Pay by state · 53 areas
Education Administrator, Postsecondary Salary by State (2026)
Education Administrators, Postsecondary earn the most in New York at $139,640 a year and the least in Arkansas at $78,240 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $104,590. The table below covers all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico and Guam, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.
- Highest median
- $139,640New York
- National median
- $104,590BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Lowest median
- $78,240Arkansas
- Areas reporting
- 53of 54 OEWS areas
Top and bottom
Highest- and lowest-paying states for education administrators, postsecondary
Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. After cost of living, South Dakota comes out ahead instead. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.
Highest median pay
- 1New York$139,640
- 2New Jersey$131,570
- 3Massachusetts$128,970
- 4Delaware$128,570
- 5Wyoming$127,960
Lowest median pay
- 1Arkansas$78,240
- 2Hawaii$81,020
- 3Florida$83,840
- 4West Virginia$84,660
- 5Mississippi$86,590
All states
Education Administrator, Postsecondary salary in every state
Sort by any column. Employment is the number of education administrators, postsecondary OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NYNew York | $139,640 | $109,840 | $183,360 | 7,280 | $129,391 |
| 2 | NJNew Jersey | $131,570 | $104,350 | $169,760 | 4,100 | $120,923 |
| 3 | MAMassachusetts | $128,970 | $96,080 | $171,900 | 9,120 | $121,949 |
| 4 | DEDelaware | $128,570 | $104,410 | $175,240 | 360 | $128,817 |
| 5 | WYWyoming | $127,960 | $108,110 | $137,810 | 120 | $138,050 |
| 6 | WAWashington | $127,630 | $102,340 | $167,850 | 2,140 | $119,266 |
| 7 | SDSouth Dakota | $126,160 | $99,890 | $175,780 | 240 | $142,415 |
| 8 | CACalifornia | $125,460 | $94,440 | $169,550 | 14,870 | $113,313 |
| 9 | WIWisconsin | $124,960 | $101,860 | $162,320 | 1,190 | $132,802 |
| 10 | CTConnecticut | $123,190 | $92,230 | $169,560 | 2,100 | $118,898 |
| 11 | VAVirginia | $120,840 | $85,600 | $172,480 | N/A | $119,520 |
| 12 | OROregon | $120,110 | $86,010 | $174,630 | 2,790 | $116,204 |
| 13 | MDMaryland | $118,550 | $87,800 | $166,910 | N/A | $112,949 |
| 14 | COColorado | $118,440 | $86,490 | $171,380 | 1,770 | $114,932 |
| 15 | KYKentucky | $114,310 | $94,480 | $167,080 | 890 | $126,787 |
| 16 | GAGeorgia | $110,200 | $86,740 | $161,550 | 2,890 | $114,442 |
| 17 | KSKansas | $110,020 | $79,460 | $152,520 | 1,760 | $122,152 |
| 18 | NMNew Mexico | $109,480 | $84,980 | $141,230 | 1,160 | $118,726 |
| 19 | MIMichigan | $108,500 | $80,620 | $167,290 | 5,110 | $112,766 |
| 20 | DCDistrict of Columbia | $107,390 | $83,270 | $172,300 | 1,880 | $97,715 |
| 21 | RIRhode Island | $106,520 | $84,200 | $173,020 | 1,140 | $104,145 |
| 22 | OKOklahoma | $105,830 | $78,700 | $141,670 | 1,700 | $120,476 |
| 23 | MNMinnesota | $104,740 | $83,680 | $134,500 | 2,110 | $106,205 |
| 24 | MOMissouri | $104,560 | $81,040 | $156,650 | 2,830 | $115,133 |
| 25 | VTVermont | $104,450 | $80,640 | $142,050 | 550 | $106,627 |
| 26 | TXTexas | $104,390 | $81,320 | $137,660 | 16,660 | $107,555 |
| 27 | NHNew Hampshire | $104,190 | $79,330 | $155,860 | 920 | $100,024 |
| 28 | PAPennsylvania | $103,740 | $82,500 | $142,160 | 8,000 | $106,321 |
| 29 | AZArizona | $103,280 | $79,540 | $142,060 | 5,140 | $102,585 |
