Hospital Administration Salary: No Golden Parachutes Here!

When we look at career choices, we look for job satisfaction. But we also look at how much were going to get paid each week in wages. I know I do. Thats one of the reasons I looked into a hospital administration salary.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies hospital administration jobs under the label of medical and health services managers. They are also called hospital or healthcare administrators or managers, among various position designations.

How much they earn depends on many factors such as education, experience, and the industry type and location of the facility where the job is being offered.

Percentile wage estimates

According to the May 2012 data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the bottom 10% of jobholders under the medical or health services managers title earned an annual salary of less than $53,940, while the bottom 25% earned less than $69,160.

These estimates could correspond to the starting salaries of healthcare administrators.

The median income for all positions under the occupational category was $88,580. This means that half of those working in this occupational group earned less than this figure, while the other half earned higher. The top 25% earned an annual income of more than $114,920; while the top 10% earned more than $150,560.

Entry-level healthcare administrators

A recent graduate may enter the industry as the medical care administrator of nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, rehabilitation centers, and outpatient care clinics.

Small hospitals may hire them as assistant administrators or department heads. Larger hospitals will usually have openings for administrative assistants or assistant department heads.

The position titles in larger hospitals might imply that these are lower positions. More important, though, is that duties and responsibilities are more specialized and focused in these entry jobs.

This allows a novice healthcare administration personnel to learn the ropes in one aspect, such as budgeting or payroll, before handling the diverse aspects of healthcare administration.

Surgical hospitals

Larger hospitals will naturally have a wider client base, higher incomes and bigger resources. Hence, they are able to grant higher salaries.

Hospital administrators in surgical hospitals made $104,680 as annual mean wage in 2012.

This industry had the highest level of employed healthcare administrators at 112,160 jobs held.

Nursing homes, home health, and outpatient services

Nursing homes belong to the industry that has the third highest level of employed health care administrators at 20,050 jobholders earning an annual mean wage of $82,240.

Home health services provided 17,260 jobs with annual mean wage of $88,670. Outpatient care centers had 15,970 jobholders in 2012 earning an annual mean wage of $94,720.

Specialty hospitals

There are many factors that help determine a healthcare administrator’s salary. One of these is the type of facility he or she works at.


Specialty hospitals, those that provide specialty care such as cardiac and cancer treatment, paid higher salaries according to the BLS. The agency data in May 2012 showed 4,740 healthcare administrators were employed in this industry with an annual mean wage of $112,830.

This is the industry with the third highest concentration of employed health care administrators.

Healthcare administrators in top-paying industries

There are five unlikely industries employing healthcare administrators but the salary is worth it.

These industries hire only a few of these professionals; hence, getting landing into any of these jobs is highly competitive. The top-paying industries are:

  • Computer systems design and related services – 50 healthcare administrators were employed by this industry with annual mean wage of $146,160.
  • Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing – 300 healthcare administrators were employed by this industry with annual mean wage of $142,210.
  • Drugs and druggists’ sundries – 210 healthcare administrators were employed by this industry with annual mean wage of $136,690.
  • Navigational, measuring, electro-medical and control instruments manufacturing 50 healthcare administrators were employed by this industry with annual mean wage of $135,500.
  • Data processing, hosting and related services 60 healthcare administrators were employed by this industry with annual mean wage of $134,280.

Other industries where healthcare administrators find work

With a job growth projection of 22% by 2020, this is one of the occupations with growth estimates faster than the national growth rate for all occupations (which is 14%).

This occupation is found in high level and concentration in physicians’ offices, medical and diagnostic laboratories, and psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals with salaries way higher than the annual median.

States with the highest level of healthcare administration jobs

According to the BLS data of May 2012, the most number of healthcare administration jobs were employed in the following states:

  • California – 26,690 jobholders earned an annual mean wage of $113,810
  • New York – 26,630 jobholders earned an annual mean wage of $114,550
  • Texas – 17,850 jobholders earned an annual mean wage of $94,640
  • Pennsylvania – 14,690 jobholders earned an annual mean wage of $91,720
  • Ohio – 14,390 jobholders earned an annual mean wage of $90,430

Even with a high number of jobs, these states have high salaries, and New York ranks the highest in terms of yearly pay. Lets take a look.

States with the highest median hospital administration salary

The data provided by BLS further shows that the highest-paying states for this kind of occupation are the following:

  • New York – 26,630 jobholders earned an annual mean wage of $114,550
  • California – 26,690 jobholders earned an annual mean wage of $113,810
  • Connecticut – 4,610 jobholders earned an annual mean wage of $111,680
  • Rhode Island – 1,380 jobholders earned an annual mean wage of $110,930
  • New Jersey – 8,120 jobholders earned an annual mean wage of $110,340

Bright prospects ahead

The baby boom generation continues to age and this contributes to the faster-than-average increase in demand for this career.

Do you envision working for the sick but not on the frontlines? A healthcare administrator plans, directs, and coordinates the delivery of high-quality medical services so that they reach the intended clients effectively and efficiently.

The job titles and specifications of healthcare administrative personnel will vary depending on the facility they work in.

If this looks like a career which appeals to you, then this could be a good year to invest in a degree program that has bright projections.

If you are already a professional in a related field, a career shift might only mean pursuing 2-3 years of master’s degree in healthcare administration inclusive of 1 year internship.


I hope the information has helped you on your search about a hospital administration salary.