healthcare administrators make?

In this guide, we’ll explore how much healthcare administrators make, salaries by city and state, some of the highest-paying healthcare administration careers, and more!

Popular Online Healthcare Leadership Programs

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The University of Scranton

The University of Scranton offers multiple online degrees in the growing healthcare industry. The comprehensive coursework is based on real-world scenarios and is equally rigorous and rewarding. The return on investment will be as big as the change you can make in a variety of healthcare leadership roles!

Accreditation
Multiple
Location
Online

Enrollment: Nationwide

Grand Canyon University
GCU’s RN-BSN program is tailored to meet the needs of the RN adult learner and to maximize the strengths that the working RN already possesses. Transfer up to 90 credits and earn a BSN in as little as 12 months. GCU’s online classes allow you to study at the times that work for your schedule while still enjoying a close connection with your classmates and instructor via online discussions.
Accreditation
CCNE
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required

Enrollment: Nationwide

Purdue Global

At Purdue Global, discover a faster, more affordable way to earn your Nursing degree. Purdue Global is committed to keeping your tuition costs as low as possible and helping you find the most efficient path to your degree.

Accreditation
CCNE
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required

Enrollment: Nationwide, but certain programs have state restrictions. Check with Purdue for details.

Western Governors University

WGU's award-winning online programs are created to help you succeed while graduating faster and with less debt. WGU is a CCNE accredited, nonprofit university offering nursing bachelor's and master's degrees.

Accreditation
CCNE
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required

Enrollment: Nationwide

American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL)

AONL’s Certified Nurse Manager and Leader (CNML®) credential is designed exclusively for nurse leaders in the nurse manager role and is the only of its kind. With the CNML certification, you will become recognized as a leader in your health care community. AONL also offers the Transition to Nurse Manager Practice program where incoming and new nurse managers can build the leadership skills necessary for their new role.

Accreditation
NCCA & ANCC
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required

Enrollment: Nationwide

Liberty University
At Liberty, you’ll benefit from 30+ years of learning, growing, adapting, and innovating for the distance learner — and more than a decade of researching the needs of the online student. You can be confident that we’ve taken the time to learn what’s important to you.
Accreditation
CCNE
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required

Enrollment: Nationwide

How Much Do Healthcare Administrators Make?

Healthcare administrators have the potential to make substantially high salaries. A hospital CEO, for example, could make millions, while many other healthcare admin jobs can earn six-figure salaries. 

Here is a sampling of some of the healthcare administrator salaries you might find in the field:

Private Practice Office Manager

Annual Salary
$100,000+

As a private practice office manager, you would essentially be in charge of running a medical practice for a provider. According to the BLS, a medical and health services manager makes an average salary of $110,680, although that could vary widely. A smaller office, for instance, may not earn you as high of a salary as a multi-facility one. 

Nursing Home Administrator

Annual Salary
$130,619

A nursing home administrator would hold a senior-level position at a nursing home, managing other people in leadership roles and working on the business end of directing the facility. Nursing home administrators or directors are one of the highest-paid healthcare administration roles. According to Salary.com, a nursing home administrator makes an average of $130,619. 

Health Services Manager or Administrator

Annual Salary
$110,680

This role could be a Nurse Manager, who oversees a particular unit or floor of the hospital, or an administrator in another department of the hospital, such as employee health or infection control. According to the BLS, medical and health service managers make an average of $110,680 per year. 

Health Information Manager

Annual Salary
$169,510

A health information manager has a very specialized role in the healthcare industry. In this position, you would be overseeing other health informatics specialists who are responsible for working with medical records and data. According to the BLS, computer and information systems managers make an average of over $169,510 per year. 

Hospital Director/CEO

Annual Salary
$374,000

Obviously, a hospital CEO is at the very top of the healthcare administration tier and is in charge of an entire healthcare facility. According to the Economic Research Institute, a hospital director makes an average of over $374,000 every year, although annual wages can easily reach over 1 million dollars for large hospital operations. 

>> Related: 10 Highest Paying Healthcare Administration Jobs

Popular Online Healthcare Leadership Programs

Sponsored
The University of Scranton

The University of Scranton offers multiple online degrees in the growing healthcare industry. The comprehensive coursework is based on real-world scenarios and is equally rigorous and rewarding. The return on investment will be as big as the change you can make in a variety of healthcare leadership roles!

