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School Administrators Job Overview

School administrators oversee the daily activities in schools. They also provide instructional leadership. School administrators establish educational goals and standards and establish the policies and procedures used to achieve them. Preparing budgets and overseeing recordkeeping is part of the occupation. In addition, students meeting state and local academic requirements is a major goal of school principals.

School Administrators Schools and Degrees

Education administration degree programs usually include courses such as school leadership, research design and data analysis, school law, curriculum development and evaluation, school finance and budgeting, and community relations.

Job Requirements

Usually, public school principals begin their careers as teachers. Typically, school principals are required to have a master's degree in education administration or educational leadership. Some school principals have obtained a doctorate or a specialized degree in education administration. In private schools, the majority of principals have a master's or a doctoral degree, however some private school principals only have a bachelor's degree.

In most states, principals are required to be licensed as school administrators. License requirements vary by state, however a master's degree or some other type of graduate level training is required by nearly all the states.

Nature of Work

• Provide motivation to teachers and other school personnel
• Create academic programs
• Observe the educational progress of students
• Establish performance goals

School Administrators Jobs and Outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has forecasted a nine percent employment growth from 2008 to 2018 for elementary and secondary school education administrators, which is about as fast as average for all occupations.

The major employers of school administrators are shown below:

• Public schools
• Private schools

The median annual earnings for elementary and secondary school administrators in 2008 was $83,880.

Job Numbers and Growth

How many school administrators are there? About 30,000 in all. Workers can most likely expect a very low rate of unemployment. Note that 2% of employees were without work in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Elizabethtown (Kentucky), Clarksville (Tennessee), and Fayetteville (North Carolina) boast the most school administrators for their size population. Kansas City (Missouri), Las Vegas (Nevada), and Phoenix (Arizona) have the fewest.

The highest salaries for workers are in and around Nassau (New York), Durham (North Carolina), and Visalia (California). The lowest-paying areas are El Paso (Texas), Baton Rouge (Louisiana), and Erie (Pennsylvania).

Training and Education

Expect to get a bachelor's or higher degree, plus work experience for this occupation. The share of school administrators with a bachelor's degree or higher is 78%. About 15% of workers got additional education after high school, but did not have to get a college degree. There was no need to go beyond high school for 6% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

It is estimated that 8% of school administrators work less than full time. Self-employment is the choice of 3% of workers.

School Administrators by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.

Alabama

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Birmingham	$79,000	70	-9%
Montgomery	$99,000	230	+832%

Arizona

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Phoenix	$103,000	80	-71%
Tucson	$65,000	40	-25%

Arkansas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Little Rock	$69,000	40	-26%

California

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bakersfield	$127,000	30	-25%
Fresno	$81,000	110	+121%
Los Angeles	$81,000	1,120	+74%
Modesto	$76,000	90	+285%
Oakland	$85,000	370	+134%
Oxnard	$73,000	30	-35%
Riverside	$93,000	410	+115%
Sacramento	$83,000	290	+112%
Salinas	$126,000	50	+107%
San Diego	$79,000	360	+74%
San Francisco	$70,000	290	+85%
San Jose	$100,000	200	+41%
Santa Ana	$93,000	410	+78%
Santa Barbara	$101,000	70	+176%
Santa Cruz	$69,000	30	+138%
Santa Rosa	$71,000	110	+317%
Stockton	$95,000	50	+56%

Colorado

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Colorado Springs	$93,000	280	+620%
Denver	$87,000	120	-39%

Connecticut

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bridgeport	$101,000	80	+20%
Hartford	$79,000	60	-34%
New Haven		60	+42%

Delaware

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Wilmington	$66,000	40	-21%

Florida

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cape Coral	$81,000	40	+36%
Fort Lauderdale	$113,000	100	-9%
Gainesville	$89,000	50	+177%
Jacksonville	$94,000	70	-26%
Miami	$100,000	150	-3%
Orlando	$96,000	90	-44%
Palm Bay		30	0%
Tallahassee	$86,000	30	+23%
Tampa	$94,000	100	-45%
West Palm Beach	$82,000	70	-14%

Georgia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Atlanta	$95,000	340	-7%

