What Are the Highest-Paying Healthcare Administration Jobs?

Not all healthcare professionals make a difference by working directly with patients. Many of these professionals work behind the scenes to facilitate better patient experiences and smoother operations on the business side of healthcare. Among these professions, one of the most impactful and versatile are healthcare administrators.

Some healthcare professionals move into administrative positions after careers as doctors, nurses, or other frontline care providers. Others train directly for administrative roles, often through tailored educational programs.

This guide profiles nine well-paid administrative roles, and you can use it to help you identify a career path to target.

By and large, healthcare administration jobs maintain a core focus on the business side of care delivery. The field primarily covers non-clinical roles in operations, management, policymaking, compliance, and human resources. It also includes supporting positions centered on compiling and managing the data healthcare leaders use to make decisions, but these tend to pay lower salaries.

The U.S. labor market projects to experience strong demand for healthcare administrators in the coming years. This is largely due to the country’s aging population and the rising demand for healthcare services that accompanies it. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a sharp 29% increase in medical and health services manager positions — many of whom have healthcare administration backgrounds — from 2023-33.

As an educational foundation, you can pursue either a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree in healthcare administration. At the graduate level, you can opt for a master’s in healthcare management (MHM), a master of healthcare administration (MHA), or a master of business administration (MBA) with a healthcare management concentration. Regardless of the path you choose, professional nursing and other clinical experience can help give you a leg up in your healthcare administration training.

As in most other fields, advanced professional and educational credentials help forge a more direct path to high-paying jobs. Healthcare administrator salaries vary widely by role and experience level, and the sections below outline paths you can follow as you seek to optimize your earning potential.

A bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration can support your entry to careers with advancement opportunities and strong earning potential. The table below introduces four roles you can pursue with a relevant undergraduate degree, according to the BLS.

Depending on your goals and the program you choose, a graduate degree or a specialized certificate can also give you an entry point into the professions below. So while an undergraduate degree is not the only available pathway, it is a frequent requirement for these careers and thus can be used as a general guidepost. To learn more, reach out to the educational program or programs that interest you to find out what they offer.

Further, the pay points listed are averages, with comparable roles in your area possibly paying more or less.

Administrative services managers oversee operational functions including billing, compliance, and patient services. They also facilitate accurate and efficient cross-departmental communication. To reach the management level, you’ll likely need at least a bachelor’s degree plus multiple years of relevant experience.

Projected Job Growth (2023-33):+6%

Healthcare-focused business operations specialists analyze organizational functioning, seeking ways to improve care while optimizing resource deployment. To enter this career path, you’ll need at least a targeted bachelor’s degree plus the experiential insights gained through multiple years of in-field employment.

Projected Job Growth (2023-33):+5%

Health information technologists and medical registrars perform a variety of duties related to helping healthcare organizations manage, organize, and protect digitized data and operations. While a career-focused associate degree may lead to entry-level opportunities, employers may prefer or require candidates to hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

Projected Job Growth (2023-33):+16%

Medical records specialists maintain, update, and review patient files to ensure they are both complete and accurate. They use a standardized system of medical codes to track the diagnoses, procedures, tests, and services a patient receives. You can learn this coding system in both diploma and undergraduate degree programs.

Artificial intelligence (AI) may impact this role and its typical duties in the years ahead. Building fluency in AI technologies may enhance your future employability.

Projected Job Growth (2023-33):+9%

Graduate degrees offer a more direct path to the upper tiers of the healthcare administration salary range. They can also help you stand out in a crowded job market.

However, competition for these roles can be fierce and advanced, industry-specific credentials often make a difference. For instance, you may find it easier to qualify for available positions with a specialized MHM degree than you would with a general master’s in management.

As with the undergraduate professionals listed above, a graduate degree is not the only pathway to these roles. That said, a graduate healthcare administration degree is a frequent and valuable credential if you hope to pursue these high-paying, high-powered roles.

Chief executives guide organizational direction, set and track progress toward developmental goals, oversee operations, supervise top-level managers, and apply their executive authority to make major decisions. This high-profile role represents the summit of the healthcare administration career path and typically requires a combination of targeted education, extensive experience, and an elite performance record.

Projected Job Growth (2023-33):+6%

Medical and health services managers advance the organizational goals set by top executives, ensure legal compliance, manage budgets, track spending, supervise staff, and participate in hiring and training processes. When hiring for this role, employers often prefer or require an MHM degree, or an MBA with a healthcare concentration.

Projected Job Growth (2023-33):+29%

General and operations managers oversee organizational financial and human resources, daily operations, and policies. These roles are differentiated from medical and health services managers by their non-specialized, non-clinical focus. You can work your way into a general or operations manager role with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in business or management, plus relevant experience.

Projected Job Growth (2023-33):+6%

Healthcare management analysts examine operational, financial, and patient outcome data to identify areas for performance and efficiency improvements. They also create recommendations for process changes and upgrades that can conserve resources while improving quality of care.

Projected Job Growth (2023-33):+11%

Social and community service managers connect members of the public to social programs and support services. In healthcare contexts, these programs may include recovery and rehabilitation, nutritional support, or living assistance. The BLS lists a bachelor’s degree as the minimum required education, but many social and community service managers have both advanced degrees and extensive experience.

Projected Job Growth (2023-33):+8%