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Business Administrator salary

Quoted Expert
Dr. Richard Huff Ph.D.

Average business administrator salary

$72,503

$34.86 hourly rate

Entry-level business administrator salary
$45,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a business administrator make?

The average business administrator salary in the United States is $72,503. Business administrator salaries typically range between $45,000 and $114,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for business administrators is $34.86 per hour.

Business administrator salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Business administrators earn the highest average salary in Washington.

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Business administrator salary by: 

Where can a Business Administrator earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
119k
99k
79k
59k
39k
Columbus, OH$103,920
Philadelphia, PA$69,421
Compare salary by company
Vs
143k
123k
103k
83k
63k
Novartis$119,264
Siemens$92,770

Business Administrator salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter and Payscale, the average salary for a business administrator typically falls between $59,487 and $72,503.
zippia
$72,503yearly
glassdoor[1]
$61,313yearly
indeed[2]
$62,766yearly
ZipRecruiter[3]
$69,117yearly
payscale[4]
$59,487yearly

Average business administrator salary by state

The highest-paying states for business administrators are Washington, Alaska, and California. The lowest average business administrator salary states are Colorado, Georgia, and Alabama.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for business administrators

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1Alaska$95,909$46.11
2South Dakota$87,699$42.16
3Nevada$83,931$40.35
4Michigan$85,039$40.88
5Washington$98,220$47.22
6Wisconsin$85,233$40.98
7Maryland$92,395$44.42
8Utah$85,831$41.26
9Virginia$86,686$41.68
10Oregon$87,235$41.94
11California$95,174$45.76
12Connecticut$89,949$43.24
13South Carolina$78,791$37.88
14North Carolina$84,216$40.49
15New Hampshire$82,469$39.65
16Massachusetts$85,528$41.12
17Rhode Island$83,132$39.97
18New Jersey$89,246$42.91
19New York$89,296$42.93
20Kansas$74,761$35.94
21Kentucky$74,957$36.04
22Minnesota$76,098$36.59
23Montana$74,935$36.03
24Iowa$74,755$35.94
25Idaho$81,264$39.07
26Indiana$74,207$35.68
27Maine$82,178$39.51
28Nebraska$71,544$34.40
29Missouri$72,631$34.92
30District of Columbia$77,875$37.44
31Ohio$68,920$33.13
32Arizona$75,065$36.09
33Texas$75,305$36.20
34Vermont$77,237$37.13
35West Virginia$69,737$33.53
36New Mexico$69,499$33.41
37Illinois$77,671$37.34
38Tennessee$67,220$32.32
39Arkansas$66,205$31.83
40Delaware$74,467$35.80
41Oklahoma$66,488$31.97
42North Dakota$68,645$33.00
43Alabama$61,510$29.57
44Pennsylvania$69,134$33.24
45Colorado$66,078$31.77
46Louisiana$59,824$28.76
47Hawaii$66,575$32.01
48Wyoming$66,107$31.78
49Mississippi$56,496$27.16
50Florida$60,469$29.07
51Georgia$64,871$31.19

Highest paying cities for business administrators

The highest-paying cities for business administrators are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and New York, NY.

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1San Francisco, CA$103,920$49.96
2Seattle, WA$99,170$47.68
3New York, NY$89,333$42.95
4Paramus, NJ$89,284$42.92
5Arlington, VA$88,686$42.64
6Portland, OR$87,815$42.22
7Raleigh, NC$85,853$41.28
8Salt Lake City, UT$85,556$41.13
9Boston, MA$85,476$41.09
10Ann Arbor, MI$84,804$40.77
11Greenville, SC$79,979$38.45
12Chicago, IL$77,982$37.49
13Washington, DC$77,932$37.47
14Saint Paul, MN$76,196$36.63
15Austin, TX$75,643$36.37
16Phoenix, AZ$75,486$36.29
17West Des Moines, IA$74,065$35.61
18Indianapolis, IN$74,018$35.59
19Saint Louis, MO$73,287$35.23
20Philadelphia, PA$69,421$33.38

Business Administrator salary details

A business administrator's salary ranges from $45,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $114,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Business Administrator Salary Graph
Average Business Administrator Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a business administrator's salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$114,000$9,500$55
75th Percentile$92,000$7,667$44
Average$72,503$6,042$35
25th Percentile$57,000$4,750$27
10th Percentile$45,000$3,750$22

Highest paying business administrator jobs

The highest paying types of business administrators are senior administrator, lead administrator, and managing administrator.

