Careers
What Can You Do With an MHA? Healthcare Administration Careers
What Can You Do With an MHA?
What can you do with an MHA? You can run the business side of health care: a hospital department, a physician practice, a nursing home or an entire health system, in roles the BLS groups as medical and health services managers. Hospitals employ 28% of those managers, and the median pay was $123,860 in May 2025. The usual path runs from a residency during the degree to an administrative fellowship, then department leadership and, for some, the executive suite.
What Can You Do With an MHA?
What can you do with an MHA? You run the business of health care. The degree prepares you to manage budgets, staff, compliance and strategy for the places that deliver care, from a single physician practice to a multi-hospital system. The BLS counts these jobs as medical and health services managers, and 597,080 people held them in May 2025.
The BLS also notes the other names you’ll see on job boards: healthcare executive and healthcare administrator. Same occupation. A medical and health services manager may run a whole facility, one clinical department, or a group medical practice. Titles depend on the setting, so a hospital posting might say director of operations while a long-term care posting says administrator.
This guide covers what the job involves, where the jobs are, and the path most MHA graduates follow from the degree to senior leadership. Pay gets one section, near the end, because it follows from the path you choose.
What a Healthcare Administrator Does All Day
The BLS lists the core duties of medical and health services managers. You’ll:
- Set goals for the efficiency and quality of healthcare services
- Keep the facility compliant with laws and regulations
- Prepare and monitor budgets, including patient fees and billing
- Recruit, train and supervise staff
- Build work schedules
- Represent the facility or department to investors or governing boards
- Keep records of services, such as how many inpatient beds were used
What that looks like depends on size. The BLS puts it plainly: managers of large facilities focus on broad oversight, while a manager of a small department might be the one ordering medical supplies. Early in your career, expect the second kind of job. You’ll own a schedule, a budget line and a team, and the scope grows from there.
You’ll work alongside physicians, registered nurses, medical records specialists and other staff, and sometimes patients and insurance representatives. So the job is as much negotiation as spreadsheet.
Three Jobs the Degree Leads to
The BLS names three types of medical and health services managers that show how different the work can be:
Nursing home administrator. You manage every part of a facility: admissions, building maintenance and the care of residents. This is the one role with a license in every state. See the nursing home administrator license guide for the exam and the administrator-in-training internship.
Clinical manager. You run a department such as intensive care or physical therapy, with responsibilities shaped by that specialty. If you’re a clinician, it’s the natural first management role, since you already know the unit’s work.
Health information manager. You make sure patient record databases are complete, accurate and open only to authorized staff. If you like data and systems more than operations, this track fits.
Above those roles sit the leadership levels ACHE uses to define executive healthcare management: department director or department head, vice president, and C-suite executive.
Where Healthcare Administration Jobs Are
Hospitals are the biggest employer, but they employ well under half of these managers. Here’s the BLS breakdown of the largest employers:
| Setting | Share of medical and health services managers |
|---|---|
| Hospitals (state, local and private) | 28% |
| Offices of physicians | 13% |
| Nursing and residential care facilities | 9% |
| Outpatient care centers | 7% |
| Government | 7% |
That spread matters when you pick a program. A hospital-focused MHA with a big-system residency points you at the 28%. A long-term care concentration points you at nursing and residential care. And physician offices, at 13%, are the second-largest employer, which is where the small-department version of the job is most common.
Hours are real. The BLS says most managers work full time, some more than 40 hours a week, and hospitals and nursing homes that run around the clock may need you on evenings or weekends.
From Residency to Administrative Fellowship
This is the part of the path most career pages skip. For early-career MHA graduates, the first real job is often an administrative fellowship, and it’s worth understanding before you choose a school.
The residency comes first, inside the degree. ACHE describes an administrative residency as one of the final steps toward a healthcare management master’s, arranged by your program with a preceptor. Programs like UAB’s residential MSHA, USC’s MHA and UF’s MHA build one in.
The fellowship comes after graduation. An administrative fellowship is a developmental job that requires a finished graduate degree. ACHE says fellowships typically last one year, with some running 18 to 24 months, and many start near July 1. Most organizations post openings in summer with fall deadlines, so you’ll apply during your final year of school.
Competition is real. Fellowship programs draw applicants from many schools, and ACHE notes that some only accept graduates of CAHME-accredited programs. If a fellowship is your plan, the CAHME-accredited MHA programs keep that door open. ACHE keeps a directory of open fellowships for students and early careerists.
