Administrative director vs executive director

The differences between administrative directors and executive directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an administrative director, becoming an executive director takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an executive director has an average salary of $127,956, which is higher than the $80,158 average annual salary of an administrative director.

The top three skills for an administrative director include patients, patient care and customer service. The most important skills for an executive director are oversight, patients, and customer service.

Administrative director vs executive director overview

	Administrative Director	Executive Director
Yearly salary	$80,158	$127,956
Hourly rate	$38.54	$61.52
Growth rate	7%	-8%
Number of jobs	52,849	97,471
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	50	49
Years of experience	2	4

What does an administrative director do?

An administrative director primarily functions to oversee daily operations within a company, ensuring everything is running smoothly. Among their responsibilities include monitoring the budget and audits, allocating funds to every department, coordinating with supervisors, and analyzing key data such as finances and progress reports. Additionally, they are also responsible for implementing policies and regulations, even crafting new ones when necessary. They typically report all progress and concerns to higher officials such as the president and vice president.

What does an executive director do?

Executive directors are top management employees who usually function as a chief executive officer. This role is usually seen in non-profit organizations. Executive directors provide strategic direction to the organization, and they ensure that the organization's goals are actualized. They provide guidance to the employees and ensure that the employees have the organization's advocacies at the center of every project or program. They oversee the policies of the organization and create strategies that will bring the organization's programs forward. Executive directors are also responsible for making crucial decisions for the betterment of the organization.

Administrative director vs executive director salary

Administrative directors and executive directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Director	Executive Director
Average salary	$80,158	$127,956
Salary range	Between $53,000 And $121,000	Between $76,000 And $213,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Connecticut	New York
Best paying company	Mayer Brown	Genentech
Best paying industry	Media	Finance

Differences between administrative director and executive director education

There are a few differences between an administrative director and an executive director in terms of educational background:

	Administrative Director	Executive Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Administrative director vs executive director demographics

Here are the differences between administrative directors' and executive directors' demographics:

	Administrative Director	Executive Director
Average age	50	49
Gender ratio	Male, 33.8% Female, 66.2%	Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 4.3% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	5%	10%

Differences between administrative director and executive director duties and responsibilities

Administrative director example responsibilities.

Manage payroll system and provide staff and directors with essential reporting necessary for managing employee resources.
Manage A/P, A/R and general accounting.
Lead a change in system philosophy on physician equity interest in surgery centers.
Manage administrative operations for the business -purchasing, accounting, payroll, safety and environmental safety training and testing.
Receive and process incoming Medicaid, Medicare, government grants and donation checks.
Charge with improving customer service for patients and physicians as well as re-capturing lose outpatient radiology business.

Executive director example responsibilities.

Manage 10 department heads who supervise a staff of 350 FTE's.
Develop and manage sales teams to assure the highest ROI on the client's investment.
Create and manage a call center for lead programs to support the prospecting activity needs of the FSR.
Freelance blogging to increase website views and ultimately to turn organic content into leads and ROI for small businesses.
Market and manage group and individual insurance programs including health, life, disability, long term care and annuities.
Major accomplishment are to achieve initial NAEYC accreditation.

Administrative director vs executive director skills

Common administrative director skills

Patients, 11%
Patient Care, 9%
Customer Service, 6%
Human Resources, 5%
Financial Reports, 5%
Payroll, 5%

Common executive director skills

Oversight, 10%
Patients, 9%
Customer Service, 5%
Financial Management, 5%
Business Development, 4%
Home Health, 4%

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Administrative Director
Administrative Director vs Executive Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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