City clerk vs city administrator

The differences between city clerks and city administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a city clerk, becoming a city administrator takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a city administrator has an average salary of $64,965, which is higher than the $58,166 average annual salary of a city clerk.

The top three skills for a city clerk include meeting agendas, city ordinances and payroll taxes. The most important skills for a city administrator are public works, local government, and financial reports.

City clerk vs city administrator overview

	City Clerk	City Administrator
Yearly salary	$58,166	$64,965
Hourly rate	$27.96	$31.23
Growth rate	-	6%
Number of jobs	80,796	55,401
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	49	52
Years of experience	4	-

What does a city clerk do?

The City Clerk is the person who will provide all the information about a city's policies, regulations, previous legislation, and history. This position serves as a secretary for an entire municipality and is expected to provide public municipal documents when requested. The person in this position is often expected to know the public policy and have good organizational skills. The city records and all public documents are all under the direct care of the City Clerk.

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.

City clerk vs city administrator salary

City clerks and city administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	City Clerk	City Administrator
Average salary	$58,166	$64,965
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $80,000	Between $33,000 And $125,000
Highest paying City	Lodi, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Icma-rc	Icma-rc
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between city clerk and city administrator education

There are a few differences between a city clerk and a city administrator in terms of educational background:

	City Clerk	City Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

City clerk vs city administrator demographics

Here are the differences between city clerks' and city administrators' demographics:

	City Clerk	City Administrator
Average age	49	52
Gender ratio	Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9%	Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 4.7% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	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%
LGBT Percentage	10%	12%

Differences between city clerk and city administrator duties and responsibilities

City clerk example responsibilities.

Demonstrate strong math skills in managing inmate s accounts and calmly and effectively deescalating outbursts of belligerent inmates.
Prepare grant applications for water, sewer, EDA and CBDG.
Collect, analyze, submit to NYS town relate data.
Record information into QuickBooks for payment of bills and to issue checks.
Prepare and submit various government reports, prepare various city contracts and act as notary public.
Process summons, court files, subpoenas, warrants, bonds, attorney correspondence and background checks.

Show more

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.

City clerk vs city administrator skills

Common city clerk skills

Meeting Agendas, 13%
City Ordinances, 10%
Payroll Taxes, 9%
Meeting Minutes, 7%
Utility Billing, 6%
Office Equipment, 5%

Common city administrator skills

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

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z