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Administrative Analyst$55,444$4,620$26.6691,598
Program Administrator$50,715$4,226$24.38119,898
Department Administrator$49,768$4,147$23.9384,441
Project Administrator$52,862$4,405$25.41141,253
LAN Administrator$60,942$5,079$29.3092,931
Managing Administrator$75,025$6,252$36.0764,677

How would you rate the starting salaries for Business 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 business administrators now:

  1. Microsoft Jobs (206)
  2. Northrop Grumman Jobs (14)
  3. Mutual of Omaha Jobs (31)
  4. L.A. Care Health Plan Jobs (11)
  5. Guardian Life Jobs (11)

Which companies pay business administrators the most?

Business administrator salaries at Novartis and Medline are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average business administrator salary at companies like Pacifi and Western Alliance Bank are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1Novartis$119,264$57.34
2Medline$117,910$56.69
3Pacifi$115,020$55.30
4Western Alliance Bank$112,150$53.92
5Microsoft$109,762$52.77
6Cisco$108,408$52.12
7HSBC Bank$108,276$52.06
8General Motors$107,092$51.49
9JPMorgan Chase & Co.$103,721$49.87
10Hubbell$102,782$49.41
11Fusion LLC$102,623$49.34
12Stripe$97,778$47.01
13HCSC$97,157$46.71
14Qualcomm$96,642$46.46
15Northern Trust$96,452$46.37
16Mutual of Omaha$94,977$45.66
17Mitsubishi Electric Power Products$94,940$45.64
18L.A. Care Health Plan$94,551$45.46
19Terex$93,351$44.88
20Siemens$92,770$44.60

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$75,000$73,600$72,200$70,800$69,400$68,000
MaleFemale

Business Administrator salary by industry

The average business administrator salary varies across industries:

  • The average business administrator salary in the finance industry is $94,044, the highest of any industry.
  • The average business administrator salary in the finance industry is $89,444.
  • Business administrators in the government industry earn an average salary of $54,116, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for business administrators

RankIndustryAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1Finance$94,044$45.21
2Technology$89,444$43.00
3Manufacturing$84,332$40.54
4Health Care$62,799$30.19
5Education$62,297$29.95
6Professional$60,520$29.10
7Government$54,116$26.02

High Paying Business Administrator Jobs

Business Administrator salary trends

The average business administrator salary has risen by $13,230 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average business administrator earned $59,273 annually, but today, they earn $72,503 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for business administrators over the last decade.

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

Average business administrator salary over time

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

    Business Administrator salary by year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2025$72,500$34.86+3.3%
    2024$70,100$33.71+2.3%
    2023$68,500$32.95+1.2%
    2022$67,700$32.56+1.7%
    2021$66,600$32.00+2.4%

    Recently added business administrator salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    State of IllinoisDOC Vandalia Business AdministratorVandalia, OH12/15/2024$95,592
    Justice, Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison SystemBusiness AdministratorThree Rivers, TX12/15/2024$96,132
    Ultimate StaffingOffice Administrator-Business AdministratorHuntington Beach, CA12/14/2024$75,132
    AkkodisLims Business AdministratorSaint Louis, MO12/14/2024$135,655
    Eliassen GroupSR. Business Intelligence AdministratorWashington, DC12/13/2024$146,090
    Department of JusticeBusiness AdministratorThree Rivers, TX12/13/2024$72,914
    Microsoft CorporationBusiness Support AdministratorWashington, DC12/12/2024$59,396
    Microsoft CorporationBusiness Support AdministratorGarden City, NY12/12/2024$59,396
    Microsoft CorporationBusiness Support AdministratorBoston, MA12/12/2024$59,396
    Microsoft CorporationBusiness Support AdministratorPhiladelphia, PA12/12/2024$59,396

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