Health Services Manager Pay by State
Nationally, medical and health services managers earn a median $123,860; the lowest-paid 10% earn under $73,390 and the top 10% over $224,340, across 597,080 jobs. State medians with the number of jobs behind each:
| State | Median pay | Lowest 10% earn under | Top 10% earn over | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $164,120 | $95,660 | $340,990 | 33,200 |
| District of Columbia | $155,140 | $95,860 | $227,270 | 2,010 |
| Hawaii | $147,630 | $80,020 | $219,760 | 2,650 |
| New Jersey | $145,650 | $98,390 | $328,500 | 16,900 |
| Washington | $145,290 | $88,970 | $282,250 | 7,490 |
| Oregon | $141,690 | $92,640 | $295,630 | 5,550 |
| California | $141,480 | $72,800 | $274,660 | 75,090 |
| Colorado | $134,910 | $82,680 | $227,940 | 8,400 |
| Delaware | $134,820 | $89,000 | $298,180 | 1,560 |
| Massachusetts | $134,360 | $84,330 | $296,030 | 17,600 |
| Alaska | $132,240 | $81,940 | $292,300 | 1,640 |
| Georgia | $131,910 | $74,060 | $248,660 | 11,130 |
| Maryland | $131,810 | $77,560 | $242,610 | 17,030 |
| Connecticut | $130,790 | $82,890 | $219,010 | 8,020 |
| New Hampshire | $130,410 | $83,290 | $290,880 | 2,460 |
| Virginia | $129,270 | $80,250 | $213,810 | 10,210 |
| Arizona | $128,850 | $75,490 | $228,340 | 11,840 |
| Vermont | $128,690 | $84,230 | $276,360 | 860 |
| Wisconsin | $128,320 | $90,440 | $274,310 | 7,230 |
| New Mexico | $124,300 | $78,520 | $204,420 | 3,150 |
| Minnesota | $122,700 | $80,080 | $196,830 | 11,350 |
| South Dakota | $122,050 | $84,310 | $178,630 | 1,140 |
| Florida | $120,360 | $69,910 | $213,260 | 42,700 |
| Maine | $120,320 | $70,000 | $246,080 | 2,450 |
| Nevada | $119,990 | $75,070 | $183,890 | 5,360 |
| Rhode Island | $119,260 | $77,630 | $196,810 | 3,370 |
| Illinois | $117,850 | $75,920 | $227,180 | 22,460 |
| Idaho | $117,770 | $66,950 | $175,780 | 3,920 |
| Utah | $114,980 | $67,020 | $215,570 | 4,860 |
| North Carolina | $114,410 | $70,680 | $217,420 | 14,820 |
| Texas | $114,150 | $65,520 | $205,600 | 58,420 |
| West Virginia | $112,010 | $77,810 | $209,090 | 2,080 |
| Kansas | $111,030 | $68,980 | $192,970 | 5,120 |
| Wyoming | $108,030 | $68,490 | $171,540 | 1,180 |
| Nebraska | $107,700 | $78,790 | $180,840 | 3,770 |
| Michigan | $107,570 | $66,140 | $192,440 | 16,060 |
| Tennessee | $107,120 | $71,820 | $202,060 | 14,160 |
| Ohio | $106,140 | $66,430 | $199,470 | 24,390 |
| Montana | $105,840 | $65,300 | $193,410 | 1,870 |
| South Carolina | $105,620 | $66,520 | $211,890 | 9,350 |
| North Dakota | $105,170 | $78,150 | $179,740 | 1,220 |
| Louisiana | $104,550 | $66,980 | $205,780 | 7,470 |
| Missouri | $104,370 | $64,620 | $186,430 | 10,800 |
| Indiana | $104,140 | $67,820 | $194,980 | 12,340 |
| Pennsylvania | $103,670 | $64,820 | $171,400 | 30,480 |
| Kentucky | $103,450 | $58,560 | $216,940 | 8,600 |
| Iowa | $101,940 | $75,080 | $171,760 | 6,200 |
| Oklahoma | $101,270 | $64,170 | $172,640 | 6,030 |
| Guam | $100,420 | $53,870 | $167,710 | 140 |
| Mississippi | $98,160 | $62,140 | $166,640 | 4,280 |
| Alabama | $97,790 | $64,640 | $159,450 | 10,360 |
| Virgin Islands | $96,950 | $59,990 | $179,460 | 80 |
| Arkansas | $94,340 | $55,390 | $155,210 | 6,440 |
| Puerto Rico | $82,580 | $48,510 | $180,270 | 1,180 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. A high median on few jobs describes a small market, so read pay beside the job count.
The Path to the Executive Suite
Put together, the typical route for an early-career MHA looks like this:
| Stage | What it is | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Residency or internship | Supervised placement during the degree | Enrollment in a program that requires one |
| Administrative fellowship | Typically one year, some 18 to 24 months, after graduation | A completed graduate degree; sometimes a CAHME-accredited one |
| Manager | Running a unit, service line or practice | Fellowship or prior healthcare experience |
| Department director | Control of a department’s budget, planning and staffing | Years of management experience |
| Vice president or C-suite | Organization-wide leadership | The BLS says top executive roles may require a master’s |
The director level is also where FACHE certification becomes possible. ACHE counts department director, vice president and C-suite roles as executive healthcare management, and it doesn’t count fellowships, residencies or internships toward the experience requirement.
