Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration Rankings

The Best Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration in New York for 2026

10Programs analyzed
$6,930-$48,400In-state tuition range
64%Average graduation rate
$123,860Median salary (BLS)

The best bachelor's in healthcare administration in New York, ranked for 2026, comes down to three numbers most sites skip: what you will actually pay, how many students finish, and what the degree leads to. We built this ranking from IPEDS enrollment and outcomes data plus BLS wage data on medical and health services managers, scoring 10 healthcare administration programs across the state on graduation rate, admissions selectivity, cost, and post-graduation outcomes.

Cost is not a single number here. In-state tuition among the ranked programs runs from $6,930 a year at CUNY Lehman College to $48,400 a year at Manhattan University, a nearly sevenfold spread inside one state. The average graduation rate across the group is 64%. If you want the cheapest path into a four-year healthcare administration degree without giving up completion odds, State University of New York at Cortland tops this list at $7,070 a year in-state with a 68% graduation rate, the strongest combination of price and finish rate we found.

What follows is a breakdown of what these programs cost and how fast that cost pays back, what licensure and certification actually require in this field, which accreditation labels matter, how a bachelor's stacks up against a master's in health administration, and where online and accelerated formats fit. Key takeaways and a full FAQ follow the methodology below.

Key Takeaways on the Best Healthcare Administration Bachelor's Programs in New York

  • In-state tuition among the 10 programs in this ranking spans $6,930 a year (CUNY Lehman College) to $48,400 a year (Manhattan University), so where you enroll changes your four-year bill by more than $165,000.
  • State University of New York at Cortland ranks #1 in this ranking of the best bachelor's in healthcare administration in New York, with a Hakia Score of 90.5, a 68% graduation rate, and $7,070 in-state tuition, the strongest price-to-completion combination on the list.
  • The average graduation rate across ranked healthcare administration programs is 64%; Siena College leads the group at 75%, while CUNY Lehman trails at 51% despite its low sticker price.
  • The national BLS median salary for medical and health services managers is $123,860 a year, enough to cover SUNY Cortland's full four-year in-state tuition bill ($28,280) in under three months of pay.
  • Private nonprofit tuition at the priciest schools in this ranking, Manhattan University ($48,400) and Siena College ($44,505), costs more than six times what the two public options, SUNY Cortland and CUNY Lehman, charge in-state.
  • 10 healthcare administration programs in New York were scored for this ranking using IPEDS graduation rate, selectivity, and cost data alongside BLS wage data: no reputation surveys, no paid placements.

This ranking of the best bachelor's in healthcare administration in New York scores each program on a Hakia Score built from four inputs: graduation rate, admissions selectivity, in-state and out-of-state cost, and post-graduation outcomes, all pulled from the U.S. Department of Education's IPEDS database and cross-referenced against national wage data from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook for medical and health services managers. No school pays for placement and no ranking input comes from a reputation survey.

The 10 Best Healthcare Administration Bachelor's Programs in New York, Ranked for 2026

The 10 best Healthcare Administration Bachelor's Programs in New York, ranked by outcomes
#ProgramTypeIn-state tuitionGrad rateAdmit rateHakia Score
1State University of New York at CortlandCortland, NYPublic$7,07068%60%90.5
2Excelsior UniversityAlbany, NY · online optionNonprofitNRNROpen88.6
3Plaza CollegeForest Hills, NYFor-profit$14,00068%30%87.5
4St. Joseph's University-New YorkBrooklyn, NYNonprofit$35,84069%72%86.0
5Siena CollegeLoudonville, NYNonprofit$44,50575%69%85.1
6Roberts Wesleyan UniversityRochester, NY · online optionNonprofit$37,40867%71%81.2
7CUNY Lehman CollegeBronx, NYPublic$6,93051%57%80.8
8Manhattan UniversityRiverdale, NYNonprofit$48,40064%79%79.2
9SUNY College of Technology at AlfredAlfred, NY · online optionPublic$7,07055%76%78.5
10Long Island UniversityBrookville, NYNonprofit$40,24857%86%78.0

Open — open-admission school: it admits every qualified applicant, so IPEDS collects no admit rate. NR — not reported by the institution in the latest IPEDS collection.

