Average Day Care Director Salary in Kent, United States for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Day Care Director salary for 2026 in Kent and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the United States dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the USD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does a Day Care Director Make in Kent?

A Day Care Director working in Kent will typically earn around 128,200 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 63,900 USD to the highest average salary of 195,500 USD.

Average Annual Salary128,200 USD
Average Monthly Salary10,683 USD
Average Lowest Salary63,900 USD
Lowest Monthly Salary5,325 USD
Average Highest Salary195,500 USD
Highest Monthly Salary16,291 USD

These are average salaries for a Day Care Director in Kent and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Day Care Director to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Day Care Director salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Day Care Director Salaries in Kent

So we've looked at the average salaries a Day Care Director will earn in Kent. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Day Care Director can earn between 63,900 USD and 195,500 USD on average in Kent. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Day Care Director in Kent is 128,200 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 128,200 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 128,200 USD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Day Care Director salary in Kent, 25% of the population are earning less than 86,800 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 86,800 USD.

75% of the population earn less than 161,300 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 161,300 USD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Day Care Director Salary by Experience Level in Kent

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Day Care Director salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Day Care Director in Kent that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 76,600 USD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Day Care Director salary would increase to 100,700 USD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Day Care Director, the average salary would be 134,700 USD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 160,600 USD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Day Care Director with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 172,100 USD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Day Care Director with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 187,500 USD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
76,600 USD
2-5 Years+32%
100,700 USD
5-10 Years+34%
134,700 USD
10-15 Years+19%
160,600 USD
15-20 Years+8%
172,100 USD
20+ Years+7%
187,500 USD

Day Care Director Salary by Education Level in Kent

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Day Care Director in Kent based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Day Care Director in Kent with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 94,400 USD.
  • Bachelor's Degree. A Day Care Director in Kent with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 107,700 USD.
  • Master's Degree. A Day Care Director in Kent with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 147,900 USD.
  • PhD. A Day Care Director in Kent with a phd education can earn an average salary of 187,500 USD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Certificate or Diploma-
94,400 USD
Bachelor's Degree+13%
107,700 USD
Master's Degree+36%
147,900 USD
PhD+27%
187,500 USD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United States is around 39,500 to 118,000 USD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Day Care Director Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Kent, a male day care director will earn an average of 150,100 USD, while a female day care director will earn around 158,900 USD.

This means that a male day care director earns approximately 6% less than a female day care director for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Kent

Male-
150,100 USD
Female+6%
158,900 USD

Day Care Director Average Pay Raise in Kent

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Day Care Director in Kent is around 11% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United States is around 8% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Day Care Director in Kent can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Kent for 2026

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United States.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking-
4%
Energy-
8%
Information Technology-
3%
Healthcare-
7%
Travel-
2%
Construction-
6%
Education-
1%

Day Care Director Bonus and Incentive Rates in Kent

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Day Care Director is a high bonus based job, with 79% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

21% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 6% to 8%.

Received Bonus-
79%
No Bonus-
21%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United States earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector-
98,800 USD
Private Sector-6%
93,100 USD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Day Care Director

