Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary
Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary (SOC 11-9032) earn a median $105,870 a year in the United States, with 328,330 employed as of May 2025; the highest-paying state is Washington.
What education administrators, kindergarten through secondary do
Education administrators for kindergarten through secondary schools lead the academic, administrative, and support work of elementary, middle, and high schools. Principals and athletic directors are among the titles used. The work includes talking with parents and staff about school programs, rules, and how students are behaving, deciding which programs and courses a school will offer, and preparing course schedules. They observe teaching and review learning materials to keep curriculum standards consistent, collaborate with teachers on mission statements and curriculum, and counsel students on personal, academic, or behavioral matters. They also recruit, hire, train, and evaluate staff. The occupation differs from classroom teachers, whom administrators supervise, and from postsecondary education administrators, who work in colleges and universities. Preschool and childcare administrators are classified separately. They enforce discipline and attendance rules and plan and lead professional development activities for teachers, administrators, and support staff.
Typical entry: O*NET respondents most often report a master's degree as the typical level of education for this occupation.
Also called: Assessment Coordinator, Athletic Coordinator, Athletic Director, Commission for the Blind Director, Curriculum and Instruction Superintendent.
National wage percentiles, May 2025
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||
| United States | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 328,330 |
| Annual | $76,280 | $86,040 | $105,870 | $134,630 | $167,770 | $116,100 | ||
Employment per 1,000 jobs and the location quotient are area measures; they appear in the state and metro tables below. To see what a wage in this range leaves after tax, use FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.
Where education administrators, kindergarten through secondary earn and work most
Five highest-paying states
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
| Washington | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 6,470 | 1.82 | 0.86 |
| Annual | $111,830 | $139,390 | $166,590 | $180,540 | $205,500 | $160,570 | ||||
| California | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 31,370 | 1.72 | 0.82 |
| Annual | $103,250 | $130,110 | $159,950 | $169,350 | $202,380 | $152,480 | ||||
| Connecticut | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 4,610 | 2.72 | 1.29 |
| Annual | $86,840 | $124,030 | $156,240 | $171,910 | $194,310 | $148,040 | ||||
| New York | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 19,210 | 1.98 | 0.94 |
| Annual | $87,100 | $106,920 | $138,830 | $171,530 | $200,380 | $143,470 | ||||
| District of Columbia | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 1,930 | 2.75 | 1.30 |
| Annual | $100,350 | $114,760 | $137,470 | $166,300 | $176,490 | $140,030 | ||||
Five states with the most jobs
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
| Texas | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 37,140 | 2.64 | 1.25 |
| Annual | $72,230 | $80,500 | $93,910 | $104,370 | $128,700 | $96,510 | ||||
| California | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 31,370 | 1.72 | 0.82 |
| Annual | $103,250 | $130,110 | $159,950 | $169,350 | $202,380 | $152,480 | ||||
| New York | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 19,210 | 1.98 | 0.94 |
| Annual | $87,100 | $106,920 | $138,830 | $171,530 | $200,380 | $143,470 | ||||
| Florida | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 16,960 | 1.71 | 0.81 |
| Annual | $61,030 | $78,590 | $96,490 | $108,680 | $130,650 | $97,750 | ||||
| Illinois | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 14,850 | 2.44 | 1.15 |
| Annual | $78,070 | $96,130 | $113,360 | $137,200 | $169,400 | $118,420 | ||||
Five highest-paying metropolitan areas
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 3,360 | 1.61 | 0.76 |
| Annual | $107,190 | $142,600 | $174,260 | $189,150 | $209,400 | $166,970 | ||||
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 1,170 | 2.90 | 1.37 |
| Annual | $105,610 | $136,550 | $171,910 | $185,510 | $204,070 | $164,050 | ||||
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 120 | 2.23 | 1.06 |
| Annual | $124,860 | $137,040 | $170,970 | $180,910 | $201,500 | $164,920 | ||||
| Bellingham, WA | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 180 | 1.93 | 0.91 |
| Annual | $109,690 | $136,450 | $169,470 | $173,940 | $194,020 | $158,890 | ||||
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 200 | 2.16 | 1.02 |
| Annual | $132,200 | $168,350 | $168,540 | $182,250 | $200,220 | $169,480 | ||||
Five metropolitan areas with the most jobs
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 20,920 | 2.20 | 1.04 |
| Annual | $99,730 | $129,140 | $163,210 | $174,500 | $206,640 | $153,550 | ||||
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 11,050 | 2.45 | 1.16 |
| Annual | $79,680 | $100,250 | $128,780 | $137,200 | $171,540 | $124,080 | ||||
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 10,310 | 1.64 | 0.78 |
| Annual | $104,260 | $129,820 | $161,590 | $170,310 | $202,660 | $152,790 | ||||
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 9,190 | 2.27 | 1.07 |
| Annual | $79,210 | $84,010 | $101,450 | $107,510 | $132,450 | $103,060 | ||||
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | Hourly | * | * | * | * | * | * | 8,370 | 2.54 | 1.20 |
| Annual | $78,450 | $83,110 | $99,640 | $106,450 | $130,690 | $101,310 | ||||
Top industries employing education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
Elementary and Secondary Schools employ 98.1% of education administrators, kindergarten through secondary nationally (322,020 jobs) at a median $105,840 a year, followed by Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) (0.6%) and Educational Support Services (0.4%).