The Top Healthcare Administration Bachelor's Programs in New York at a Glance

Each program scores 0 to 100 on the Hakia Score, a composite of graduation rate, cost, selectivity, and outcomes. Longer bars rank higher.

Inside the Top Healthcare Administration Bachelor's Programs in New York

State University of New York at Cortland

Cortland, NY · Public

90.5Hakia Score
Grad rate
68%
Admit rate
60%
In-state
$7,070
Out-of-state
$16,980

SUNY Cortland's healthcare management degree costs just $7,070 a year in state, 42% of the $16,980 out-of-state rate, and still tops New York's 2026 ranking with a Hakia Score of 90.5.

  • 68% graduation rate
  • $7,070 in-state tuition, 42% of the out-of-state rate
  • Hakia Score 90.5, #1 in New York
  • Full-time, semester-long fieldwork placement

SUNY Cortland's Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management is one of the first programs of its kind built inside the SUNY system, combining the college's business economics and public health departments into a single 120-credit track. Coursework covers human resource management, health economics, health informatics, operations and supply chain management, and epidemiology and biostatistics, and every student completes a full-time, semester-long fieldwork placement. Fieldwork partners include Cortland Regional Medical Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Northwell Health, and Stony Brook University Hospital, and the program counts Richard J. Pollack, class of 1977 and president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, among its alumni.

The program carries a Hakia Score of 90.5, the top mark among New York's bachelor's healthcare administration programs in this ranking. Its 68% graduation rate ties Plaza College for third-highest in this ranking, behind Siena's 75% and St. Joseph's 69%, and a 60% admit rate keeps it moderately selective rather than a lock. The real differentiator is cost: $7,070 a year in state versus $16,980 out of state, a gap that makes Cortland the clear pick for New York residents willing to complete a semester-long fieldwork placement in exchange for a public-school price. Medical and health services managers earn a national median of $123,860 a year, according to BLS Occupational Outlook data, a figure that applies across the field rather than to any one school.

View State University of New York at Cortland's Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration program →

Excelsior University

Albany, NY · Nonprofit · online option

88.6Hakia Score
Grad rate
NR
Admit rate
Open
In-state
NR
Out-of-state
NR

Excelsior University's fully online Health Sciences degree lets transfer students bring in up to 113 of the 120 required credits, and it still ranks #2 in New York with a Hakia Score of 88.6.

  • Hakia Score 88.6, #2 in New York
  • 12,941 students enrolled
  • Transfer up to 113 of 120 required credits
  • Asynchronous online, courses start every 8 weeks

Excelsior University's Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences is a fully asynchronous online program built for students who already have health care experience or professional certifications. The 120-credit degree lets students choose from four concentrations: Health Science, Health and Wellness, Management, and Public Health, or opt out of a concentration entirely. The Management concentration is the closest fit for future healthcare administrators, covering budgeting, staffing and worker safety practices, ethical decision-making, and employee relations inside health care settings. New terms start every eight weeks, and the school reports it can award up to 113 transfer credits toward the degree, including 9 to 38 credits for existing health care licenses and certifications.

Excelsior's Hakia Score of 88.6 places it second among New York's ranked bachelor's healthcare administration programs. Graduation rate, admit rate, and tuition are not part of the published data for this program, but its scale is notable: 12,941 students are enrolled, and the university reports a network of more than 200,000 alumni. The flexible, 8-week-term format paired with deep transfer credit makes it the strongest fit in this ranking for working adults with prior health care coursework or credentials who need to finish a degree around a job rather than complete a semester-long, on-campus fieldwork placement.

View Excelsior's Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration program →

Plaza College

Forest Hills, NY · For-profit

87.5Hakia Score
Grad rate
68%
Admit rate
30%
In-state
$14,000
Out-of-state
$14,000

Plaza College admits just 30% of applicants, the most selective of New York's ranked bachelor's healthcare administration programs, and still charges a flat $14,000 regardless of residency.

  • 30% admit rate, most selective in this ranking
  • 68% graduation rate
  • $14,000 flat tuition, no residency split
  • 122-credit interdisciplinary health sciences curriculum

Plaza College's Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences is an interdisciplinary, liberal-arts-based program built around a 122-credit curriculum in a small, campus-based setting in Forest Hills. Coursework builds a foundation in patient care, evidence-based practice, disease prevention, and the social, ethical, and administrative dimensions of healthcare delivery, positioning graduates for either the workforce or graduate study in nursing, physician assistant studies, public health, or healthcare administration. The college pitches the program at students who want small class sizes, individual advising, and free tutoring as part of a pre-professional health track rather than an immediate management job.

