Child care center director vs child care center administrator

The differences between child care center directors and child care center administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a child care center director and a child care center administrator. Additionally, a child care center director has an average salary of $66,949, which is higher than the $58,379 average annual salary of a child care center administrator.

The top three skills for a child care center director include patient care, professional development and child development. The most important skills for a child care center administrator are quality care, nursing home, and DHS.

Child care center director vs child care center administrator overview

	Child Care Center Director	Child Care Center Administrator
Yearly salary	$66,949	$58,379
Hourly rate	$32.19	$28.07
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	109,279	146,587
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Child care center director vs child care center administrator salary

Child care center directors and child care center administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Child Care Center Director	Child Care Center Administrator
Average salary	$66,949	$58,379
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $135,000	Between $35,000 And $95,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between child care center director and child care center administrator education

There are a few differences between a child care center director and a child care center administrator in terms of educational background:

	Child Care Center Director	Child Care Center Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Early Childhood Education	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Child care center director vs child care center administrator demographics

Here are the differences between child care center directors' and child care center administrators' demographics:

	Child Care Center Director	Child Care Center Administrator
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 16.2% Female, 83.8%	Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 4.3% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between child care center director and child care center administrator duties and responsibilities

Child care center director example responsibilities.

Manage curriculum along with school budget, accounts receivable and payables.
Budget preparation/administration, record maintenance, purchasing, payroll, supervision of staff, development and administration of policies and procedures.
Establish and facilitate implementation of facility CQI program.

Child care center administrator example responsibilities.

Manage facilities maintenance/upgrades, and systems such as electronic medical records (EMR), billing, transcription and phones.
Budget preparation/administration, record maintenance, purchasing, payroll, supervision of staff, development and administration of policies and procedures.
Teach them numbers ABC's sanitize the whole room change diapers make breakfast lunch and snack nap time reading time

Child care center director vs child care center administrator skills

Common child care center director skills

Patient Care, 16%
Professional Development, 9%
Child Development, 8%
CPR, 6%
Payroll, 5%
Educational Programs, 5%

Common child care center administrator skills

Quality Care, 22%
Nursing Home, 18%
DHS, 14%
Federal Regulations, 8%
Child Care Facility, 7%
Child Development, 5%

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Child Care Center Director
Child Care Center Director vs Child Care Center Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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