EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been edited to add clarity.
Nursing home administrator salaries across the country increased 3.78% over the past year, when using a same-facility comparison.
That increase outstrips last year’s 2.47% bump and places admins near the top of the list of skilled nursing positions that enjoyed salary increases between 2015 and 2016, according to the Nursing Home Salary & Benefits Report 2016-2017. The report, which was released Friday, covers the biggest annual survey of its kind and is published by the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service, in cooperation with LeadingAge and support from the American Health Care Association.
Administrators experienced the third-highest increase in salary over the past year, on a same-facility basis, behind only directors of marketing and marketing representatives, which rose 3.94% and 7.18%, respectively. Assistant administrators saw a slight increase, with an average 1.8% boost from last year’s salaries.
Nursing home executive directors, reflecting a pool of fewer than 200 top execs presiding over the nation’s largest nursing facilities, experienced a more modest increase over the last year, with just a 0.94% jump from last year.
While DONs enjoyed a 2.73% increase on a same-facility comparison, salaries for registered nurses increased 2.86% over the past year.
Median salary levels for 2016 (considering nursing homes of all sizes and revenue levels) included the following: Administrators — $104,210; Assistant Administrators — $74,456* (*small sample size); Executive Directors — $126,462* (*small sample size); Director of Nurses — $92,141; Assistant DON — $69,639; MDS Coordinator — $63,467.
The full report covers 46 nursing home management positions and 53 non-management positions, as well as average salary comparisons between the same positions in nursing home and continuing care retirement community settings.
The 2016-2017 report includes data from more than 155,300 employees of 2,076 participating nursing homes, as well as information on fringe benefits, shift data and turnover rates. For more information, or to purchase a copy of the Nursing Home Salary & Benefits Report, click here.
