What is the Average Salary for a Medical Administrator?

Medical administrators oversee administrative departments at hospitals or private medical offices. As a medical administrator, you'll be responsible for performing many of the managerial duties required to run a medical center. Read on to learn about the average salary you can expect in this field.

Job Description

If you work as a medical administrator, also more commonly known as a healthcare administrator, you'll manage the daily activities of a medical facility. Your administrative duties could include overseeing office staff members, as well as managing patient records. At larger facilities, such as hospitals or outpatient clinics, you might work with assistant administrators who specialize in certain departments like surgery and billing. At smaller facilities, including physicians' offices, you might be asked to perform all of the managerial tasks, as well as some clerical duties like patient admissions.

Important Facts About Medical Administrators

Required Education	Bachelor's degree
Professional Certification	Not required, but provided by the Professional Association of Health Care Office Management and the American College of Health Care Administrators
Work Environment	Hospitals, ambulatory health care services, nursing and residential health facilities, government agencies
Similar Occupations	Human resource managers, insurance underwriters, social and community service managers

Salary Overview

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual salary for all healthcare administrators as of May 2021 was $119,840 (www.bls.gov). The 10 percent with the highest pay made $205,620 a year or more, while the 10 percent with the lowest pay made $60,780 a year or less. However, the specific salary you earn as an administrator can often depend on the type of facility you work at, your location and your years of work experience.

Salary According to Employer

General medical and surgical hospitals employed the greatest number of healthcare administrators and paid workers an average salary of $118,800 in year in May 2021, reported the BLS. Administrators also found high levels of employment at hospitals and physicians' offices. Those who worked at physicians' offices earned an average salary of $116,520 per year, while those employed at specialty hospitals made an average wage of $130,420 annually.

According to the BLS, the highest pay was found in the wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers industry, which had an average wage of $208,890 in May 2021. Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing ranked second in pay and paid an average wage of $204,380.

Salary According to Location

The average salary you earn as a medical administrator can often depend on where you live. For example, the BLS reported that healthcare administrators who worked in the Vallejo-Fairfield, CA, metropolitan region earned average salaries of $157,340 annually as of May 2021. However, those working in Iowa City, IA, which was a city that employed one of the highest concentrations of these professionals per thousand employees, earned an average salary of only $99,700 per year.

The states that paid healthcare administrators the highest salaries in May 2021 were New York, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Washington, and New Jersey, which all offered workers average yearly wages that were over $136,000. The states that paid the lowest salaries at that time had average wages of $77,820-$104,270. Some of these included Kansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Alabama.

Salary According to Experience

According to January 2023 salary data from PayScale.com, healthcare administrators made an average of $61,941 if they had less than one year of experience. Average salaries rose to $66,434 45 with 1-4 years of experience, $82,194 with 5-9 years of experience and $89,388 with 10-19 years of experience.

Job Outlook

Over the 2021-2031 decade, the BLS expects a very fast 28% growth rate for medical and health services managers, especially in the offices of health practitioners, nursing care facilities and medical group practices. This growth is partly due to the need of medical care for the aging baby-boom population.