| Industry | Employment | Share of occupation | Median annual | Median hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary and Secondary Schools NAICS 611100 | 322,020 | 98.1% | $105,840 | * |
| Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) NAICS 999300 | 1,950 | 0.6% | $129,070 | * |
| Educational Support Services NAICS 611700 | 1,270 | 0.4% | $103,020 | * |
| State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) NAICS 999200 | 770 | 0.2% | $114,950 | * |
| Child Care Services NAICS 624400 | 400 | 0.1% | $67,610 | * |
Share is the industry's employment over the occupation's national employment (328,330). Industries whose employment BLS withheld are not ranked.
Published medians, May 2021 to May 2025
BLS published a median annual wage of $98,420 for education administrators, kindergarten through secondary in May 2021 and $105,870 in May 2025, with employment of 274,710 and 328,330.
| Release | Median annual | Median hourly | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $98,420 | * | 274,710 |
| May 2022 | $101,320 | * | 285,910 |
| May 2023 | $103,460 | * | 302,580 |
| May 2024 | $104,070 | * | 319,630 |
| May 2025 | $105,870 | * | 328,330 |
BLS does not design OEWS as a time series: each release pools three years of samples, and occupational classifications, area definitions and estimation methods change between releases, so a difference between two releases is not a measure of change over time. The figures are shown as published, side by side, and nothing is computed from them. See how often OEWS is updated.
Every state, by median wage
51 states and DC publish a row for this occupation. A linked state has its own page with the within-state metro table and comparison; the others appear here only.
| Rank | State | Median hourly | Median annual | 10th pct (annual) | 90th pct (annual) | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington profile | * | $166,590 | $111,830 | $205,500 | 6,470 | 1.82 | 0.86 |
| 2 | California profile | * | $159,950 | $103,250 | $202,380 | 31,370 | 1.72 | 0.82 |
| 3 | Connecticut profile | * | $156,240 | $86,840 | $194,310 | 4,610 | 2.72 | 1.29 |
| 4 | New York profile | * | $138,830 | $87,100 | $200,380 | 19,210 | 1.98 | 0.94 |
| 5 | District of Columbia profile | * | $137,470 | $100,350 | $176,490 | 1,930 | 2.75 | 1.30 |
| 6 | New Jersey profile | * | $137,440 | $103,030 | $188,060 | 11,450 | 2.67 | 1.27 |
| 7 | Delaware profile | * | $132,710 | $101,350 | $152,520 | 1,100 | 2.27 | 1.08 |
| 8 | Maryland profile | * | $131,510 | $81,060 | $172,170 | 7,200 | 2.60 | 1.23 |
| 9 | Oregon profile | * | $130,050 | $76,240 | $165,060 | 4,160 | 2.12 | 1.00 |
| 10 | Utah profile | * | $128,880 | $79,220 | $161,920 | 2,940 | 1.69 | 0.80 |
| 11 | Massachusetts profile | * | $128,430 | $81,640 | $166,240 | 10,570 | 2.91 | 1.38 |
| 12 | Minnesota profile | * | $127,000 | $78,570 | $166,270 | 4,120 | 1.40 | 0.66 |
| 13 | Hawaii profile | * | $126,760 | $85,880 | $168,760 | 1,910 | 3.04 | 1.44 |
| 14 | Alaska profile | * | $125,520 | $102,930 | $133,330 | 890 | 2.73 | 1.29 |
| 15 | Rhode Island profile | * | $119,980 | $80,530 | $150,300 | 1,160 | 2.32 | 1.10 |
| 16 | Pennsylvania profile | * | $118,710 | $78,490 | $161,140 | 14,460 | 2.38 | 1.13 |
| 17 | Wisconsin profile | * | $117,010 | $82,010 | $140,520 | 4,030 | 1.37 | 0.65 |
| 18 | Illinois profile | * | $113,360 | $78,070 | $169,400 | 14,850 | 2.44 | 1.15 |
| 19 | Nebraska profile | * | $110,580 | $85,370 | $156,580 | 1,860 | 1.82 | 0.86 |
| 20 | Colorado profile | * | $110,530 | $81,340 | $160,940 | 5,760 | 2.00 | 0.95 |
| 21 | Nevada profile | * | $109,420 | $62,980 | $136,040 | 2,490 | 1.61 | 0.76 |
| 22 | North Dakota profile | * | $107,940 | $81,010 | $155,860 | 810 | 1.89 | 0.90 |
| 23 | New Mexico profile | * | $107,720 | $83,860 | $133,580 | 2,290 | 2.63 | 1.24 |
| 24 | Virginia profile | * | $106,100 | $78,300 | $164,320 | 8,470 | 2.06 | 0.98 |
| 25 | Wyoming profile | * | $105,480 | $85,510 | $126,400 | 410 | 1.47 | 0.69 |
| 26 | Vermont profile | * | $105,350 | $76,900 | $134,570 | 1,000 | 3.28 | 1.55 |
| 27 | New Hampshire profile | * | $104,910 | $80,220 | $129,840 | 1,590 | 2.33 | 1.10 |
