Education Administrators, Postsecondary salary
SOC 11-9033 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $64,560
- 25th
- $80,870
- Median
- $104,590
- 75th
- $144,370
- 90th
- $215,620
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- Master's degree
- Related work experience
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- None
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where education administrators, postsecondary earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $139,640 | 107.9 | 7,280 | 0.65× |
| 2 | New Jersey | $131,570 | 108.8 | 4,100 | 0.82× |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $128,970 | 105.8 | 9,120 | 2.16× |
| 4 | Delaware | $128,570 | 99.8 | 360 | 0.65× |
| 5 | Wyoming | $127,960 | 92.7 | 120 | 0.37× |
| 6 | Washington | $127,630 | 107.0 | 2,140 | 0.52× |
| 7 | South Dakota | $126,160 | 88.6 | 240 | 0.45× |
| 8 | California | $125,460 | 110.7 | 14,870 | 0.70× |
| 9 | Wisconsin | $124,960 | 94.1 | 1,190 | 0.35× |
| 10 | Connecticut | $123,190 | 103.6 | 2,100 | 1.07× |
| 11 | Virginia | $120,840 | 101.1 | — | — |
| 12 | Oregon | $120,110 | 103.4 | 2,790 | 1.22× |
| 13 | Maryland | $118,550 | 105.0 | — | — |
| 14 | Colorado | $118,440 | 103.1 | 1,770 | 0.53× |
| 15 | Kentucky | $114,310 | 90.2 | 890 | 0.38× |
| 16 | Georgia | $110,200 | 96.3 | 2,890 | 0.51× |
| 17 | Kansas | $110,020 | 90.1 | 1,760 | 1.05× |
| 18 | New Mexico | $109,480 | 92.2 | 1,160 | 1.15× |
| 19 | Michigan | $108,500 | 96.2 | 5,110 | 1.00× |
| 20 | District of Columbia | $107,390 | 109.9 | 1,880 | 2.31× |
| 21 | Rhode Island | $106,520 | 102.3 | 1,140 | 1.97× |
| 22 | Oklahoma | $105,830 | 87.8 | 1,700 | 0.86× |
| 23 | Minnesota | $104,740 | 98.6 | 2,110 | 0.62× |
| 24 | Missouri | $104,560 | 90.8 | 2,830 | 0.83× |
| 25 | Vermont | $104,450 | 98.0 | 550 | 1.55× |
| 26 | Texas | $104,390 | 97.1 | 16,660 | 1.02× |
| 27 | New Hampshire | $104,190 | 104.2 | 920 | 1.16× |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | $103,740 | 97.6 | 8,000 | 1.14× |
| 29 | Arizona | $103,280 | 100.7 | 5,140 | 1.37× |
| 30 | Alaska | $103,080 | 102.4 | 80 | 0.21× |
| 31 | Montana | $102,980 | 94.6 | 300 | 0.50× |
| 32 | North Dakota | $101,600 | 89.0 | 600 | 1.20× |
| 33 | Idaho | $101,200 | 95.5 | 870 | 0.88× |
| 34 | North Carolina | $101,060 | 94.3 | 7,390 | 1.29× |
| 35 | Tennessee | $100,850 | 91.9 | 2,680 | 0.70× |
| 36 | Utah | $100,420 | 98.9 | 2,320 | 1.15× |
| 37 | Alabama | $100,030 | 88.8 | 3,760 | 1.53× |
| 38 | Illinois | $99,770 | 100.0 | 9,530 | 1.35× |
| 39 | Louisiana | $98,840 | 88.2 | 3,670 | 1.64× |
| 40 | Indiana | $98,000 | 93.3 | 3,370 | 0.91× |
| 41 | Nebraska | $96,030 | 90.1 | 1,560 | 1.31× |
| 42 | South Carolina | $95,570 | 93.7 | 2,990 | 1.12× |
| 43 | Iowa | $89,320 | 87.8 | 2,510 | 1.39× |
| 44 | Nevada | $88,810 | 100.0 | 1,320 | 0.73× |
| 45 | Maine | $88,180 | 97.0 | 860 | 1.16× |
| 46 | Ohio | $87,370 | 92.8 | 6,880 | 1.07× |
| 47 | Mississippi | $86,590 | 87.0 | 2,230 | 1.65× |
| 48 | West Virginia | $84,660 | 89.5 | 1,520 | 1.87× |
| 49 | Florida | $83,840 | 103.4 | — | — |
| 50 | Hawaii | $81,020 | 110.0 | 570 | 0.78× |
| 51 | Arkansas | $78,240 | 86.9 | 1,970 | 1.30× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where education administrators, postsecondary wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for education administrators, postsecondary
