Building principal vs superintendent

The differences between building principals and 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 superintendent. Additionally, a building principal has an average salary of $96,899, which is higher than the $82,458 average annual salary of a superintendent.

The top three skills for a building principal include student learning, staff development and community agencies. The most important skills for a superintendent are OSHA, quality standards, and construction management.

Building principal vs superintendent overview

	Building Principal	Superintendent
Yearly salary	$96,899	$82,458
Hourly rate	$46.59	$39.64
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	44,250	22,580
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Building principal vs superintendent salary

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

	Building Principal	Superintendent
Average salary	$96,899	$82,458
Salary range	Between $70,000 And $133,000	Between $57,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Rhode Island
Best paying company	-	BP America Inc
Best paying industry	-	Construction

Differences between building principal and superintendent education

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

	Building Principal	Superintendent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Educational Leadership	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Building principal vs superintendent demographics

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

	Building Principal	Superintendent
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3%	Male, 93.3% Female, 6.7%
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, 12.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 4.2% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between building principal and 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.

Superintendent example responsibilities.

Manage, coordinate, plan and provide oversight for all nuclear work perform during PSA's.
Manage $9.1M budget; 28,000 grind and flight training requirements and 2,400 hr flying training program.
Manage a team of 30 operators and maintenance personnel producing extrusion and blown polypropylene shrink film on a unionize site.
Lead and facilitate meetings; oversee implementation of OSHA and company safety regulations.
Manage complex logistics, including procuring materials and navigating space constraints, to successfully complete project amid concurrent construction of building.
Coordinate and oversee commercial roofing projects.

Building principal vs 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 superintendent skills

OSHA, 11%
Quality Standards, 7%
Construction Management, 7%
Logistics, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Project Management, 5%