Plaza's Hakia Score of 87.5 ranks third in New York, and its 68% graduation rate ties SUNY Cortland for third-highest in this ranking, behind Siena's 75% and St. Joseph's 69%. What sets it apart is selectivity: a 30% admit rate, by far the tightest in this ranking, against 60% at Cortland and 72% at St. Joseph's. Tuition is a flat $14,000 with no in-state or out-of-state split, which undercuts SUNY Cortland's $16,980 out-of-state rate despite Plaza being a private for-profit school. That mix fits a student choosing a small, selective liberal-arts pathway into health care over a program built specifically around healthcare management coursework.

View Plaza College's Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration program →

St. Joseph's University-New York

Brooklyn, NY · Nonprofit

86.0Hakia Score
Grad rate
69%
Admit rate
72%
In-state
$35,840
Out-of-state
$35,840

St. Joseph's posts the second-highest graduation rate in this ranking at 69%, behind Siena's 75%, and admits 72% of applicants, but its flat $35,840 tuition runs more than five times SUNY Cortland's in-state rate for the same field.

  • 69% graduation rate, second-highest in this ranking
  • 72% admit rate
  • $35,840 flat tuition, no residency discount
  • Dual B.S. Health Administration/MBA track

St. Joseph's University-New York runs its Health Administration major out of a dedicated Department of Health Administration on its Brooklyn campus. The curriculum is built around problem-solving, leadership, communication, and business knowledge, and the school encourages internships so students apply classroom material in real health care settings before graduating. Graduates are positioned for roles the program names directly: senior health care executive, nursing home administrator, clinical supervisor, medical billing manager, health care consultant, and practice administrator. The department also offers a dual-degree track that pairs the B.S. in Health Administration with an MBA, letting students move into a master's without starting a second application process.

The program's Hakia Score of 86 ranks fourth in this New York group, though its underlying outcomes are strong: a 69% graduation rate, the second-highest in this ranking behind Siena's 75%, and a 72% admit rate. Cost is the tradeoff. Tuition is a flat $35,840 with no in-state discount, more than five times SUNY Cortland's $7,070 in-state rate and over double Plaza College's flat $14,000. At an enrollment of 3,899, St. Joseph's fits a student who wants the dual B.S./MBA accelerator and higher admit odds than SUNY Cortland and can absorb a tuition bill that dwarfs the state-school alternative in this ranking.

View St. Joseph's-New York's Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration program →

Siena College

Loudonville, NY · Nonprofit

85.1Hakia Score
Grad rate
75%
Admit rate
69%
In-state
$44,505
Out-of-state
$44,505

Siena's dedicated health administration track pairs the highest graduation rate in this ranking, 75%, with a Hakia Score of 85.1.

  • 75% graduation rate
  • $44,505 tuition
  • Hakia Score 85.1
  • Health administration track with IPCC fieldwork

Siena College's Health Studies major splits into two tracks, and the health administration track is the one built for future healthcare managers rather than clinicians. Coursework covers project management and public policy, aimed at roles in hospitals, clinics, wellness centers, or health system HR. Students also join the Interprofessional Complex Care (IPCC) team, spending 35 to 45 hours a semester partnering with local organizations alongside nursing and social work peers, and finish with a senior capstone project.

Siena graduates 75% of its students and admits 69% of applicants, a moderately selective mix for a private New York college. Tuition runs a flat $44,505 (Siena doesn't distinguish in-state from out-of-state) across an undergraduate enrollment of 3,720. That combination of outcomes and cost earns Siena a Hakia Score of 85.1, good for rank 5 on this list. It's a fit for students who want fieldwork built into the degree and don't need an online option; Siena's program is campus-based.

View Siena College's Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration program →

Roberts Wesleyan University

Rochester, NY · Nonprofit · online option

81.2Hakia Score
Grad rate
67%
Admit rate
71%
In-state
$37,408
Out-of-state
$37,408

Roberts Wesleyan backs two required healthcare internships with a fast-track into its own Master of Health Administration in as little as 14 months, on a 67% graduation rate.

