According to 2020 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for Oregon healthcare administrators was $116,060, considerably above the national average. That trend holds true for the state’s average salary at $129,710, placing Oregon as offering among the top-10 highest average salaries for healthcare administrators in the nation.
They earn that money in a state with a health care system ranked in the top 20 in the U.S. according to the United Health Foundation, but one that is facing real challenges to that status. Although most of the state’s population is concentrated in a corridor along the western side of the state, there are many rural areas where providing service can be difficult. The state only has 60 community hospitals, and staffing issues are sending medical administrators scrambling to hire and train providers.
Job Outlook and Employment Settings for Hospital and Medical Office Administrators in Oregon
The Oregon Health Policy Board sees aging as a factor affecting health care jobs on both sides of the table—an aging patient population is increasing demand at the same time as an aging provider population is starting a wave of retirements that will have to be replaced. That amounts to one out of every twelve jobs in the state—and many of those jobs belong to healthcare administrators.
That’s why the state Employment Department predicts a 19.8 percent increase in the number of medical administrator positions over the decade leading up to 2028. That will open up about 530 positions annually across the state, a combination of new jobs being created and existing positions going through routine turnover.
Healthcare Administration Salaries in Oregon by Location
Although it doesn’t make the top four areas for employment for healthcare administrators, little Corvallis takes the top rank when it comes to wages in the profession. The median salary there is $135,370.
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro
- 25th percentile: $92,030
- Median: $121,820
- 90th percentile: –
Salem
- 25th percentile: $93,970
- Median: $114,040
- 90th percentile: $170,620
Eugene
- 25th percentile: $76,330
- Median: $105,590
- 90th percentile: $167,150
Bend-Redmond
- 25th percentile: $85,480
- Median: $107,660
- 90th percentile: NA
Oregon has a wide range of different salary levels based on location, with rural areas tending to offer lower wages than the urban areas on the west side of the state.
2020 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Medical and Health Services Managers.
Job growth projections sourced from the Oregon Employment Department and published in the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Long Term Occupational Projections (2018-2028) database – https://projectionscentral.com/Projections/LongTerm.
Salary figures and job market projections represent state data, not school-specific information.
Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed August 2021.