Nursing home administrator vs unit director

The differences between nursing home administrators and unit directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a nursing home administrator and a unit director. Additionally, a nursing home administrator has an average salary of $80,880, which is higher than the $74,346 average annual salary of a unit director.

The top three skills for a nursing home administrator include nursing home, long-term care and healthcare. The most important skills for a unit director are patients, patient care, and customer service.

Nursing home administrator vs unit director overview

	Nursing Home Administrator	Unit Director
Yearly salary	$80,880	$74,346
Hourly rate	$38.88	$35.74
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	137,786	41,585
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a nursing home administrator do?

A nursing home administrator is responsible for managing and running a nursing home facility and supervising staff. Your typical duties will include managing the budget and making critical decisions, overseeing the recruitment, training, and dismissal of staff members, conducting employee performance reviews, and communicating with prospective and existing residents and their families. Additionally, you are expected to advocate for nursing home residents, develop rules, procedures, and policies for the facility, and oversee residents' billings for services. As a nursing home administrator, you are also responsible for conducting safety training for all staff.

What does a unit director do?

A unit director is a management professional who is responsible for directing and managing a group of medical professionals in an organization. This director must manage the daily clinical and administrative duties for those professionals involved in the mental health hospitalization programs. The director must assist in recruiting healthcare professionals to maximize the branch and margin profits of the medical establishment. This director should also attend meetings with the OCFS program to discuss the performance and outcome measures of the program.

Nursing home administrator vs unit director salary

Nursing home administrators and unit directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Nursing Home Administrator	Unit Director
Average salary	$80,880	$74,346
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $116,000	Between $42,000 And $131,000
Highest paying City	Wilmington, DE	Fairfield, CT
Highest paying state	Oregon	Connecticut
Best paying company	Senior Living Properties	Palo Alto Networks
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between nursing home administrator and unit director education

There are a few differences between a nursing home administrator and a unit director in terms of educational background:

	Nursing Home Administrator	Unit Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Nursing home administrator vs unit director demographics

Here are the differences between nursing home administrators' and unit directors' demographics:

	Nursing Home Administrator	Unit Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 39.1% Female, 60.9%	Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 7.6% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between nursing home administrator and unit director duties and responsibilities

Nursing home administrator example responsibilities.

Manage the day to day operations of a LTC facility.
Achieve and maintain a 5 star quality facility as per CMS guidelines.
Lead a team in developing and implementing a new EMR system for patient registration.
Lead quality improvement initiatives and practices in change concepts and measurement strategies for improve health outcomes for long term care patients
Manage global security in WebSphere using LDAP authentication.
Manage billing procedures and negotiate third-party contracts including a federal Medicare and state Medicaid contracts.

Unit director example responsibilities.

Prepare and manage payroll and purchasing, which include balancing of accounts within budgetary limits; establish daily interaction with clients.
Manage operational organizing of stock and equipment, order supplies and oversee building maintenance, cleanliness and security.
Provide case management services to residents in the Alzheimer's unit.
Migrate all operations to a new ERP and retail system with a successful implementation.
Develop and implement a program which assure quality of life for mid- stage Alzheimer's residents.
Oversee labor, as well as, payroll, purchases, complete work orders, and operating supplies.

Nursing home administrator vs unit director skills

Common nursing home administrator skills

Nursing Home, 14%
Long-Term Care, 8%
Healthcare, 8%
Patients, 7%
NHA, 7%
Rehabilitation, 5%

Common unit director skills

Patients, 23%
Patient Care, 21%
Customer Service, 14%
Cleanliness, 7%
Staff Development, 6%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%

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Nursing Home Administrator
Nursing Home Administrator vs Unit Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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