  • 67% graduation rate
  • $37,408 tuition
  • Hakia Score 81.2
  • Two required healthcare internships

Roberts Wesleyan's B.S. in Health Administration front-loads business fundamentals: the first five semesters cover economics, marketing, and accounting through the School of Business. The next three semesters turn to health administration coursework, healthcare research, organizations, systems and management, and bioethics, capped by an applied research project and two required semester-long internships in real healthcare settings. Qualifying students can roll straight into Roberts Wesleyan's own Master of Health Administration in as little as 14 months instead of the standard 18.

The program graduates 67% of students and admits 71% of applicants. Tuition is a flat $37,408 at this private Rochester campus of 1,960 students. Its Hakia Score of 81.2 places it at rank 6 on this list. Past internship placements listed on the program page include Rochester Regional Health, University of Rochester Medical Center, and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, useful for students who want a business-first curriculum with a clear runway into a master's degree.

View Roberts Wesleyan's Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration program →

CUNY Lehman College

Bronx, NY · Public

80.8Hakia Score
Grad rate
51%
Admit rate
57%
In-state
$6,930
Out-of-state
$14,880

Lehman's fully online B.S. costs $6,930 in-state, about one-sixth of Siena's $44,505, and comes with a built-in path to Lehman's CUNY-exclusive M.S. in Health Services Administration.

  • 51% graduation rate
  • $6,930 in-state tuition
  • Hakia Score 80.8
  • Fully online with a CUNY-exclusive M.S. pathway

CUNY Lehman College's B.S. in Health Services Administration is delivered fully online, designed for students working full time while they finish the degree, and pairs coursework with hands-on internship placements. Lehman is the only CUNY campus that also offers a matching M.S. in Health Services Administration, so students can complete both degrees without transferring schools.

At $6,930 in-state and $14,880 out-of-state, Lehman's tuition is a fraction of the private schools on this list, about one-sixth of Siena's $44,505. Graduation rate sits at 51% and the admit rate at 57%, numbers shaped by CUNY's open-access mission and a campus-wide enrollment above 13,000. Its Hakia Score of 80.8 lands it at rank 7. This program fits budget-conscious students who need online flexibility and want an in-house path to a master's.

View CUNY Lehman College's Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration program →

Manhattan University

Riverdale, NY · Nonprofit

79.2Hakia Score
Grad rate
64%
Admit rate
79%
In-state
$48,400
Out-of-state
$48,400

Manhattan University admits 79% of applicants, the second-highest admit rate in this ranking behind Long Island University's 86%, and requires a 120-hour senior internship inside its five-discipline Public Health B.S.

  • 64% graduation rate
  • $48,400 tuition
  • Hakia Score 79.2
  • 120-hour senior internship across five public health disciplines

Manhattan University's entry here is its Public Health B.S., a 125-credit, four-year degree that covers five core disciplines: epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy and management, environmental health, and the social and behavioral sciences. Health policy and management, the piece closest to healthcare administration, is one strand among five rather than a standalone major. Every student completes a required 120-hour senior internship.

Manhattan admits 79% of applicants, the second-highest admit rate in this ranking behind Long Island University's 86%, with a 64% graduation rate. Tuition runs a flat $48,400, the highest of this group, at a Riverdale campus of 3,225 students a few miles from midtown Manhattan. Its Hakia Score of 79.2 puts it at rank 8. This program suits students who want a broad public health foundation with a policy and management thread, rather than a dedicated administration-focused curriculum.

View Manhattan's Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration program →

SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Alfred, NY · Public · online option

78.5Hakia Score
Grad rate
55%
Admit rate
76%
In-state
$7,070
Out-of-state
$15,015

Alfred State delivers a bachelor's in healthcare management for $7,070 a year in state, fully online in four- to seven-week terms, built as a 2+2 path for transfer and working-adult students.

  • 55% graduation rate
  • $7,070 in-state tuition ($15,015 out of state)
  • 100% online, 4-7 week terms
  • Hakia Score 78.5

Alfred State's Healthcare Management program is a SUNY pipeline built for working adults: a two-year Associate of Science feeding into a four-year Bachelor of Technology through a 2+2 track, delivered 100% online in four- to seven-week courses that run year round. Coursework covers health information systems (HLTH5223), healthcare law and ethics (HLTH5333), and healthcare marketing (HLTH5433), alongside finance, human resources, and quality control, aimed at management roles or a later MBA or MHA. The school's own program page cites BachelorsDegreeCenter.org naming it New York's most affordable healthcare management program.