| 30 | AKAlaska | $103,080 | $84,870 | $133,190 | 80 | $100,704 |
| 31 | MTMontana | $102,980 | $81,270 | $137,470 | 300 | $108,807 |
| 32 | NDNorth Dakota | $101,600 | $80,770 | $143,540 | 600 | $114,210 |
| 33 | IDIdaho | $101,200 | $76,340 | $128,670 | 870 | $105,975 |
| 34 | NCNorth Carolina | $101,060 | $79,810 | $135,660 | 7,390 | $107,139 |
| 35 | TNTennessee | $100,850 | $79,570 | $167,170 | 2,680 | $109,775 |
| 36 | UTUtah | $100,420 | $67,280 | $140,910 | 2,320 | $101,574 |
| 37 | ALAlabama | $100,030 | $78,490 | $132,170 | 3,760 | $112,617 |
| 38 | ILIllinois | $99,770 | $76,830 | $128,420 | 9,530 | $99,812 |
| 39 | LALouisiana | $98,840 | $76,590 | $139,060 | 3,670 | $112,055 |
| 40 | INIndiana | $98,000 | $71,590 | $139,940 | 3,370 | $105,005 |
| 41 | NENebraska | $96,030 | $75,330 | $133,660 | 1,560 | $106,578 |
| 42 | SCSouth Carolina | $95,570 | $70,710 | $130,530 | 2,990 | $101,942 |
| 43 | IAIowa | $89,320 | $67,480 | $129,320 | 2,510 | $101,775 |
| 44 | NVNevada | $88,810 | $67,660 | $133,800 | 1,320 | $88,829 |
| 45 | MEMaine | $88,180 | $67,300 | $127,150 | 860 | $90,860 |
| 46 | OHOhio | $87,370 | $64,850 | $127,880 | 6,880 | $94,175 |
| 47 | MSMississippi | $86,590 | $65,380 | $132,170 | 2,230 | $99,583 |
| 48 | WVWest Virginia | $84,660 | $65,840 | $129,510 | 1,520 | $94,595 |
| 49 | FLFlorida | $83,840 | $78,110 | $104,780 | N/A | $81,072 |
| 50 | HIHawaii | $81,020 | $56,810 | $102,250 | 570 | $73,687 |
| 51 | PRPuerto Rico | $80,410 | $48,120 | $107,170 | 910 | N/A |
| 52 | GUGuam | $79,080 | $64,150 | $102,560 | 40 | N/A |
| 53 | ARArkansas | $78,240 | $62,630 | $118,520 | 1,970 | $89,996 |
Method
How the cost-of-living adjustment works
The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.
For education administrators, postsecondary, that changes the ranking: New York leads on raw pay at $139,640, while South Dakota leads once prices are taken into account at $142,415.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.
Questions
Education Administrator, Postsecondary pay by state: FAQ
Which state pays education administrators, postsecondary the most?
New York reports the highest median wage for education administrators, postsecondary at $139,640 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by New Jersey ($131,570) and Massachusetts ($128,970).
Which state pays education administrators, postsecondary the least?
Among the 50 states and DC, Arkansas reports the lowest median for education administrators, postsecondary at $78,240 a year, $61,400 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Puerto Rico reports $80,410 and Guam reports $79,080.
In which states do education administrators, postsecondary earn over $100,000?
37 of the 50 states and DC have a median of $100,000 or more (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The highest is New York; the lowest of them is Alabama at $100,030. The rest report less, down to $78,240 in Arkansas.
Is the highest-paying state the best for education administrators, postsecondary after cost of living?
Not on this data. New York pays the most on paper ($139,640) but ranks 4th of 51 once each median is divided by the state's BEA Regional Price Parity ($129,391). South Dakota leads after that adjustment at $142,415, from a raw median of $126,160. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.