Assisted-living facilities enable seniors or the disabled to live in homes or communities where they can get assistance for basic tasks -- showering, dressing and running errands -- and have health-care professionals available for their medical needs. Marketing directors are primarily responsible for promoting these facilities to the public by advertising their services and arranging family visits. They also develop strategies for increasing revenues and manage department budgets. If you want to work in this field, you need a bachelor's degree in marketing. In return, you can expect to earn a salary averaging more than $50,000 annually.

Salary and Qualifications

The average annual salary of an assisted-living marketing director was $51,000 in 2013, according to the Simply Hired website. To become a marketing director in an assisted-living facility, you need at least a bachelor's degree in marketing or business administration, and two or more years of experience in sales or marketing in the senior living health-care or hospitality industries. Other essential requirements include compassion and creativity, an analytical mind, as well as decision-making, communication, management and selling skills.

Regional Salaries

In 2013, salaries for assisted-living marketing directors varied the most within the South, with the lowest salaries of $39,000 reported in Mississippi and highest of $80,000 in Washington, D.C., according to Simply Hired. Those in the Midwest made $39,000 to $54,000 in South Dakota and Minnesota, respectively. If you worked as an assisted-living director in the West, you'd earn $57,000 in Alaska or California or $40,000 in Montana, which were the highest and lowest earnings in that region. In the Northeast, you'd make the most in Massachusetts or least in Maine -- $61,000 or $46,000, respectively.

Contributing Factors

An assisted-living marketing director earns more in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., as living costs are typically higher in that state and district. For example, if you earned $50,000 as an assisted-living marketing director in Jackson, Mississippi, you'd need to make $77,420 in Boston to maintain your living standard, according to CNN Money's "Cost of Living" calculator. In Washington, D.C., you'd have to earn $79,228 to enjoy the same living standard, or approximately 58 percent more. You would also likely earn more working for a large assisted-living facility, which has more financial resources to support your higher salary.

Job Outlook

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) doesn't forecast jobs for marketing directors. It predicts a 14 percent increase in employment for marketing managers from 2010 to 2020, which is on par with the national average for jobs. A better indicator is the 22 percent job increase the BLS projects for medical and health services managers -- an above-average rate -- which is largely attributable to population increases among seniors in the next decade. These population increases may also increase jobs for assisted-living marketing directors, who work in the health services industry.

Medical and Health Services Managers salary

• Top 10% Annual Salary: More than $195,630 ($94.05/hour)
• Median Annual Salary: $104,280 ($50.13/hour)
• Bottom 10% Annual Salary: Less than $59,980 ($28.84/hour)