School administrator vs school superintendent

The differences between school administrators and school superintendents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a school administrator and a school superintendent. Additionally, a school superintendent has an average salary of $93,341, which is higher than the $48,331 average annual salary of a school administrator.

The top three skills for a school administrator include student issues, student attendance and curriculum development. The most important skills for a school superintendent are curriculum development, K-12, and student achievement.

School administrator vs school superintendent overview

	School Administrator	School Superintendent
Yearly salary	$48,331	$93,341
Hourly rate	$23.24	$44.88
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	73,018	30,220
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

School administrator vs school superintendent salary

School administrators and school superintendents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	School Administrator	School Superintendent
Average salary	$48,331	$93,341
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $73,000	Between $66,000 And $131,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	New York	-
Best paying company	KIPP Northern California Public Schools	-
Best paying industry	Professional	-

Differences between school administrator and school superintendent education

There are a few differences between a school administrator and a school superintendent in terms of educational background:

	School Administrator	School Superintendent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Education	Educational Leadership
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

School administrator vs school superintendent demographics

Here are the differences between school administrators' and school superintendents' demographics:

	School Administrator	School Superintendent
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 40.6% Female, 59.4%	Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 4.3% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 4.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between school administrator and school superintendent duties and responsibilities

School administrator example responsibilities.

Manage social media profiles through Facebook for important details and dates pertaining to HeartChase.
Provide administrative duties for Pre-K to 7th grade.
Perform presentations using Smartboard, Powerpoint, and Smilebox.
Lead teacher for pre-k class specializing in children with special needs.
Spearhead efforts to raise student literacy and math scores on standardize tests.
Assist or lead meetings including faculty, IEP, and RTI small group.

School superintendent example responsibilities.

Create a PBIS system for teachers on how to manage behavior on a daily basis and reward positive outcomes.
Establish and maintain relationships with colleges, community organizations, and other schools to coordinate educational services.
Reconcile special activity bank accounts and run reports using QuickBooks and upload into SharePoint.

School administrator vs school superintendent skills

Common school administrator skills

Student Issues, 21%
Student Attendance, 19%
Curriculum Development, 9%
Classroom Management, 6%
School Administration, 5%
Payroll, 4%

Common school superintendent skills

Curriculum Development, 12%
K-12, 9%
Student Achievement, 7%
Public Schools, 6%
Elementary Schools, 6%
Pre-K, 5%

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School Administrator vs School Superintendent

Updated January 8, 2025

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