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Day Care Director in Kent.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Activity AssistantCare Giving and Child Care31,800 USD
Advice WorkerCare Giving and Child Care36,700 USD
Care ManagerCare Giving and Child Care112,700 USD
Care WorkerCare Giving and Child Care33,000 USD
Child Care Assistant DirectorCare Giving and Child Care80,500 USD
Child Care SpecialistCare Giving and Child Care128,400 USD
Child Care TeacherCare Giving and Child Care41,900 USD
Child Development Center AssistantCare Giving and Child Care52,300 USD
Child Development SpecialistCare Giving and Child Care134,100 USD
Child Life SpecialistCare Giving and Child Care139,100 USD
Child Protection OfficerCare Giving and Child Care44,500 USD
Child PsychotherapistCare Giving and Child Care148,300 USD
Child Support OfficerCare Giving and Child Care39,800 USD
Clinical Care CoordinatorCare Giving and Child Care46,400 USD
Clinical OfficerCare Giving and Child Care42,400 USD
CustodianCare Giving and Child Care59,100 USD
Elderly Care GiverCare Giving and Child Care34,000 USD
Group Home ManagerCare Giving and Child Care160,700 USD
Kids Activity AssistantCare Giving and Child Care31,800 USD
Live In CarerCare Giving and Child Care36,400 USD
NannyCare Giving and Child Care39,000 USD
Nursery NurseCare Giving and Child Care43,400 USD
Nursery TeacherCare Giving and Child Care35,100 USD
Nursing Home AdministratorCare Giving and Child Care55,100 USD
Personal AssistantCare Giving and Child Care32,900 USD
Physical Health and Wellness SpecialistCare Giving and Child Care139,100 USD
Preschool Education CoordinatorCare Giving and Child Care62,500 USD
Primary TherapistCare Giving and Child Care107,700 USD
Psychiatric AideCare Giving and Child Care43,800 USD
Rehabilitation CounselorCare Giving and Child Care128,400 USD
Support WorkerCare Giving and Child Care30,200 USD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United States, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

CityAverage Salary
Atlanta142,300 USD
Austin176,300 USD
Baltimore153,800 USD
Boston163,800 USD
Bristol123,800 USD
Chicago193,400 USD
Cincinnati141,000 USD
Cleveland139,100 USD
Dallas169,700 USD
Denver172,100 USD
Detroit161,300 USD
Honolulu130,500 USD
Houston177,100 USD
Indianapolis176,300 USD
Iowa City130,400 USD
Jacksonville166,600 USD
Kansas City152,900 USD
Las Vegas157,600 USD
Long Beach150,100 USD
Los Angeles187,500 USD
Memphis164,100 USD
Miami151,800 USD
Minneapolis142,300 USD
New Orleans142,100 USD
New York190,400 USD
Oakland152,900 USD
Oklahoma City160,600 USD
Orlando128,400 USD
Philadelphia183,900 USD
Phoenix189,800 USD
Sacramento160,600 USD
San Antonio183,900 USD
San Diego171,300 USD
San Francisco164,100 USD
San Jose175,200 USD
Seattle172,300 USD
Tampa134,700 USD
Vancouver130,500 USD
Washington D.C.167,100 USD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United States.

StateAverage Salary
Alabama168,700 USD
Alaska141,000 USD
Arizona176,300 USD
Arkansas152,700 USD
California183,600 USD
Colorado158,900 USD
Connecticut160,600 USD
Delaware140,200 USD
District of Columbia147,900 USD
Florida172,100 USD
Georgia177,100 USD
Hawaii146,700 USD
Idaho153,800 USD
Illinois171,300 USD
Indiana171,300 USD
Iowa151,800 USD
Kansas158,900 USD
Kentucky153,700 USD
Louisiana161,300 USD
Maine140,200 USD
Maryland167,100 USD
Massachusetts160,700 USD
Michigan176,300 USD
Minnesota156,200 USD
Mississippi153,700 USD
Missouri158,900 USD
Montana148,300 USD
Nebraska142,300 USD
Nevada152,700 USD
New Hampshire142,100 USD
New Jersey172,300 USD
New Mexico146,700 USD
New York177,100 USD
North Carolina163,500 USD
North Dakota142,100 USD
Ohio184,700 USD
Oklahoma158,900 USD
Oregon165,900 USD
Pennsylvania176,300 USD
Rhode Island151,800 USD
South Carolina160,700 USD
South Dakota151,800 USD
Tennessee165,900 USD
Texas187,500 USD
Utah151,800 USD
Vermont147,900 USD
Virginia168,700 USD
Washington175,200 USD
West Virginia146,900 USD
Wisconsin169,700 USD
Wyoming138,700 USD

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