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The differences between principals and school business managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a principal and a school business manager. Additionally, a principal has an average salary of $111,719, which is higher than the $62,224 average annual salary of a school business manager.
The top three skills for a principal include CRM, project management and financial services. The most important skills for a school business manager are K-12, professional development, and payroll.
| Principal | School Business Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $111,719 | $62,224 |
| Hourly rate | $53.71 | $29.92 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 84,015 | 87,493 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A principal is responsible for maintaining the orderliness of the school premises and supervising school operations, enforcing strict safety standards, and reiterating regulatory procedures. Principals' duties also include managing and monitoring school budget and expenses, improving security plans, conducting regular meetings and sharing updates with teachers and other school personnel, creating reports for school funding, and setting academic goals for everyone's compliance. A principal must administer excellent leadership, communication, and decision-making skills to handle major administrative tasks in maintaining the school's growth.
A school business manager is responsible for providing leadership and management of all teaching and non-teaching staff in a school setting and ensuring they perform their duties accordingly to achieve the required standards of learning. The duties and responsibilities include attending senior managerial meetings and taking the lead of all school responsibilities in the absence of the headteacher.
Principals and school business managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal | School Business Manager | |
| Average salary | $111,719 | $62,224 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $179,000 | Between $43,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | KKR & Co. L.P. | Selective Insurance |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Education |
There are a few differences between a principal and a school business manager in terms of educational background:
| Principal | School Business Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between principals' and school business managers' demographics:
| Principal | School Business Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.6% Female, 34.4% | Male, 42.9% Female, 57.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 4.3% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |