Building principal vs school superintendent

The differences between building principals and school superintendents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a building principal and a school superintendent. Additionally, a building principal has an average salary of $96,899, which is higher than the $93,341 average annual salary of a school superintendent.

The top three skills for a building principal include student learning, staff development and community agencies. The most important skills for a school superintendent are curriculum development, K-12, and student achievement.

Building principal vs school superintendent overview

	Building Principal	School Superintendent
Yearly salary	$96,899	$93,341
Hourly rate	$46.59	$44.88
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	44,250	30,220
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Building principal vs school superintendent salary

Building principals and school superintendents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Building Principal	School Superintendent
Average salary	$96,899	$93,341
Salary range	Between $70,000 And $133,000	Between $66,000 And $131,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between building principal and school superintendent education

There are a few differences between a building principal and a school superintendent in terms of educational background:

	Building Principal	School Superintendent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Educational Leadership	Educational Leadership
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Building principal vs school superintendent demographics

Here are the differences between building principals' and school superintendents' demographics:

	Building Principal	School Superintendent
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3%	Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 4.3% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 4.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between building principal and school superintendent duties and responsibilities

Building principal example responsibilities.

Demonstrate leadership, accountability, and teamwork when managing the budget by empowering staff members to participate in controlling expenditures.
Demonstrate leadership, accountability, and teamwork when managing the budget by empowering staff members to participate in controlling expenditures.
Use BIE indicators for communications and promoting expectations for high-level performance to faculty, staff and students.

School superintendent example responsibilities.

Create a PBIS system for teachers on how to manage behavior on a daily basis and reward positive outcomes.
Establish and maintain relationships with colleges, community organizations, and other schools to coordinate educational services.
Reconcile special activity bank accounts and run reports using QuickBooks and upload into SharePoint.

Building principal vs school superintendent skills

Common building principal skills

Student Learning, 20%
Staff Development, 20%
Community Agencies, 13%
Decision-Making Process, 11%
Instructional Program, 10%
Professional Development, 6%

Common school superintendent skills

Curriculum Development, 12%
K-12, 9%
Student Achievement, 7%
Public Schools, 6%
Elementary Schools, 6%
Pre-K, 5%

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Building Principal
Building Principal vs School Superintendent

Updated January 8, 2025

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