The tuition backs up that claim: $7,070 a year in state against $15,015 out of state, both well under what private New York schools charge for a comparable degree. Alfred State accepts 76% of applicants and graduates 55%, numbers that reflect an open-access SUNY campus rather than a selective one. With a Hakia Score of 78.5, the program ranks 9th among New York's best bachelor's programs in healthcare administration in our data. It fits transfer students who already hold an associate degree, or working adults who need short, fully online terms rather than a traditional four-year campus schedule.

View SUNY College of Technology at Alfred's Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration program →

Long Island University

Brookville, NY · Nonprofit

78.0Hakia Score
Grad rate
57%
Admit rate
86%
In-state
$40,248
Out-of-state
$40,248

LIU folds healthcare administration into a 120-credit BS in Health Sciences with ten possible concentrations, admits 86% of applicants, and charges a flat $40,248 whether you're a New York resident or not.

  • 86% admit rate
  • 57% graduation rate
  • $40,248 flat tuition (in state = out of state)
  • 1 of 10 concentrations: Health Care Administration

Long Island University's route into healthcare administration runs through its 120-credit BS in Health Sciences, a science-based degree where students pick one of ten concentration areas, Health Care Administration among them, alongside Business Administration, Public Service, Healthcare Reimbursement & Coding, and others. Core requirements include HS210 Healthcare Organizations and Delivery, HS271 Health Program Planning, and a required practicum (HS290), with full-time academic counselors who specialize in health care education guiding the concentration choice. It's a broader degree than a dedicated healthcare administration major, designed to keep doors open to physical therapy, physician assistant, or pharmacy paths if a student's plans shift.

LIU admits 86% of applicants and graduates 57%, an accessible admission bar paired with a mid-range completion rate. Tuition is flat at $40,248 whether a student lives in New York or out of state, since LIU is a private nonprofit, a real jump from a SUNY price tag and one that only pencils out if the concentration options and the Brookville campus matter more to a student than sticker price. The program carries a Hakia Score of 78, good for 10th among New York's best bachelor's programs in healthcare administration in our data. It suits students who want a health sciences foundation with room to specialize in administration rather than a program built exclusively around healthcare management from day one.

View Long Island's Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration program →

What Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration Programs Cost in New York (And the Payback)

In-state tuition among the programs in this ranking runs from $6,930 a year at CUNY Lehman College to $48,400 a year at Manhattan University. That is not a typo: the priciest private option costs almost seven times the cheapest public one, inside the same state, for the same degree title. Between those poles sit Plaza College at $14,000, St. Joseph's University-New York at $35,840, Roberts Wesleyan University at $37,408, Long Island University at $40,248, Siena College at $44,505, and two SUNY campuses, Cortland and Alfred, tied at $7,070.

Run the math and the range matters more than any single average. Four years at SUNY Cortland's in-state rate totals $28,280. The national BLS median salary for medical and health services managers is $123,860 a year, so a Cortland graduate who lands a role at that median recoups the full sticker cost of the degree in about 83 days of pay. Four years at Manhattan University's rate totals $193,600, over $165,000 more than Cortland for the same four-year credential. At that same $123,860 median, closing that gap alone takes roughly 1.3 years of salary, before counting what Cortland students paid in the first place.

None of this means the cheapest healthcare administration programs are automatically the best value. CUNY Lehman College charges the least in this ranking, $6,930 a year, but posts the lowest graduation rate among the schools with reported data, 51%. SUNY Cortland, at $7,070, a rounding error more expensive, graduates 68% of its cohort. For most applicants comparing these schools on price alone, that 17-point completion gap is worth more than the $140 a year it costs to close it.

Licensure and Certification for Healthcare Administration Careers

Most healthcare administration programs do not lead to a licensing exam the way nursing or pharmacy degrees do. A bachelor's in healthcare administration qualifies you for coordinator, department administrator, and operations roles in hospitals, clinics, and insurance companies without a state license attached to the degree itself.

