According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in 2020 the median salary for healthcare administrators across Minnesota was $101,560, nearly meeting the national median of $104,280. For those in the top ten percent, usually with the most experience and greatest responsibilities, $163,530 a year is more common.
With 13 percent of the state workforce formed by healthcare workers, as estimated by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2018, there is a great demand for professional and expert administration in the healthcare field here. The BLS reported that in 2019 Minnesota’s 326 hospital establishments employed a total of 132,474 people.
Administrators working to manage the growing demographic and cost challenges of healthcare service throughout the state have managed to slow the growth of costs of healthcare in Minnesota. That makes them well worth the high salaries they earn here. In 2020 the BLS revealed that healthcare administrators took in a combined total of $899 million in salaries throughout the state.
Job Opportunities for Healthcare Administrators are Increasing in Minnesota
The Star Tribune reported that UnitedHealth Group was the largest single company in the state in 2019, and experienced a 12.5 percent growth rate over the previous year, bringing in revenue over $226 billion. Nor is that the only major employer growing like gangbusters in the state: Medtronic, headquartered in Minneapolis, took the number five spot in top public companies in the state.
That kind of growth is behind the state Department of Employment and Economic Development estimate calling for an 16.9 percent increase in the number of medical administration jobs in Minnesota over the decade leading up to 2028. That will create 870 job openings per year, a combination of new positions and turnover in existing jobs.
Location Greatly Affects the Salaries of Minnesota’s Healthcare Administrators
Location determines population, and population challenges are what healthcare administrators get paid to deal with in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Although the median salary is on par with the national figure, it pays to look at local conditions to determine the best areas for salary in this role.
Minneapolis-St. Paul and St. Cloud are the only cities in the state where the median wage hits six figures, but for top performers in the 90th percentile of the profession, MSP gets some competition from St. Cloud, which pays out $152,120 a year compared to the $174,460 in MSP.
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
- 25th percentile: $84,890
- Median: $109,010
- 90th percentile: $174,460
Duluth
- 25th percentile: $73,350
- Median: $87,450
- 90th percentile: $132,340
St. Cloud
- 25th percentile: $87,490
- Median: $107,340
- 90th percentile: $152,120
Mankato-North Mankato
- 25th percentile: $78,420
- Median: $91,620
- 90th percentile: $112,110
Minnesota health care administrators can make good money in almost any corner of the state, with rural areas in the Northwest and Northeast earning median wages that exceed even some of the larger cities.
2020 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Medical and Health Services Managers.
Job growth projections sourced from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development 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.