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Senior administrator salary

Quoted expert
Dr. Richard Huff Ph.D.

Average senior administrator salary

$103,102

$49.57 hourly rate

Entry-level senior administrator salary
$73,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding the Senior Administrator Salary Landscape

The average Senior Administrator salary in the United States is $103,102 per year or approximately $50 per hour. This salary can vary based on factors such as location, years of experience, and specific industry demands. For instance, states like California and New York often feature higher salaries due to their cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.

Senior Administrators typically work in various sectors, including healthcare, finance, and education. In healthcare, for example, salaries can be significantly higher, reflecting the critical nature of administrative roles in patient care management. Moreover, those with advanced degrees or extensive experience can command salaries well above the average. By analyzing salary trends across different states and industries, aspiring and current Senior Administrators can make informed career decisions that align with their financial goals and professional aspirations.

Top Paying States for Senior Administrators

  • California
  • New York
  • Texas
  • Florida
  • Illinois
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Where can a Senior Administrator earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
156k
136k
116k
96k
76k
56k
Columbus, OH$139,420
Omaha, NE$86,415
Compare salary by company
Vs
152k
132k
112k
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The Walt Disney Company$135,769
BD$122,062

Senior administrator salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com and Indeed, the average salary for a senior administrator typically falls between $71,506 and $103,102.
zippia
$103,102yearly
indeed[1]
$94,280yearly
Salary.com[2]
$71,506yearly

Average senior administrator salary by state

The average senior administrator salary in California, Washington, and Connecticut are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average senior administrator salary states are Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for senior administrators

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Utah$109,929$52.85
2Alaska$113,129$54.39
3Washington$119,231$57.32
4Oregon$113,212$54.43
5California$125,378$60.28
6Massachusetts$111,108$53.42
7Rhode Island$109,837$52.81
8New Hampshire$108,098$51.97
9Connecticut$116,181$55.86
10South Carolina$111,263$53.49
11Nevada$103,164$49.60
12Virginia$101,471$48.78
13Idaho$102,512$49.28
14Vermont$100,343$48.24
15Maine$108,063$51.95
16New York$108,744$52.28
17Arizona$97,399$46.83
18Pennsylvania$99,378$47.78
19Texas$98,073$47.15
20Maryland$99,527$47.85
21North Carolina$97,828$47.03
22Ohio$98,124$47.17
23New Jersey$106,558$51.23
24Michigan$98,580$47.39
25Hawaii$100,113$48.13
26Alabama$91,436$43.96
27District of Columbia$94,567$45.46
28South Dakota$93,987$45.19
29Georgia$94,218$45.30
30Kentucky$93,567$44.98
31Wisconsin$92,813$44.62
32Illinois$91,462$43.97
33Florida$86,804$41.73
34West Virginia$89,591$43.07
35Kansas$87,627$42.13
36New Mexico$83,342$40.07
37Indiana$90,251$43.39
38Montana$86,792$41.73
39Arkansas$88,180$42.39
40Oklahoma$88,326$42.46
41Louisiana$88,420$42.51
42Nebraska$85,890$41.29
43Colorado$74,590$35.86
44Minnesota$84,933$40.83
45Delaware$89,569$43.06
46North Dakota$78,544$37.76
47Mississippi$82,721$39.77
48Iowa$84,712$40.73
49Wyoming$73,083$35.14
50Missouri$80,222$38.57
51Tennessee$78,632$37.80

Highest paying cities for senior administrators

The highest-paying cities for senior administrators are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Boston, MA.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1San Francisco, CA$139,420$67.03
2Seattle, WA$120,000$57.69
3Boston, MA$111,199$53.46
4Salt Lake City, UT$109,584$52.68
5New York, NY$108,961$52.39
6Arlington, VA$102,112$49.09
7Las Vegas, NV$101,496$48.80
8Philadelphia, PA$99,872$48.02
9Baltimore, MD$99,755$47.96
10Cleveland, OH$99,606$47.89
11Raleigh, NC$98,843$47.52
12Arlington, TX$98,434$47.32
13Phoenix, AZ$97,604$46.92
14Washington, DC$94,597$45.48
15Atlanta, GA$93,931$45.16
16Chicago, IL$92,224$44.34
17Tallahassee, FL$91,808$44.14
18Indianapolis, IN$90,027$43.28
19Oklahoma City, OK$89,864$43.20
20Omaha, NE$86,415$41.55