The exception is nursing home administration. According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, nursing home administrators must be licensed in every state, which typically requires a bachelor's degree, completion of a state-approved training program, and a passing score on a national exam plus a state-specific exam. If that is the track you want, confirm your target school's healthcare administration program maps directly to your state's licensing board requirements before you enroll.

For every other path into health administration, from health services management in a hospital system to compliance and revenue-cycle roles, the credential that matters is the degree and, later, a voluntary certification through a professional body rather than a state license. That makes accreditation, not licensure, the quality signal to check first.

Why Accreditation Matters for Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration Programs

Accreditation in this field works differently by degree level. The Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) accredits graduate programs, primarily the Master of Health Administration (MHA), and is the credential employers and MHA admissions committees recognize as the gold standard. At the bachelor's level covered in this ranking, CAHME accreditation generally does not apply.

For undergraduate programs, the relevant body is the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA), which certifies that a bachelor's curriculum meets its standards for health administration education, a lighter-touch quality mark than CAHME's full accreditation but still a meaningful signal that a program's coursework was reviewed against a national benchmark.

IPEDS, the federal dataset behind this ranking's graduation-rate and cost figures, does not track program-level accreditation status. Treat accreditation as a separate checklist item: confirm directly with each school's healthcare administration department whether it holds AUPHA certification, and if graduate school is part of your plan, whether the school's MHA, if it offers one, carries CAHME accreditation.

Bachelor's vs. Other Healthcare Administration Degree Levels

This ranking of the best bachelor's in healthcare administration in New York deliberately covers one degree level. A bachelor's is the standard entry point into health administration, the credential that gets you hired into a coordinator or administrative-support role in a hospital, physician group, or insurer.

It is usually not the credential that gets you promoted into a director or VP seat. Per the BLS, many medical and health services manager positions, especially at larger hospitals and health systems, prefer or require a master's, most often a Master of Health Administration (MHA) or an MBA with a health concentration, layered on top of a bachelor's plus a few years of experience. None of the 10 schools in this ranking are being scored on their master's offerings here; this list is bachelor's-only on purpose, because that is the decision point most readers researching healthcare administration programs are actually facing first.

If your goal is a management or executive track, plan on the bachelor's as step one, work experience as step two, and an MHA or health-focused MBA as step three, not as an either-or choice. A cheaper, well-completed bachelor's, like SUNY Cortland's $7,070-a-year, 68%-completion program, leaves you more room in the budget for that eventual master's than a $48,400-a-year private bachelor's does.

Online Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration Programs in New York

Excelsior University ranks #2 in this list with a Hakia Score of 88.6. It is a private nonprofit built around adult and working-student pathways rather than a traditional first-time, full-time freshman cohort, which is also why IPEDS does not report a standard graduation rate or first-time in-state tuition figure for it the way it does for the campus-based schools on this list. If you are comparing online healthcare administration programs specifically, ask the admissions office directly for its completion rate and per-credit cost rather than relying on the cohort-based IPEDS figures built for traditional four-year students.

Among the campus-based options, Plaza College offers the lowest private-school tuition in this ranking at $14,000 a year, a middle path between the cheapest public programs, SUNY Cortland and CUNY Lehman, both near $7,000, and the $35,000-plus private nonprofits that make up most of the rest of the list.

Online and accelerated formats tend to fit two kinds of applicants best: working adults already employed in a hospital, clinic, or insurance office who need a flexible schedule to finish a degree, and career-changers who want to move into health services management without pausing a current job. If that describes you, weight format flexibility and per-credit cost more heavily than the campus-based comparisons in the cost section above.

Healthcare Administration Salary and Job Outlook

The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook puts the national median salary for medical and health services managers, the occupation a healthcare administration degree most directly prepares you for, at $123,860 a year. That figure is national and applies to the occupation broadly, not to any single school's graduates, so treat it as context for what the field pays rather than a promise tied to any one program on this list.

Pay varies by setting and region more than it varies by which bachelor's program you attended. BLS OEWS wage data breaks salary out by state, metro area, and employer type; hospital systems, outpatient care centers, insurance carriers, and government agencies each post different medians. Check that breakdown for New York specifically before you assume the national figure is what you will earn locally.

A bachelor's is the floor for most health administration hiring, and an accredited program with a strong graduation rate, like the top entries in this ranking, gets you to that floor without wasting years or tuition dollars on a program with a weak completion track record. What you do after graduation, which employer, which additional certification, whether you eventually add an MHA, moves your pay more than the name on the diploma does.