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | $177,150 | 91.9 | 190 | 0.70× |
| 2 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $172,410 | 109.9 | 50 | 0.45× |
| 3 | Binghamton, NY | $166,660 | 92.9 | 60 | 0.56× |
| 4 | Yakima, WA | $166,310 | 95.5 | 80 | 0.67× |
| 5 | Merced, CA | $165,620 | 98.3 | 50 | 0.59× |
| 6 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | $158,720 | 95.0 | 480 | 1.89× |
| 7 | Visalia, CA | $156,010 | 99.8 | 50 | 0.26× |
| 8 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $154,140 | 110.4 | 1,450 | 1.10× |
| 9 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $153,950 | 108.8 | 150 | 0.65× |
| 10 | Ann Arbor, MI | $144,340 | 100.9 | 790 | 3.10× |
| 11 | Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | $141,700 | 93.4 | 240 | 2.05× |
| 12 | Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | $141,310 | 98.9 | 80 | 0.39× |
| 13 | Lawrence, KS | $140,710 | 90.2 | 420 | 6.94× |
| 14 | Rochester, NY | $139,640 | 97.0 | 460 | 0.80× |
| 15 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $138,670 | 93.1 | 200 | 0.25× |
| 16 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $137,800 | 112.6 | 7,550 | 0.68× |
| 17 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | $137,250 | 92.9 | 200 | 0.61× |
| 18 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $136,030 | 115.6 | 1,720 | 0.62× |
| 19 | Appleton, WI | $135,690 | 92.4 | 50 | 0.32× |
| 20 | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | $135,090 | 109.4 | 190 | 0.59× |
| 21 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $134,980 | 99.6 | 390 | 0.75× |
| 22 | Harrisonburg, VA | $134,270 | 94.9 | 170 | 2.22× |
| 23 | Madison, WI | $133,080 | 97.3 | — | — |
| 24 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $133,000 | 111.1 | 1,180 | 0.49× |
| 25 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | $132,530 | 100.3 | 190 | 0.63× |
| 26 | Vallejo, CA | $132,500 | 108.5 | 80 | 0.47× |
| 27 | Ithaca, NY | $132,470 | 103.3 | 230 | 4.22× |
| 28 | Bowling Green, KY | $131,880 | 90.2 | 50 | 0.49× |
| 29 | Boulder, CO | $131,350 | 105.2 | 380 | 1.68× |
| 30 | New Haven, CT | $131,190 | 104.6 | 930 | 2.83× |
| 31 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $131,130 | 108.3 | 6,770 | 2.16× |
| 32 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $130,370 | 102.7 | 550 | 0.79× |
| 33 | Syracuse, NY | $130,200 | 95.7 | 450 | 1.28× |
| 34 | Kenosha, WI | $129,620 | 101.1 | — | — |
| 35 | Salem, OR | $129,510 | 103.6 | 140 | 0.63× |
| 36 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $129,320 | 95.8 | 370 | 0.59× |
| 37 | Greeley, CO | $128,750 | 100.2 | 60 | 0.47× |
| 38 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $128,620 | 100.1 | 1,550 | 0.46× |
| 39 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $128,270 | 106.7 | 640 | 0.51× |
| 40 | Richmond, VA | $126,850 | 97.9 | 540 | 0.70× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where education administrators, postsecondary wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Managers, All Other$141,900
- Medical and Health Services Managers$123,860
- Construction Managers$114,990
- Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary$105,870
- Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers$69,990
- Food Service Managers$69,390
- Architectural and Engineering Managers$171,270
- Social and Community Service Managers$80,390