Business Management and Operations
City / Town Administrator
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
Directs the work of a department or program in a city or town.
Job Outlook
There were 8 City / Town Administrator job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 439 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Public Administrator industry, which includes the City / Town Administrator career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2012:
Salary
Many new City / Town Administrator jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $80,232.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $65,726.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for City / Town Administrator postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $64,757.
Education and Experience
Posted City / Town Administrator jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 3% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 47% |
| Master's Degree | 43% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0% |
| Other | 6% |
Posted City / Town Administrator jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 10% |
| 3 to 5 years | 70% |
| 6 to 8 years | 15% |
| 9+ years | 6% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills City / Town Administrator positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Planning (34%)
- Communication Skills (24%)
- Building Effective Relationships (12%)
- Organizational Skills (12%)
- Research (12%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Public administration (51%)
- Budgeting (46%)
- Business Administration (24%)
- Economic Development (16%)
- Local Government (15%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Accounting (12%)
- Project Management (10%)
- Administrative Support (9%)
- Staff Management (8%)
- Purchasing (8%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Grant Writing (5%)
- Land Use (4%)
- Collective Bargaining (3%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed along with the marginal value: the average salary difference between postings that request that skill and those that do not.
- Collective Bargaining (3%) – marginal value $4,074
- Urban Studies (3%) – marginal value $3,761
- Regional Planning (1%) – marginal value $3,713
- Annual Budget Preparation (2%) – marginal value $3,081
- Budget Development (3%) – marginal value $2,898
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with City / Town Administrator skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- City Administrator
- Town Administrator
- Assistant City Administrator
- Assistant Town Administrator
- Deputy City Administrator
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- City / Town Manager
- Chief Executive Officer
- Court Administrator
- Public Service Administrator
- Regional Planner
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most City / Town Administrator jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- League Minnesota Cities (48)
- League Oregon Cities (11)
- New York City Financial Information Services Agency (5)
- Town Of Brookline (3)
- Town Of Belmont (3)
North Carolina
- Town Mooresville (2)
- Town Of Navassa (2)
- Town Louisburg (1)
- Town Of Archer Lodge (1)
- Sonic Automotive (1)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from EMSI Burning Glass (now Lightcast). For more information about how they gather data and what it represents, see Emsi Burning Glass Data Basic Overview.