Healthcare Administration Bachelor's Programs in New York: Your Questions, Answered

How long does it take to earn a bachelor's in healthcare administration?
A full-time bachelor's in healthcare administration typically takes four years, the same timeline as most bachelor's degrees. Part-time and online programs, aimed at working adults, often run longer, sometimes five to six years, but let you keep a job while you study. Transfer credit from an associate degree can shorten a bachelor's to two years at some schools; ask each admissions office how many credits it accepts.
Is an online healthcare administration bachelor's degree respected by employers?
Yes, as long as the program is legitimate and the school is properly accredited. Employers in health administration generally care more about your degree, GPA, internships, and any certifications than whether you sat in a classroom or logged in remotely. Confirm the school holds regional accreditation and, ideally, AUPHA certification for its healthcare administration curriculum before enrolling, and ask about internship or practicum placement support, since online programs vary widely on that.
How much do bachelor's in healthcare administration programs cost?
In this ranking of New York schools, in-state tuition for healthcare administration programs ranges from $6,930 a year at CUNY Lehman College to $48,400 a year at Manhattan University. Public in-state options cluster near $7,000 a year; private nonprofits mostly run $35,000 to $48,000 a year before financial aid. Get a school's actual net price, after grants and scholarships, before comparing sticker prices, since aid can close much of that gap at private schools.
Do you need a license to work in healthcare administration?
Most healthcare administration jobs, hospital coordinator, department administrator, health services management roles at insurers, do not require a state license. The exception is nursing home administration: per the BLS, every state requires nursing home administrators to be licensed, which means a bachelor's degree, an approved training program, and passing exams. Check your target job before assuming licensure applies to you.
What is the difference between healthcare administration and health administration?
Nothing substantive. Healthcare administration and health administration are the same field, and schools use the two names interchangeably; you will also see health services management and health services administration used for the same set of degrees and jobs. Focus on curriculum, accreditation, and cost rather than the exact wording of the degree title, since programs called by different names often prepare graduates for identical roles.
Is a bachelor's in healthcare administration enough, or do I need a master's?
A bachelor's gets you into entry-level and coordinator-level roles. Per the BLS, many director and executive-level medical and health services manager positions prefer or require a master's, usually an MHA accredited by CAHME or an MBA with a health concentration. Plan on the bachelor's as your entry point and a master's a few years into your career if you want to move into senior management, not as a decision you have to make right away.
What accreditation should I look for in a healthcare administration program?
At the bachelor's level, look for AUPHA certification, which confirms an undergraduate healthcare administration curriculum meets national program standards, plus standard regional accreditation for the school overall. CAHME accreditation applies to graduate MHA programs, not bachelor's degrees, so do not screen out a strong bachelor's program for lacking it. If you plan to pursue an MHA later, CAHME accreditation on that graduate program matters much more than it does now.
What can you do with a bachelor's in healthcare administration?
Common first jobs include hospital or clinic operations coordinator, medical office manager, health insurance claims or provider-relations roles, and administrative positions at long-term care facilities. The BLS reports a $123,860 national median for the medical and health services manager roles many of these positions feed into over time, though entry-level pay starts well below that figure.

How the Healthcare Administration Bachelor's Programs in New York Are Scored

Every program earns a Hakia Score from 0 to 100, built only from federal data (IPEDS, the U.S. Department of Education, and BLS) and scored against its true peers: programs in the same field at the same degree level. No reputation surveys, no pay-to-play. Here is how the score is weighted:

  • Outcomes44%

    Graduation rate (26%) and real per-school graduate earnings (18%). Does the program get students to the finish line, and where do they land?

  • Selectivity & academics38%

    Admissions selectivity (24%) and the academic profile of admitted students (14%).

  • Scale & value18%

    Enrollment (7%), cost-to-earnings value (6%), and the number of graduates a program produces (5%).

Weights renormalize over the data each program actually reports, so a school missing a metric (many open-access colleges do not publish entrance scores or earnings) is never penalized for it. Scores are percentiles within the peer group, curved to a 0-to-100 scale. What the score does not measure: individual instructor quality, specific course content, or campus culture. Verify those directly with the program.

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Data sources