Accreditation
Multiple
Location
Online

Enrollment: Nationwide

Grand Canyon University
GCU’s RN-BSN program is tailored to meet the needs of the RN adult learner and to maximize the strengths that the working RN already possesses. Transfer up to 90 credits and earn a BSN in as little as 12 months. GCU’s online classes allow you to study at the times that work for your schedule while still enjoying a close connection with your classmates and instructor via online discussions.
Accreditation
CCNE
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required

Enrollment: Nationwide

Purdue Global

At Purdue Global, discover a faster, more affordable way to earn your Nursing degree. Purdue Global is committed to keeping your tuition costs as low as possible and helping you find the most efficient path to your degree.

Accreditation
CCNE
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required

Enrollment: Nationwide, but certain programs have state restrictions. Check with Purdue for details.

Western Governors University

WGU's award-winning online programs are created to help you succeed while graduating faster and with less debt. WGU is a CCNE accredited, nonprofit university offering nursing bachelor's and master's degrees.

Accreditation
CCNE
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required

Enrollment: Nationwide

American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL)

AONL’s Certified Nurse Manager and Leader (CNML®) credential is designed exclusively for nurse leaders in the nurse manager role and is the only of its kind. With the CNML certification, you will become recognized as a leader in your health care community. AONL also offers the Transition to Nurse Manager Practice program where incoming and new nurse managers can build the leadership skills necessary for their new role.

Accreditation
NCCA & ANCC
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required

Enrollment: Nationwide

Liberty University
At Liberty, you’ll benefit from 30+ years of learning, growing, adapting, and innovating for the distance learner — and more than a decade of researching the needs of the online student. You can be confident that we’ve taken the time to learn what’s important to you.
Accreditation
CCNE
Location
Online
Prerequisite
RN Required

Enrollment: Nationwide

Healthcare Administration Salaries by City & State

One of the biggest factors for a healthcare administration salary is location. Here’s how much healthcare administrators make in each state according to the BLS. 

Healthcare Administration Salaries by State

State Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
Oregon $45,661 $3,805 $878 $21.95
Alaska $45,622 $3,801 $877 $21.93
North Dakota $45,475 $3,789 $874 $21.86
Massachusetts $45,283 $3,773 $870 $21.77
Hawaii $44,539 $3,711 $856 $21.41
Washington $44,399 $3,699 $853 $21.35
Nevada $43,137 $3,594 $829 $20.74
South Dakota $42,979 $3,581 $826 $20.66
Colorado $42,922 $3,576 $825 $20.64
Rhode Island $42,292 $3,524 $813 $20.33
Connecticut $42,142 $3,511 $810 $20.26
New York $41,508 $3,459 $798 $19.96
Mississippi $41,230 $3,435 $792 $19.82
Vermont $40,496 $3,374 $778 $19.47
Delaware $40,440 $3,370 $777 $19.44
Virginia $39,894 $3,324 $767 $19.18
Illinois $39,715 $3,309 $763 $19.09
Maryland $39,175 $3,264 $753 $18.83
Kansas $38,795 $3,232 $746 $18.65
Nebraska $38,366 $3,197 $737 $18.45
California $38,339 $3,194 $737 $18.43
New Jersey $38,060 $3,171 $731 $18.30
Missouri $38,057 $3,171 $731 $18.30
Pennsylvania $38,026 $3,168 $731 $18.28
Wisconsin $37,722 $3,143 $725 $18.14
South Carolina $37,714 $3,142 $725 $18.13
Maine $37,476 $3,123 $720 $18.02
Oklahoma $37,154 $3,096 $714 $17.86
New Hampshire $36,962 $3,080 $710 $17.77
North Carolina $36,935 $3,077 $710 $17.76
Idaho $36,651 $3,054 $704 $17.62
Minnesota $36,468 $3,039 $701 $17.53
Wyoming $36,407 $3,033 $700 $17.50
Texas $36,382 $3,031 $699 $17.49
New Mexico $36,226 $3,018 $696 $17.42
Indiana $35,948 $2,995 $691 $17.28
Kentucky $35,813 $2,984 $688 $17.22
Michigan $35,540 $2,961 $683 $17.09
Ohio $35,439 $2,953 $681 $17.04
Arizona $35,205 $2,933 $677 $16.93
Iowa $34,886 $2,907 $670 $16.77
Montana $34,675 $2,889 $666 $16.67
Alabama $34,242 $2,853 $658 $16.46
Arkansas $33,889 $2,824 $651 $16.29
Utah $33,873 $2,822 $651 $16.29
Tennessee $33,833 $2,819 $650 $16.27
Georgia $31,899 $2,658 $613 $15.34
Louisiana $31,840 $2,653 $612 $15.31
West Virginia $29,368 $2,447 $564 $14.12
Florida $28,231 $2,352 $542 $13.57

