Recreation supervisor vs activities director

The differences between recreation supervisors and activities directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a recreation supervisor and an activities director. Additionally, a recreation supervisor has an average salary of $45,209, which is higher than the $44,982 average annual salary of an activities director.

The top three skills for a recreation supervisor include CPR, recreational facilities and payroll. The most important skills for an activities director are patients, rehabilitation, and resident care.

Recreation supervisor vs activities director overview

	Recreation Supervisor	Activities Director
Yearly salary	$45,209	$44,982
Hourly rate	$21.74	$21.63
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	4,698	6,845
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

What does a recreation supervisor do?

Recreation Supervisors are responsible for overseeing the operations and service delivery of a recreation program for an organization. Their duties include facilitating the implementation of the recreations program, assist in staff recruitment, scheduling staff roster, developing training sessions, and track employee performance. They manage contracts, conduct community research, perform marketing outreach activities, and serve as a district representative in engaging external parties. Recreational Supervisors also develop marketing materials, coordinate logistic arrangements, monitor inventory, prepare program budgets, and write grant proposals.

What does an activities director do?

An activities director is responsible for planning engaging events for the participants, considering individual interests and the safety of procedures and resources. Activities directors guide the activity staff on assisting the participants, ensuring that they are comfortable with joining the activities. Since most activities directors work at a healthcare facility or elderly institution, they must also monitor the health of the participants by conducting therapeutic activities and evaluate the participants' progress for every program. The activities director must be a critical-thinker, as well as have excellent communication skills to coordinate with facilities personnel for successful activity completion.

Recreation supervisor vs activities director salary

Recreation supervisors and activities directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Recreation Supervisor	Activities Director
Average salary	$45,209	$44,982
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $62,000	Between $27,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	Anchorage, AK	Huntington, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	Mississippi
Best paying company	Glen Ellyn Park District	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Government	Health Care

Differences between recreation supervisor and activities director education

There are a few differences between a recreation supervisor and an activities director in terms of educational background:

	Recreation Supervisor	Activities Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Recreation Management	Business
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	University of Pennsylvania

Recreation supervisor vs activities director demographics

Here are the differences between recreation supervisors' and activities directors' demographics:

	Recreation Supervisor	Activities Director
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between recreation supervisor and activities director duties and responsibilities

Recreation supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage recreation staff and programming for assist living and rehabilitation and skil nursing facilities.
Manage activity and progress reports including statistical data require by regulators, initial assessments, MDS and IDC documentation.
Open, close and run swim center.
Use of POS system for food and beverage sales
Develop plans and provide oversight for detailing and finishing work.
Start as a lifeguard, monitoring swimmers and waders for safety reason.

Activities director example responsibilities.

Manage updated JCC social media, including Facebook.
Manage pet therapy/pat visitation protocol.
Attend interdisciplinary care plan meetings and document in MDS and resident medical records as appropriate.
Plan, organize, and run the afterschool
Create reports, handouts, and PowerPoint presentations.
Assist teachers with reading and mathematics lessons and activities.

Recreation supervisor vs activities director skills

Common recreation supervisor skills

CPR, 25%
Recreational Facilities, 11%
Payroll, 8%
Safety Procedures, 4%
Front Desk, 3%
Performance Evaluations, 3%

Common activities director skills

Patients, 15%
Rehabilitation, 10%
Resident Care, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Home Health, 7%
MDS, 6%

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Recreation Supervisor vs Activities Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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