What does it cost to hire a school administrator in Knoxville?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $99,950 median wage in the Knoxville, TN area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $19,990 to $29,985 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a school administrator in Knoxville look like?

Employers in the Knoxville, TN area pay education administrators, kindergarten through secondary a median of $99,950, with the middle half of the market between $82,630 and $105,040 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $82,630 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Is the talent for this role already in Knoxville?

This is a job zone 5 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 33.7% of Knoxville adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a workable pool, though the search will reach beyond the city line.

Hiring a school administrator in Knoxville, TN

Employers in the Knoxville, TN area pay education administrators, kindergarten through secondary a median of $99,950 a year, with the middle half of the market between $82,630 and $105,040 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 11-9032). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do Knoxville residents in management work earn more than employers in the Knoxville, TN area pay?

Knoxville residents working in management occupations earn a median of $61,581 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $104,420 as the median of the 32 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Knoxville, TN area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 41%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole management group, not this one role. In the Knoxville, TN area the group covers 32 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from lodging managers at $62,700 to chief executives at $198,890 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with education administrators, kindergarten through secondary at $99,950 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 32 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

Published wages across this group in the metro run above what Knoxville residents in it earn, which usually means employers here draw this talent from beyond the city line rather than from inside it.

What does a school administrator earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to education administrators, kindergarten through secondary by employers in the Knoxville, TN area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 11-9032.
25th percentile	$82,630
Median	$99,950
75th percentile	$105,040

Half of education administrators, kindergarten through secondary in this area earn between $82,630 and $105,040 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $82,630 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 11-9032 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Knoxville residents earn

$61,581

Median annual earnings of Knoxville residents working in management occupations, 8,779 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Evaluate curricula, teaching methods, and programs to determine their effectiveness, efficiency, and use, and to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
Observe teaching methods and examine learning materials to evaluate and standardize curricula and teaching techniques and to determine areas for improvement.
Counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues.
Collaborate with teachers to develop and maintain curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives.
Direct and coordinate activities of teachers, administrators, and support staff at schools, public agencies, and institutions.

Task statements for SOC 11-9032, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft PowerPoint, Apache Cassandra, IBM SPSS Statistics, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft SharePoint.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 11-9032 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Knoxville?

This is a job zone five: extensive preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). O*NET OnLine, SOC 11-9032.

That matters here, because 33.7% of Knoxville adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Knoxville aged 25 and over.

The average Knoxville commute runs 20.4 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 11.1% of Knoxville workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Knoxville.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Knox County, management of companies and enterprises employs 10,031 and turns over 7.7% a quarter, with 943 hires against 1,013 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $8,041 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 55.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about education administrators, kindergarten through secondary. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $99,950 median in the Knoxville, TN area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $19,990 to $29,985 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a school administrator in Knoxville

What does it cost to hire a school administrator in Knoxville?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $99,950 median wage in the Knoxville, TN area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $19,990 to $29,985 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for a school administrator in Knoxville look like?: Employers in the Knoxville, TN area pay education administrators, kindergarten through secondary a median of $99,950, with the middle half of the market between $82,630 and $105,040 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $82,630 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Knoxville residents in management work earn more than employers in the Knoxville, TN area pay?: Knoxville residents working in management occupations earn a median of $61,581 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $104,420 as the median of the 32 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Knoxville, TN area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 41%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in Knoxville?: This is a job zone 5 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 33.7% of Knoxville adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a workable pool, though the search will reach beyond the city line.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a school administrator somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other management roles in Knoxville

Knoxville is the 3rd largest of 3 Tennessee cities in this dataset.