How to hire a county administrator

How to hire a county administrator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step county administrator hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a county administrator job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new county administrator
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a county administrator do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the county administrator you need to hire. Certain county administrator roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect county administrator also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of county administrators.

   Type of County Administrator	Description	Hourly rate
   County Administrator	Top executives devise strategies and policies to ensure that an organization meets its goals. They plan, direct, and coordinate operational activities of companies and organizations.	$26-68
   Vice President	Vice presidents are usually considered the second-in-command in the organization, depending on the organization structure. They take over when the president is unavailable to fulfill duties... Show more	$51-112
   President	Presidents are usually the highest-level executives in an organization. They oversee the whole company... Show more	$54-155

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • County Government
   • Service Delivery
   • Federal Laws
   • Public Works
   • Financial Management
   • County Services
   • Direct Supervision
   • Personnel Policy
   • Community Organizations
   • County Board
   • Community Development
   • Capital Projects
   • Financial Statements
   • Payroll

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Establish operating policies and procedures and attain SNF Medicare certification.
   • Re-Establish the QA committee and institute continuous quality improvement activities with resulting impact on the facility's regulatory compliance history.
   • Process all source documents, ensuring accuracy, creating invoices using QuickBooks including monthly bank reconciliation.

   More county administrator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your county administrator job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A county administrator salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, county administrators' average salary in arkansas is 68% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level county administrators earn 61% less than senior-level county administrators.
   • Certifications. A county administrator with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a county administrator's salary.

   Average county administrator salary

   $89,338yearly

   $42.95 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level county administrator salary

   $55,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average county administrator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$101,890	$49
   2	Florida	$91,147	$44
   3	Oregon	$88,201	$42
   4	Colorado	$84,317	$41
   5	Minnesota	$83,313	$40
   6	Pennsylvania	$82,902	$40
   7	Wisconsin	$79,529	$38
   8	Illinois	$74,822	$36
   9	Utah	$67,954	$33

   Average county administrator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Icma-rc	$109,287	$52.54	15
   2	Tarrant County	$92,116	$44.29
   3	Minnesota Limited	$82,929	$39.87	1
   4	Orora	$80,108	$38.51
   5	El Paso County	$77,489	$37.25
   6	Gwinnett County	$74,989	$36.05	1
   7	UnitedHealth Group	$73,379	$35.28	69
   8	San Bernardino County	$72,545	$34.88
   9	Lehigh Hanson	$69,430	$33.38
   10	RHA Health Services	$62,472	$30.03	9
   11	Rings Levin A Atty	$57,503	$27.65
   12	Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania	$55,138	$26.51
   13	Chrysalis	$49,743	$23.91
   14	County of San Joaquin, CA	$32,315	$15.54	3

4. Writing a county administrator job description

   A job description for a county administrator role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a county administrator job description:

   County administrator job description example

   The North Mississippi Employment Consortium is located in Desoto County and serves those leaving a period of incarceration and returning to Desoto, Tunica, Tate or Marshall counties. If you have a passion to research and analyze data, this is the service position for you! We seek a detail-oriented person who has a keen eye for data to join our team. Be the person who reports on reentry statistics here in Mississippi that helps to educate the community on the importance of providing reentry services to those leaving a period of incarceration. If this, is you, do not hesitate to apply! Further help on this page can be found by clicking here.
   
   Member Duties : Maintain records of all documents in a database that is accessible to staff, board members, volunteers, and future VISTA members. Review documents being produced by the other VISTAs for data collection and outcome measurement. Create a database and reports to be assessed by staff, board members, advisory board, volunteers, and future VISTA members. Create a system of methods for collecting data such as: effectiveness of programs, number of people in job readiness attendance, number of people employed number of people receiving financial education and banking services, number of people who are new business owners, number of people improved financial knowledge, and number of people who received mental health and substance abuse services. Create a tracking system for the participants, employers, and community volunteers. Assist with the evaluation of the program with the Executive Director. Gather data to be placed in a quarterly and final reports to Americorps by the Executive Director.
   
   Program Benefits : Living Allowance , Relocation Allowance , Health Coverage* , Education award upon successful completion of service , Childcare assistance if eligible , Choice of Education Award or End of Service Stipend .
   Terms :
   
   Permits working at another job during off hours , Car recommended , Permits attendance at school during off hours , Uniforms provided and required .
   
   Service Areas :
   
   Public Safety , Technology , Ex-Offender Reentry .
   
   Skills :
   
   General Skills , Writing/Editing , Team Work , Public Speaking , Communications , Conflict Resolution , Computers/Technology , Leadership .

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5. Post your job

   To find the right county administrator for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with county administrators they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit county administrators who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your county administrator job on Zippia to find and recruit county administrator candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with county administrator candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new county administrator

   Once you have selected a candidate for the county administrator position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new county administrator. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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