Health care expenditures in Colorado make up by far the largest slice of Colorado’s state budget at $12.2 billion in 2020, reflecting a strong commitment to this sector. $714 million of that went to pay the salaries of medical and health administrators that year. When you consider that an estimated 75,000 people per year are also moving into the Centennial State according to the Colorado State Demography Office, those are costs that will add up fast. It’s interesting, and certainly not unrelated to all this, that Colorado hospitals are among the most profitable in the nation according to the state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.
Managing all that money and the influx of new residents in need of medical services falls to the state’s healthcare administrators. Enjoying above-average salaries for taking on the weighty responsibility of administering healthcare facilities amid a growing and increasingly complex healthcare network, there’s a bright future throughout the state for well-educated medical managers and administrators.
Where the Demand is for Healthcare Administrators in Colorado
The influx of new residents are pushing job growth in health administration to 32.8 percent for the period between 2018 and 2028 according to the state Department of Labor and Employment. Through both new job creation and normal turnover in existing positions, that should amount to 730 openings per year across the state.
This is largely driven by projects such as the new 11-story tower on the Anschutz Medical Campus at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora. Expanding medical facilities to meet the healthcare demands of a growing populace means more competitive salaries are being offered in health administration to go along with all the work and responsibilities involved in on-boarding more and more medical staff.
Salaries for Colorado’s Healthcare Administrators According to Location
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2021 Colorado’s health administrators enjoy a median salary of $109,100, almost $5,000 more than the national average. In the rarified air of the 90th percentile, administrators make $189,230.
The Front Range Urban Corridor is the scene of much of the state’s population growth, and the surge in medical facilities has also driven salaries higher throughout that region, with the Denver metro area topping out the median wage in the state at $118,040.
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood
- 25th percentile: $89,070
- Median: $118,040
- 90th percentile: $203,970
Colorado Springs
- 25th percentile: $81,210
- Median: $102,250
- 90th percentile: $161,150
Fort Collins
- 25th percentile: $80,040
- Median: $103,360
- 90th percentile: $170,800
Boulder
- 25th percentile: $77,070
- Median: $106,160
- 90th percentile: $201,040
2020 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Medical and Health Services Managers.
Job growth projections sourced from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment 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.