The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the median annual wage for healthcare administrators in Massachusetts was $113,690 as of 2018, well above the national median of $99,730. In fact, it’s the third highest paying state in the country for medical and health service managers.
BLS also shows Massachusetts as the state with the fifth highest employment level in the country for healthcare administrators, and it enjoys the second highest concentration of healthcare administration jobs nationwide.
Those positions are being driven by a 21.3 percent increase in healthcare spending between 2013 and 2017, as found by the Health Cost Institute. But it’s not just that more money is coming into Massachusetts healthcare; the nature of service and the workforce are also changing in a way that requires more administrative expertise. The Center for Labor Markets and Policy at Drexel University found a shift from inpatient to outpatient settings in the state, and an increase in positions in home health and personal care relative to the overall trend. As staffing of positions with lower pay and less education required increase, management overhead will also go up.
Where the Jobs are for Healthcare Administrators in Massachusetts
The Kaiser Family Foundation found that 14 percent of all employment in Massachusetts is in the healthcare sector as of 2018, indicating widespread availability of jobs for healthcare administrators in both urban and rural parts of the state.
Those numbers will only climb in the coming years. The state Department of Unemployment Assistance estimates that healthcare administration jobs will grow by 15.7 percent by 2026. That will result in 1,370 job openings annually across the state, driven by both new positions being created and turnover in existing positions.
How Healthcare Administrator Salaries Differ Throughout Massachusetts
Salaries for medical and health service managers are generally high throughout Massachusetts, but they are at their peak in the Boston-Cambridge area, where even the median salary breaks six figures. Although the top salary level at the 90th percentile is not recorded in BLS numbers, the agency indicates that it exceeds $208,000 a year, a rate reserved for the most experienced and highly qualified administrators.
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua
- 25th percentile: $88,840
- Median: $119,810
- 75th percentile: $164,210
- 90th percentile: $-
Springfield
- 25th percentile: $69,600
- Median: $92,250
- 75th percentile: $118,480
- 90th percentile: $156,050
Worcester
- 25th percentile: $75,330
- Median: $98,510
- 75th percentile: $125,980
- 90th percentile: $171,130
Barnstable Town
- 25th percentile: $69,380
- Median: $94,700
- 75th percentile: $124,440
- 90th percentile: $169,110
Although the big cities get most of the salary love in Massachusetts, it’s little Pittsfield that has some of the the top-end range for wages in the state cornered, with administrators making $204,420 in the top ten percent. It also has the tenth highest concentration of employment in the field out of all urban regions nationwide.
Salary and employment data compiled by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of 2018. Figures represent accumulated data for all areas of employment for medical and health services managers – https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_ma.htm#11-9111.
BLS salary data represents state and MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) average and median earnings for the occupations listed and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. This data does not represent starting salaries. Employment conditions in your area may vary.
Job growth projections sourced from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and published in the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Long Term Occupational Projections (2016-2026) database – https://projectionscentral.com/Projections/LongTerm.
All salary and job growth data accessed in June 2019.
