Early head start director vs child care center director

The differences between early head start directors and child care center directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an early head start director and a child care center director. Additionally, a child care center director has an average salary of $66,949, which is higher than the $39,448 average annual salary of an early head start director.

The top three skills for an early head start director include social work, child development and childhood. The most important skills for a child care center director are patient care, professional development, and child development.

Early head start director vs child care center director overview

	Early Head Start Director	Child Care Center Director
Yearly salary	$39,448	$66,949
Hourly rate	$18.97	$32.19
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	16,978	109,279
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Early head start director vs child care center director salary

Early head start directors and child care center directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Early Head Start Director	Child Care Center Director
Average salary	$39,448	$66,949
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $61,000	Between $33,000 And $135,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	-
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	-
Best paying company	Columbia University in the City of New York	-
Best paying industry	Professional	-

Differences between early head start director and child care center director education

There are a few differences between an early head start director and a child care center director in terms of educational background:

	Early Head Start Director	Child Care Center Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Early Childhood Education	Early Childhood Education
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Early head start director vs child care center director demographics

Here are the differences between early head start directors' and child care center directors' demographics:

	Early Head Start Director	Child Care Center Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 10.6% Female, 89.4%	Male, 16.2% Female, 83.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between early head start director and child care center director duties and responsibilities

Early head start director example responsibilities.

Lead program development for an early childhood education initiative.
Provide technical assistance to EHS staff i.e.
Implement direct early childhood development education, health, nutrition, and social services to children and families.
Monitor regulations at the NAEYC accredit program sites.
Ensure all classrooms exceed NAEYC accreditation standards and guidelines.
Participate and develop the design of EHS internal structures, systems and policies.

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.

Early head start director vs child care center director skills

Common early head start director skills

Social Work, 14%
Child Development, 8%
Childhood, 8%
Social Services, 8%
Community Resources, 6%
Child Care, 5%

Common child care center director skills

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

Early Head Start Director vs. similar jobs

Early Head Start Director related careers

Early Head Start Director related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Early Head Start Director
Early Head Start Director vs Child Care Center Director

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs