City administrator vs chief finance officer

The differences between city administrators and chief finance officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes More than 10 years to become both a city administrator and a chief finance officer. Additionally, a chief finance officer has an average salary of $143,947, which is higher than the $64,965 average annual salary of a city administrator.

The top three skills for a city administrator include public works, local government and financial reports. The most important skills for a chief finance officer are payroll, CPA, and oversight.

City administrator vs chief finance officer overview

	City Administrator	Chief Finance Officer
Yearly salary	$64,965	$143,947
Hourly rate	$31.23	$69.21
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	55,401	145,184
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	52	52
Years of experience	-	-

What does a city administrator do?

A city administrator is a government employee who works under the authority and direction of the mayor. City administrators supervise, monitor, and coordinate the activities and functions of the office. The administrators make the plan and direction of the administrative activities of a certain city. They establish and enforce internal procedures and policies. Also, they evaluate the employees of the city and take actions for operation improvement.

What does a chief finance officer do?

A chief financial officer is responsible for managing and reviewing the financial status of a company. Chief financial officers' duties include ensuring the accuracy of financial reports, monitoring the company's expenses and budget goals, providing recommendations to prevent financial loss and increase revenues, processing the company's tax obligations, and resolving financial disputes. A chief financial officer must have an impeccable knowledge of the financial industry, updated with the current market trend, and strong leadership and decision-making skills to support the organization's financial department.

City administrator vs chief finance officer salary

City administrators and chief finance officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	City Administrator	Chief Finance Officer
Average salary	$64,965	$143,947
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $125,000	Between $80,000 And $257,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Icma-rc	Baker McKenzie
Best paying industry	Government	Construction

Differences between city administrator and chief finance officer education

There are a few differences between a city administrator and a chief finance officer in terms of educational background:

	City Administrator	Chief Finance Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

City administrator vs chief finance officer demographics

Here are the differences between city administrators' and chief finance officers' demographics:

	City Administrator	Chief Finance Officer
Average age	52	52
Gender ratio	Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3%	Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.7% White, 76.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between city administrator and chief finance officer duties and responsibilities

City administrator example responsibilities.

Maintain an ave. 35-40 A/R days and achieve finacials from red to black.
Provide day-to-day oversight of accounts receivables (tax collections and revenues).
Maximize customer satisfaction in rehabilitation therapy.
Serve as GIS coordinator between county and city offices.
Maximize customer satisfaction in rehabilitation therapy.

Chief finance officer example responsibilities.

Lead management team in developing and executing a combination of pricing and cost savings strategies that improve EBITDA more than threefold.
Lead the consolidation of financial and operational systems for non-acute services including rehabilitation and psychiatry services.
Lead system conversion to Hyperion planning budgeting/forecasting software, responsible for training, developing and implementation.
Manage all firm banking relationships, treasury functions and retain signatory authority for all partnership and corporate accounts.
Lead implementation of new worldwide consolidation system, Hyperion, significantly reducing closing time and improving controls over the consolidation process.
Prepare annual general ledger reconciliations and consolidate financial reports for CPA tax preparation.

City administrator vs chief finance officer skills

Common city administrator skills

Public Works, 10%
Local Government, 8%
Financial Reports, 6%
Community Development, 6%
Municipal Government, 6%
Public Safety, 6%

Common chief finance officer skills

Payroll, 7%
CPA, 6%
Oversight, 5%
Financial Reports, 4%
Human Resources, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%

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City Administrator vs Chief Finance Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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