A Catholic school superintendent is an administrator responsible for managing and overseeing all school operations and departments. Generally, a superintendent is responsible for multiple schools. In most cases, the archdiocese is responsible for determining the salary of its superintendents, and all Catholic schools within that archdiocese will adhere to the same salary schedule.

Superintendent Salaries Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies school superintendents as top executives. Within that category, school superintendents could fall into several subcategories. For general and operations managers, the median annual wage in 2008 was $91,570. For the category of management of companies and enterprises, the median annual wage was $113,690. For the category of local government, the median annual wage was $82,150, which may include public school superintendents. The bureau does not report data specifically for Catholic school superintendents. However, the bureau data is based on national averages.

Superintendent Salaries Data from Archdioceses

Each archdiocese has the discretion of publishing or not publishing salary information for its employees. Therefore, there is no published national average for Catholic school superintendents. According to Boston Catholic Insider, the Archdiocese of Boston pays its superintendent $325,000 per year, compared with the $275,000 annually salary for the superintendent of the Boston public school system. Salaries may also include benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, vision insurance, retirement plans, paid leave and holiday pay.

Future Increases

Salaries for superintendents and principals are expected to increase in the coming years. The Department of Catholic Schools Archdiocese of San Francisco has recommended that salary levels for its district increase by 2.5 percent for the 2012-13 school year, and an additional 2.5 percent for the 2013-14 school year. In the St. Anthony School Programs division in Pittsburgh, salaries are expected to increase by 3 percent each year through 2014.

Principal Salaries Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

In some cases, the term “superintendent” may refer to the position of a principal. While there is no data for average U.S. Catholic school principal salaries, there is data for individual archdioceses. Principal salaries in the Archdiocese of San Francisco fall within a range of $74,912 to $111,402 for the 2011-12 school year. Principals of elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles can expect to have a salary within a range of $42,000 to $84,000. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for principals of all school types, including Catholic schools, during the 2007-08 year was $97,486 for high schools, $91,334 for middle schools and $85,907 for elementary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics, reports that the average salary ranges for principals in U.S. public schools ranges from $73,300 to $88,600.