Source Zip Recruiter

Highest Paying Cities for Healthcare Administrators

Here BLS's list of how much healthcare administrators make in the the highest paying cities for healthcare administrators:

Metropolitan area Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Trenton, NJ $ 93.14 $ 193,730
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA $ 89.69 $ 186,560
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA $ 86.22 $ 179,330
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $ 84.92 $ 176,640
Napa, CA $ 83.04 $ 172,730
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH $ 79.78 $ 165,940
Danbury, CT $ 79.76 $ 165,910
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA $ 79.32 $ 164,990
California-Lexington Park, MD $ 78.48 $ 163,250
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA $ 77.44 $ 161,070

Healthcare Administration Salaries by Place of Employment

According to the BLS, the highest-paid healthcare administrators work for the government, while the lowest-paid work in nursing and residential care facilities. The BLS lists place of occupation and salary as follows for medical and health services managers:

  1. Hospitals: Average salary of $128,740
  2. Government: Average salary of $125,590
  3. Outpatient care centers: Average salary of $104,710
  4. Physician offices: Average salary of $102,360
  5. Nursing and residential care facilities: Average salary of $97,490

How to Increase Your Salary as a Healthcare Administrator

Although on average, you can expect to earn a reasonable salary as a healthcare administrator, there are always ways that you can increase your salary. Now that you know how much you can make as a healthcare administrator, the best way to increase your salary in any role is to increase your value by adding additional skills to your resume. You can do this by:

  1. Pursuing advanced education: For instance, if you are a nurse looking to become a department manager, you can pursue your MSN or MBA in order to gain more managerial and leadership skills.
  2. Finding a mentor: If there is someone in your field that you aspire to be like, speak up! Ask them if they would be willing to take you on as a mentor so you can learn from them. 
  3. Learning advanced skills: Even if you don’t pursue another separate degree, you can add technical skills or certifications to your resume that can help increase your value as an administrator. 
  4. Get involved: Whether it’s a new field you’d like to move into or an advancement in your current role, it can help to get involved in new ways. That might mean volunteering to supervise the team leadership conference or signing up for more community events–there are many different options you could pursue depending on your current role and where you would like to advance to in order to raise your salary. 

>> Show Me Online Healthcare Administration Programs

Healthcare Administrator FAQs

  • How much do healthcare administrators make?

    • A hospital CEO may make well into the millions. Many healthcare administrators make around $100,000, however. 
  • What does a healthcare administrator do?

    • A healthcare administrator works on the administrative side of healthcare as opposed to the direct patient care side. Health administrators typically have responsibilities that include managing teams, overseeing employees, dealing with budgets, and outlining fiscal responsibilities, as well as job-specific duties. A healthcare administrator in a hospital, for instance, will have different responsibilities than a healthcare administrator at an IT company overseeing medical records. 
  • What are the highest-paying healthcare administrator jobs?

    • The highest-paying healthcare administrator jobs include medical managers, hospital administrators, insurance directors, nursing home directors, and information technology managers. 

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Chaunie Brusie
BSN, RN
Chaunie Brusie
Nurse.org Contributor

Chaunie Brusie, BSN, RN is a nurse-turned-writer with experience in critical care, long-term care, and labor and delivery. Her work has appeared everywhere from Glamor to The New York Times to The Washington Post. Chaunie lives with her husband and five kids in the middle of a hay field in Michigan and you can find more of her work here

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