Senior administrator salary details

A senior administrator's salary ranges from $73,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $145,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average senior administrator salary graph
Average senior administrator salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a senior administrator's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$145,000$12,083$70
75th Percentile$123,000$10,250$59
Average$103,102$8,592$50
25th Percentile$86,000$7,167$41
10th Percentile$73,000$6,083$35

Highest paying senior administrator jobs

The highest paying types of senior administrators are senior oracle database administrator, senior unix systems administrator, and senior database administrator.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Lead Database Administrator$114,426$9,535$55.0158,263
Windows System Administrator$79,845$6,654$38.3994,648
Systems Administrator Lead$99,956$8,330$48.06132,285
Database Administrator$81,960$6,830$39.4056,992
Business Administrator$72,503$6,042$34.86103,025
Data Administrator$80,072$6,673$38.50124,537

How would you rate the starting salaries for senior administrators, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Dr. Richard Huff Ph.D.

Assistant professor, assistant chair, Virginia Commonwealth University

While MPA students are not drawn to public service by high salaries, it is reasonable to expect remuneration, which respects their credentials and experience. Many students are mid-level careerists and are likely to remain in their jobs where an advanced degree may improve their opportunities for advancement, and others may be looking for a career change. Also, a cohort of students moving from undergraduate to graduate degrees with internships is common.

These groups likely present varying degrees of salary requirements and qualifications. In the federal service, an MPA qualifies as one at the GS-9 entry-level. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes salary tables at Link The beginning salary varies by location from $53K to $61K, with the higher amount near large metropolitan areas. Higher salaries are common in overseas areas. Progression is based on performance with opportunities to achieve salaries of $150K and over at the executive levels. Overall, beginning salaries for the MPA considering nonprofits and government agencies is estimated at $53K.

Top companies hiring senior administrators now:

  1. Best Buy jobs (167)
  2. BNY Mellon jobs (63)
  3. JPMorgan Chase & Co. jobs (23)
  4. State Street jobs (31)
  5. The Kraft Group jobs (33)

Which companies pay senior administrators the most?

Senior administrator salaries at The Walt Disney Company and Better are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior administrator salary at companies like PayPal and Nomura Securities are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1The Walt Disney Company$135,769$65.27
2Better$135,703$65.24
3PayPal$135,048$64.93
4Nomura Securities$133,331$64.10
5Vista Equity Partners$132,561$63.73
6Intuitive Surgical$132,159$63.54
7Carbon$131,914$63.42
8Quidel$129,995$62.50
9Rivian$129,402$62.21
10Varian Medical Systems$128,861$61.95
11Atlassian$128,641$61.85
12Bloomberg$127,894$61.49
13University of Maryland Medical System$126,378$60.76
14Parsons$125,043$60.12
15Riverbed Holdings, Inc.$123,864$59.55
16Pacific Gas and Electric$123,724$59.48
17AstraZeneca$122,897$59.09
18Starbucks$122,607$58.95
19MFS Investment Management$122,343$58.82
20BD$122,062$58.68

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$106,000$104,400$102,800$101,200$99,600$98,000
MaleFemale

Senior administrator salary trends

The average senior administrator salary has risen by $18,814 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior administrator earned $84,288 annually, but today, they earn $103,102 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for senior administrators over the last decade.

Compare senior administrator salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average senior administrator salary over time

Compare senior administrator salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Senior administrator salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$103,000$49.57+3.3%
2024$99,700$47.94+2.3%
2023$97,400$46.85+1.2%
2022$96,300$46.31+1.7%
2021$94,700$45.51+2.4%

Recently added senior administrator salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
SutterhealthSenior Administrator, Service LineSacramento, CA06/30/2025$157,464
Warner Bros. AnimationSenior Administrator, Studio Business OperationsBurbank, CA06/25/2025$49,009
The Brattle GroupSenior AdministratorWashington, DC06/09/2025$80,000
M&T BankShared Services ASU Senior AdministratorWilmington, DE06/03/2025$79,184
Grand St. Settlement Inc.Senior Administrator-ECSNew York, NY05/28/2025$60,000
SutterhealthSenior Administrator, Service LineSacramento, CA05/25/2025$157,464
GrandsettlementSenior Administrator-ECSNew York, NY05/18/2025$60,000
General DynamicsSenior AdministratorPittsfield, MA05/12/2025$66,429
The Brattle GroupSenior AdministratorIone, WA05/10/2025$80,000
The Brattle GroupSenior AdministratorWashington, DC05/10/2025$80,000

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