Entry-Level Routes and Career Changers
You don’t need the fellowship route to get in. The BLS says some managers begin as medical records specialists, administrative assistants or financial clerks in a healthcare office, and some employers hire managers with only an associate degree. Work experience sometimes substitutes for education entirely.
That’s why the MHA isn’t always the first step. If you’re new to health care, an entry-level administrative job can come first, and the degree later. If you’re a nurse or therapist, your clinical years count: the BLS notes that nursing home administrators may have years of experience as registered nurses. The executive MHA programs are designed for people who are already managing, and the healthcare administration degree guide compares bachelor’s and master’s routes.
Healthcare Administration Salary
Pay for medical and health services managers, May 2025:
| Pay point | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $73,390 |
| 25th percentile | $94,700 |
| Median | $123,860 |
| 75th percentile | $166,100 |
| 90th percentile | $224,340 |
The hourly median is $59.55. Location moves pay a lot. New York has the highest state median at $164,120, followed by the District of Columbia at $155,140 and Hawaii at $147,630. California has the most jobs, 75,090, with a median of $141,480. Texas is second in jobs with 58,420 at a $114,150 median. The table on this page lists pay for every state.
The spread is wide because the occupation runs from a small practice manager to a health system executive. Where you land on it depends on the size of the organization and how far up the path you’ve climbed.
Job Outlook for MHA Graduates
The BLS projects employment of medical and health services managers to grow 24 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 62,300 openings a year. The BLS expects many of those openings to come from replacing managers who retire or move to other occupations.
For you, that means the question isn’t whether jobs exist. It’s which setting you want and which program gets you there.
Match the Program to the Career You Want
Different MHA programs point at different corners of the occupation. Pick the one whose built-in experience matches the job you want five years from now.
Hospital and health system leadership. Look for a required residency and CAHME accreditation, since some fellowships only accept CAHME graduates. UAB’s residential MSHA places students in a paid administrative residency after coursework, and Mizzou’s residential MHA requires a summer administrative internship.
Long-term care administration. Look for a program that builds in the administrator-in-training internship your state license will ask for. Texas State’s Master of Long-Term Care Administration includes one, and Hofstra’s MHA offers a Long-Term Care Administration concentration.
Moving up from where you already work. If you’re a clinician or supervisor now, an executive format lets you keep your job. USC’s online Executive MHA is aimed at people with years of health administration experience.
Practice and outpatient management. Physician offices are the second-largest employer of these managers. A flexible online program you finish while working in a practice can be enough to move from office staff to practice manager.
Use the program matcher to filter for residencies, long-term care tracks or executive formats, and read whether an MHA is worth it before you weigh the cost. The MHA requirements guide shows what each type of program expects from applicants.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Difference Between an Administrative Residency and a Fellowship?
ACHE describes a residency as one of the final steps toward a healthcare management master's, arranged by the academic program. A fellowship is a developmental job that starts after you finish your graduate degree, and some fellowships only take graduates of CAHME-accredited programs.
How Long Is an Administrative Fellowship?
ACHE says administrative fellowships are typically one year long, with some running 18 to 24 months. Many start near July 1, and most sites post openings in summer with a fall application deadline.
Can You Become a Healthcare Manager Without a Master's?
Yes. The BLS says medical and health services managers typically need a bachelor's degree, some employers hire candidates with an associate degree, and work experience sometimes substitutes for education. Advancement to top executive positions may require a master's.
What Is the Highest-Paying State for Healthcare Administrators?
New York, with a median of $164,120 for medical and health services managers in May 2025. The District of Columbia follows at $155,140 and Hawaii at $147,630.
Do Nursing Home Administrators Need a License?
Yes. The BLS notes that all states require licensure for nursing home administrators, and requirements vary by state. The nursing home administrator license guide covers the exam and the administrator-in-training internship.
What Does a Healthcare Administrator Do Day to Day?
The BLS lists the core duties: setting goals for efficiency and quality, keeping the facility compliant with laws and regulations, preparing and monitoring budgets, recruiting and supervising staff, creating schedules, representing the facility to boards and investors, and keeping records of services.
Keep Reading
- Healthcare Administration Degree LevelsAssociate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in healthcare administration and what each qualifies you for
- MHA vs MBAThe MHA and the healthcare MBA compared on curriculum, cost, accreditation, admissions and career paths
- MHA vs MPHThe Master of Health Administration and the Master of Public Health compared, and when a joint MHA/MPH makes sense
- MHA/MBA Dual DegreesEvery verified MHA/MBA and other dual degree with a health administration master's, by school
- Healthcare Administration CertificatesGraduate certificates in healthcare administration and management at schools with a verified master's program
- MHA Admission RequirementsWhat MHA programs require for admission, with counts from verified program pages
Sources
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: medical and health services managers
- ACHE: administrative fellowship FAQs
- ACHE: directory of administrative fellowships
- ACHE: FACHE healthcare management experience requirement
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 11-9111
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Medical and Health Services Managers