How much does a hospital administrator make?
As part of our discussion, we’re not only disclosing the earnings of hospital administrators but also looking at factors influencing their salaries.
This is crucial to an in-depth understanding of the topic being discussed. All you have to do is tag along and carefully dissect this topic.
How Much Do Hospital Administrators Make?
Are you seeking to pursue a career as a hospital administrator?
You might be interested in having specific basic knowledge before deciding if it’s worth pursuing. One of the primary considerations for many is the pay or salary.
Due to such interest, we’re interested in providing you with all the answers you seek.
About Hospital Administrators
First, it’s necessary to state the essential functions of hospital administrators.
As the name suggests, these professionals perform the primary function of managing hospitals or similar healthcare establishments.
In other words, hospital administrators oversee the organizational side of health services. Here, the top priority of a hospital administrator is to ensure the hospital is operating safely and efficiently.
Now, a hospital administrator isn’t a single position.
Several job titles within the hospital administration niche include director of nursing, compliance educator, and director, of patient care services.
Others include the director of population health, the director of clinical operations, and the assistant director of finance.
Additional hospital administration roles or job titles include chief financial officer (CFO), hospital operations administrator, and associate executive director.
Others include the vice president of quality, recruitment specialist, and director of human resources,
Hospital Administrator Salary
Now to the main focus of our discussion, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) gives the median national pay for medical and health services managers across all settings to be around $99,730 per year.
Now there are slight variations when comparing these earnings with other sources.
For example, healthcare administrationedu.org gives healthcare administrators a median salary of $105,690. CNN Money provides a median pay of around $120,000 for these administrators.
Salary.com puts entry-level salaries for hospital administrators at $65,119 to $87,669.
Here, it’s evident that there are slight differences or variations in salaries received by hospital administrators. This leads us to make further inquiries about influencing factors.
There are several of these, as you’ll find below.
Factors Affecting Salaries of Hospital Administrators
Having stated the average median income of hospital administrators, it’s time to take a different look at factors affecting such pay. Several of these, include location, education, certification, and work experience.
Others include the size of the hospital or facility and levels of responsibility.
i. Location
Location plays a significant role in determining the salary of hospital administrators.
According to the BLS, hospital administrators receiving the highest salaries were mainly from major cities like Washington, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
The salary scale for hospital administrators is mainly tied to living costs within these areas. It’s common to observe salaries drop as you move towards smaller cities or towns.
ii. Education
Education, without a doubt, is one of the primary determinants when considering the earnings of hospital administrators.
Here, we’re talking about the level of education. Most health manager positions require at least a bachelor’s degree in a business-related major.
You’ll need at least a master’s degree in healthcare administration. Of course, the highest-paid hospital administrators are those with master’s degrees and other factors like experience, which will be discussed shortly.
iii. Certification
Certification is yet another factor influencing the salaries of hospital administrators.
While this is true, the impact isn’t as much. In other words, the salary difference due to certification isn’t significant for those without a diploma.
In some cases, the salary gap between certified and uncertified hospital administrators may range from $10,000 to $40,000.
Sometimes, such a gap is narrowed when an uncertified but fully qualified hospital administrator has gathered significant experience.
iv. Work Experience
In the course of our discussion to this point, we’ve mentioned experience multiple times.
This points to the impact it has on the earnings of hospital administrators. As with most professions, experience gives you an edge, determining the value you bring to your job.
As expected, hospital administrators who have practiced for more years tend to be compensated for the experience gained.
Hospital administrators with fewer years (4 years or less) earn anywhere from $59,000 to $150,000, while those with more years (20 or higher) earn around $115,000 to $245,000.
v. Size of the Hospital or Facility
It’s common to find a correlation between the size of an organization and the salary it pays its administrators. For example, more extensive health facilities tend to have more competitive wages than smaller hospitals.
Here, the reason for that is apparent; their capacities and managerial demands differ.
Looking at salary variations between facilities of various sizes, hospital administrators in charge of smaller facilities (employing around six or fewer doctors) pay a median salary of $86,459.
Those with more professionals (7 to 25 doctors) pay a higher median salary of $115,000.
vi. Levels of Responsibility
Levels of responsibility are always considered the factors are determining hospital administrator remuneration.
It’s common knowledge that while all administration roles are equally necessary for the smooth functioning of the facility, some positions tend to take on more responsibilities than others.
The size of the facility also determines the level of responsibility. More extensive healthcare facilities tend to have greater demands for their managers.
So, it’s not out of place to see hospital administrators with more responsibilities receiving higher pay than those with fewer or fewer.
vi. Work Setting
Work setting plays a role in determining the salary of hospital administrators.
Some hospital administrators work in physicians’ offices, clinics, hospitals, health departments, and nursing homes. Where they work will determine how much they receive in terms of pay.
Here, it’s evident that leveraging each of these factors can significantly boost your career prospects. You only need to find ways to improve your chances by taking advantage of opportunities as they come.
However, the time commitment is necessary to achieve all of that.