Management

Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare

Plan, direct, or coordinate academic or nonacademic activities of preschools or childcare centers and programs, including before- and after-school care.

MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$59,300USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$28.51USD per hour · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Hourly wage thresholds

USD per hour

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
PercentileAnnual wage (USD/year)Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th$38,580$18.55
25th$47,040$22.62
50th · Median$59,300$28.51
75th$75,500$36.30
90th$98,240$47.23

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

After School Site DirectorBefore and After School Program DirectorBefore and After School Site DirectorCenter AdministratorCenter ManagerChild Care Center Administrator (Child Care Center Admin)Child Care Center DirectorChild Care DirectorChildcare Center AdministratorChildcare Center DirectorChildcare DirectorDay Care Center Director
Expand more title examples (19)
Day Care DirectorDaycare DirectorDaycare ManagerEarly Childhood Education DirectorEarly Childhood Program Supervisor (ECP Supervisor)Early Childhood Services DirectorEducation CoordinatorEducation DirectorEducation Site ManagerEducational Program DirectorExtended Care DirectorMontessori Program DirectorPre-K Program Coordinator (Prekindergarten Program Coordinator)Preschool DirectorPreschool Program DirectorSchool DirectorSite CoordinatorSite DirectorVice Principal

Typical tasks

  • Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate primary and supplemental staff and recommend personnel actions for programs and services.
  • Confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities and policies and students' behavioral or learning problems.
  • Teach classes or courses or provide direct care to children.
  • Determine allocations of funds for staff, supplies, materials, and equipment and authorize purchases.
  • Direct and coordinate activities of teachers or administrators at daycare centers, schools, public agencies, or institutions.
  • Monitor students' progress and provide students and teachers with assistance in resolving any problems.
Expand more tasks (11)
  • Determine the scope of educational program offerings and prepare drafts of program schedules and descriptions to estimate staffing and facility requirements.
  • Review and evaluate new and current programs to determine their efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with state, local, and federal regulations and recommend any necessary modifications.
  • Prepare and maintain attendance, activity, planning, accounting, or personnel reports and records for officials and agencies, or direct preparation and maintenance activities.
  • Review and interpret government codes and develop procedures to meet codes and to ensure facility safety, security, and maintenance.
  • Set educational standards and goals and help establish policies, procedures, and programs to carry them out.
  • Prepare and submit budget requests or grant proposals to solicit program funding.
  • Plan, direct, and monitor instructional methods and content of educational, vocational, or student activity programs.
  • Collect and analyze survey data, regulatory information, and demographic and employment trends to forecast enrollment patterns and the need for curriculum changes.
  • Organize and direct committees of specialists, volunteers, and staff to provide technical and advisory assistance for programs.
  • Write articles, manuals, and other publications and assist in the distribution of promotional literature about programs and facilities.
  • Inform businesses, community groups, and governmental agencies about educational needs, available programs, and program policies.

Skills used in this work

Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Expand more skills (29)
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Management of Financial Resources
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Management of Material Resources
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Technology Design
Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Installation
Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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Sources and citation.

Cite this page: Wages.fyi, “Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare career and wage guide.” Link to this Wages.fyi page

This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wages.fyi has selected and organized this information and added wage navigation and explanations. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Database license and attribution requirements.

Official occupation profile · Official wage reference . Wage reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service. Source data and publication dates can differ from the date this page is accessed.