| 28 | Iowa profile | * | $104,260 | $77,350 | $154,000 | 3,310 | 2.12 | 1.00 |
| 29 | Michigan profile | * | $104,020 | $77,340 | $134,430 | 9,610 | 2.18 | 1.03 |
| 30 | Georgia profile | * | $103,360 | $81,440 | $135,990 | 7,530 | 1.54 | 0.73 |
| 31 | Maine profile | * | $102,890 | $79,850 | $128,750 | 1,710 | 2.66 | 1.26 |
| 32 | South Carolina profile | * | $102,440 | $75,810 | $134,490 | 5,000 | 2.17 | 1.03 |
| 33 | Idaho profile | * | $101,090 | $76,290 | $128,320 | 1,830 | 2.14 | 1.01 |
| 34 | Kansas profile | * | $100,530 | $77,520 | $127,470 | 2,520 | 1.75 | 0.83 |
| 35 | Missouri profile | * | $100,400 | $74,570 | $133,090 | 7,120 | 2.43 | 1.15 |
| 36 | Kentucky profile | * | $99,920 | $75,270 | $130,310 | 4,940 | 2.47 | 1.17 |
| 37 | Ohio profile | * | $99,590 | $62,160 | $129,160 | 12,480 | 2.25 | 1.06 |
| 38 | Indiana profile | * | $98,770 | $66,440 | $132,400 | 6,990 | 2.19 | 1.03 |
| 39 | Tennessee profile | * | $97,590 | $70,960 | $134,630 | 6,180 | 1.88 | 0.89 |
| 40 | Alabama profile | * | $97,480 | $76,150 | $123,070 | 3,020 | 1.43 | 0.68 |
| 41 | Arizona profile | * | $97,480 | $62,690 | $128,320 | 5,270 | 1.63 | 0.77 |
| 42 | Florida profile | * | $96,490 | $61,030 | $130,650 | 16,960 | 1.71 | 0.81 |
| 43 | Montana profile | * | $95,700 | $63,960 | $127,800 | 930 | 1.82 | 0.86 |
| 44 | Texas profile | * | $93,910 | $72,230 | $128,700 | 37,140 | 2.64 | 1.25 |
| 45 | South Dakota profile | * | $88,390 | $74,770 | $109,270 | 680 | 1.48 | 0.70 |
| 46 | Oklahoma profile | * | $86,630 | $62,300 | $125,130 | 4,320 | 2.53 | 1.20 |
| 47 | Arkansas profile | * | $86,330 | $68,090 | $107,410 | 2,760 | 2.12 | 1.00 |
| 48 | Louisiana profile | * | $83,360 | $63,470 | $123,320 | 5,080 | 2.62 | 1.24 |
| 49 | North Carolina profile | * | $83,180 | $63,240 | $121,380 | 11,220 | 2.27 | 1.07 |
| 50 | Mississippi profile | * | $82,800 | $65,400 | $106,450 | 3,170 | 2.73 | 1.29 |
| 51 | West Virginia profile | * | $80,650 | $57,740 | $97,350 | 1,480 | 2.11 | 1.00 |
Related occupations
Occupations in the same SOC broad group (11-9030), with their national median annual wage.
Part of Management Occupations. Compare any area in the wage explorer.
Source and notes
Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS 11-9032 Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary.
*- Wage estimate not available.
- Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
- Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
- Top industries: nat4d_M2025_dl.xlsx in oesm25in4.zip (BLS OEWS May 2025, national, 4-digit NAICS, cross-ownership). Employment is the industry's rounded total for this occupation; industries whose employment BLS withheld (**) are not ranked. A withheld or top-coded median in that table shows the marker explained above.
- Published medians: national_M2021_dl.xlsx to national_M2024_dl.xlsx in oesm21nat.zip to oesm24nat.zip (BLS OEWS May 2021 to May 2024, national, cross-industry, all ownerships) and the May 2025 spine. Each release is shown as published; nothing is computed between them. A withheld or top-coded cell in that table shows the marker explained above.
Sources
- BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018, definition of 11-9032, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- O*NET 30.1 Database, 11-9032.00, National Center for O*NET Development, USDOL/ETA (CC BY 4.0).
- OEWS May 2025 national industry-specific estimates, 4-digit NAICS (oesm25in4.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2021 national estimates (oesm21nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2022 national estimates (oesm22nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2023 national estimates (oesm23nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2024 national estimates (oesm24nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2025 national estimates (oesm25nat.zip), the site's data spine, US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
Includes information from O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Description written 2026-10-17 in our own words from the sources above.