Postsecondary Education Administrator Salary in 2027: Pay by State and Experience

How Much Does a Postsecondary Education Administrator Make in 2027?

A postsecondary education administrator makes a median of $104,590 a year in 2027, or about $50.28 an hour, on the May 2025 federal wage survey. The salary range runs from $64,560 at the 10th percentile to $215,620 at the 90th, with median pay of $104,590 between them.

The median pay for a postsecondary education administrator is $104,590 a year, and half of the 180,470 people in the field earn less. That sits close to the school principal median and second among the eight education careers we cover. The mean is higher at $126,540, a sign that the top of the field pulls the average well above the middle, and the hourly equivalent of the median is about $50.28.

The spread is enormous. The lowest-paid tenth earn about $64,560 and the highest-paid tenth earn $215,620 or more, a band that senior roles such as provosts, vice presidents and senior deans can reach at large or well-funded institutions. A range from $64,560 to $215,620 shows how far the title stretches: two people with the same job description on paper can be separated by six figures when one runs a small office at a community college and the other oversees an academic division at a research university.

Which States Pay Postsecondary Education Administrators the Most in 2027?

Postsecondary education administrators earn the most in New York, at $139,640, and the least in Arkansas, at $78,240, across 50 states and the District of Columbia in the May 2025 survey.

Geography moves this salary a great deal. Among the states and the District of Columbia, postsecondary education administrators earn the most in New York at $139,640, New Jersey at $131,570, Massachusetts at $128,970, Delaware at $128,570, Wyoming at $127,960 and Washington at $127,630. The lowest medians belong to Arkansas at $78,240, Hawaii at $81,020, Florida at $83,840 and West Virginia at $84,660.

Northeast states lead the list, and every place in the top six pays well above the national median. The cost-of-living caveat applies with force. A $139,640 median in New York is eroded by housing, taxes and daily expenses, especially in expensive metro areas, and a dollar earned in Arkansas at $78,240 stretches much further. The raw ranking is a starting point, not a verdict on where the job pays best in real terms.

The survey also reports Puerto Rico at $80,410 and Guam at $79,080 for postsecondary education administrators, but Puerto Rico and Guam are territories, not states, so they sit outside the ranking above.

How Does a Postsecondary Education Administrator's Salary Change With Experience?

A postsecondary education administrator's salary tends to rise with title and responsibility, though the BLS publishes percentiles for the whole occupation and not pay by years of experience. The $64,560 tenth-percentile mark is where the lowest-paid tenth of administrators sit, the $104,590 median is the middle of the field and the $215,620 ninetieth percentile marks the top tenth, so a move from coordinator to director to dean or vice president is the usual way up that range.

Unlike K-12 teaching, higher education administration often does not follow a fixed step-and-lane schedule. Public universities may publish salary bands for a title, but movement within and between bands depends on promotion, negotiation and the market for the role, so the path is less predictable than a classroom career.

How Does a Postsecondary Education Administrator's Pay Compare With Other Education Careers?

Postsecondary education administrators are the second-highest paid of the eight education careers here, close behind school principals at $105,870. Their $104,590 median sits well above the $77,440 median for instructional coordinators and the $64,330 median for school counselors, though the top of the range is reserved for a small group of senior leaders.

What Do Salary Websites Say a Postsecondary Education Administrator Earns?

Private salary sites put a postsecondary education administrator's pay between $63,990 at Salary.com and $111,624 at Indeed. The sites file the job under different titles, from dean to higher education administrator, and that choice alone moves the figure, so read the range as a reminder of how much the job title in this field stretches. The BLS median of $104,590 sits inside it.

What Drives a Postsecondary Education Administrator's Pay?

A postsecondary education administrator's pay is driven first by the title and the scope behind it. The BLS industry medians are close together, running from $98,840 at state junior colleges to $107,540 at state colleges and universities, with private colleges and universities at $102,790 (Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025), so the wide spread in the national figures comes mostly from what an administrator oversees and not from the sector alone. A large university has the enrollment, the budget and the layers of hierarchy to support senior administrators deep into six figures, while a community college or regional college runs leaner, with fewer administrative titles.

Administrators who control large budgets, supervise many staff, sit on a president's cabinet or hold a vice president title tend to earn the most. Location matters too, as the state figures above show, since the same job pays tens of thousands of dollars more in the Northeast than in the lowest-paying states.

How Can a Postsecondary Education Administrator Earn More?

A postsecondary education administrator can raise a salary by earning a doctorate, moving from director to dean or vice president, changing institutions, targeting a better-paying state or specializing in enrollment or advancement.

• Earn a Doctorate. The senior academic roles, dean, provost and vice president for academic affairs, often call for a Ph.D. or an Ed.D., and the BLS notes that provosts and academic deans often need a doctorate. It is a credential that helps open the top of the range, where the 90th percentile reaches $215,620.
• Move From Director to Dean or Vice President. One of the larger pay steps in this field is the move from running an office to holding a cabinet-level title, because those roles carry authority over budgets and personnel across a whole division.
• Change Institutions Instead of Waiting. One way to claim a bigger title and budget is to move to another campus, where a new role is priced at the market rate for the job instead of the raise pool at the current institution.
• Target a Higher-Paying State. Moving from a low-paying state to the Northeast can raise the same job's pay substantially, though the cost of living offsets part of the gain.
• Specialize in Enrollment or Advancement. Enrollment management, admissions and fundraising offices are ones where leadership can connect results to revenue, so a record of meeting enrollment or fundraising targets can strengthen later negotiations.

The master's degree that starts the climb is covered in the postsecondary education administrator career guide, and the higher education administration ranking compares fully online programs.