Idaho

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boise	$69,000	40	-1%

Illinois

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Chicago	$89,000	480	-20%

Indiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Indianapolis	$82,000	120	-15%

Iowa

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cedar Rapids		40	+92%
Des Moines	$82,000	80	+56%
Iowa City	$98,000	50	+395%
Sioux City	$73,000	40	+285%
Waterloo	$95,000	50	+302%

Kentucky

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Elizabethtown	$69,000	180	+2874%
Lexington	$75,000	50	+35%
Louisville	$69,000	60	-37%

Louisiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Baton Rouge	$79,000	40	-31%

Maine

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Portland	$62,000	40	+30%

Maryland

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Baltimore	$104,000	330	+59%
Bethesda	$89,000	300	+230%

Massachusetts

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boston	$87,000	510	+85%
Framingham	$88,000	70	+183%
Springfield	$75,000	70	+51%
Worcester	$79,000	70	+80%

Michigan

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Detroit	$61,000	160	+52%
Flint	$85,000	40	+106%
Grand Rapids	$71,000	130	+120%
Kalamazoo		110	+440%
Lansing	$78,000	230	+658%
Saginaw	$46,000	50	+321%
Warren	$75,000	240	+40%

Minnesota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Duluth	$62,000	60	+209%
Minneapolis	$81,000	560	+98%
Rochester	$87,000	40	+165%
St Cloud	$75,000	70	+400%

Mississippi

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Jackson	$91,000	40	+2%

Missouri

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Kansas City	$91,000	120	-25%
St Louis	$62,000	90	-58%

Nevada

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Las Vegas	$71,000	50	-63%

New Hampshire

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Manchester	$73,000	40	+162%
Nashua	$80,000	70	+240%

New Jersey

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Camden	$89,000	90	+9%
Edison	$61,000	230	+41%
Newark	$81,000	240	+52%
Trenton	$78,000	100	+186%

New Mexico

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albuquerque	$66,000	110	+82%

New York

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albany	$74,000	140	+98%
Buffalo	$100,000	110	+26%
Nassau	$124,000	240	+20%
Poughkeepsie	$89,000	150	+294%
Rochester	$96,000	70	-12%
Syracuse	$85,000	60	+23%

North Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Charlotte	$60,000	80	-41%
Fayetteville	$67,000	360	+1806%
Jacksonville	$65,000	200	+3354%
Raleigh	$99,000	210	+158%

North Dakota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bismarck	$53,000	60	+548%

Ohio

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cincinnati	$87,000	70	-56%
Cleveland	$76,000	90	-44%
Columbus	$92,000	220	+51%
Dayton	$91,000	70	+17%

Oregon

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Portland	$76,000	180	+11%
Salem	$68,000	50	+122%

Pennsylvania

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Allentown	$115,000	30	-45%
Harrisburg	$83,000	60	+20%
Philadelphia	$79,000	180	-41%
Pittsburgh	$75,000	140	-23%

Rhode Island

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Providence	$80,000	160	+82%

South Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Columbia	$103,000	430	+686%
Spartanburg	$66,000	90	+425%

Tennessee

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Clarksville	$66,000	340	+2909%
Memphis	$77,000	90	-7%
Nashville	$63,000	110	-6%

Texas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Austin	$94,000	130	+5%
Dallas	$97,000	150	-55%
El Paso	$57,000	30	-29%
Fort Worth	$77,000	60	-56%
Houston	$49,000	270	-35%
Mcallen	$92,000	40	+13%
San Antonio	$67,000	130	-6%

Utah

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Provo	$70,000	40	+55%
Salt Lake City	$81,000	60	-37%

Vermont

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Burlington	$90,000	40	+142%

Virginia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Charlottesville	$96,000	40	+218%
Richmond	$87,000	180	+86%
Virginia Beach	$110,000	150	+25%

Washington

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Olympia	$87,000	50	+244%
Seattle	$69,000	280	+26%
Spokane	$69,000	40	+27%
Tacoma	$67,000	40	-2%

Wisconsin

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Green Bay	$64,000	40	+57%
Madison	$71,000	120	+127%
Milwaukee	$76,000	80	-39%