Average Recreation Director Salary in Florida, United States for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Recreation Director salary for 2026 in Florida 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 Recreation Director Make in Florida?

A Recreation Director working in Florida will typically earn around 180,500 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 98,800 USD to the highest average salary of 272,500 USD.

Average Annual Salary180,500 USD
Average Monthly Salary15,041 USD
Average Lowest Salary98,800 USD
Lowest Monthly Salary8,233 USD
Average Highest Salary272,500 USD
Highest Monthly Salary22,708 USD

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

Recreation 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 Recreation Director Salaries in Florida

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Recreation Director can earn between 98,800 USD and 272,500 USD on average in Florida. 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 Recreation Director in Florida is 165,900 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 165,900 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 165,900 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 Recreation Director salary in Florida, 25% of the population are earning less than 117,100 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 117,100 USD.

75% of the population earn less than 199,700 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 199,700 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.

Recreation Director Salary by Experience Level in Florida

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 Recreation 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 Recreation Director in Florida that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 114,600 USD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Recreation Director salary would increase to 142,300 USD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Recreation Director, the average salary would be 189,800 USD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 219,500 USD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Recreation Director with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 245,600 USD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Recreation Director with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 259,700 USD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
114,600 USD
2-5 Years+26%
142,300 USD
5-10 Years+32%
189,800 USD
10-15 Years+18%
219,500 USD
15-20 Years+11%
245,600 USD
20+ Years+6%
259,700 USD

Recreation Director Salary by Education Level in Florida

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 Recreation Director in Florida based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Recreation Director in Florida with a high school education can earn an average salary of 138,700 USD.
  • Certificate or Diploma. A Recreation Director in Florida with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 153,700 USD.
  • Bachelor's Degree. A Recreation Director in Florida with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 205,700 USD.
  • Master's Degree. A Recreation Director in Florida with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 253,400 USD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School-
138,700 USD
Certificate or Diploma+13%
153,700 USD
Bachelor's Degree+32%
205,700 USD
Master's Degree+24%
253,400 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.

Recreation 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 Florida, a male recreation director will earn an average of 164,100 USD, while a female recreation director will earn around 153,700 USD.

This means that a male recreation director earns approximately 7% more than a female recreation director for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Florida

Male-
164,100 USD
Female-7%
153,700 USD

Recreation Director Average Pay Raise in Florida

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 Recreation Director in Florida is around 12% every 19 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 = ( 12 ÷ 19 ) × 12  = 8%

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

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Florida 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%

Recreation Director Bonus and Incentive Rates in Florida

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 Recreation 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 7%.

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 Recreation Director

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Recreation Director in Florida.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Activities AssistantRecreation and Sports46,200 USD
Amusement and Recreation AttendantRecreation and Sports41,100 USD
Aquatic CoordinatorRecreation and Sports45,300 USD
Aquatic SupervisorRecreation and Sports71,700 USD
Assistant Cinema ManagerRecreation and Sports56,100 USD
Assistant CoachRecreation and Sports79,000 USD
Athletic TrainerRecreation and Sports68,100 USD
Exercise SpecialistRecreation and Sports71,100 USD
Fitness ManagerRecreation and Sports142,300 USD
Fitness TrainerRecreation and Sports75,000 USD
Game ManagerRecreation and Sports73,100 USD
Gaming SupervisorRecreation and Sports69,400 USD
Golf Cart AttendantRecreation and Sports29,600 USD
Head CoachRecreation and Sports134,700 USD
Head Gymnastics InstructorRecreation and Sports94,400 USD
Party HostRecreation and Sports54,100 USD
Personal TrainerRecreation and Sports70,000 USD
Pool Attendant / LifeguardRecreation and Sports46,200 USD
Recreation AideRecreation and Sports32,900 USD
Recreation AssistantRecreation and Sports35,500 USD
Recreation ManagerRecreation and Sports153,800 USD
Ski Instructor Recreation and Sports82,300 USD
Sports ManagerRecreation and Sports161,300 USD
Swim InstructorRecreation and Sports80,700 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
Atlanta153,800 USD
Austin176,300 USD
Baltimore152,900 USD
Boston165,900 USD
Bristol128,200 USD
Chicago184,700 USD
Cincinnati134,100 USD
Cleveland142,300 USD
Dallas183,600 USD
Denver165,900 USD
Detroit153,700 USD
Honolulu130,500 USD
Houston185,900 USD
Indianapolis176,300 USD
Iowa City125,400 USD
Jacksonville166,600 USD
Kansas City148,300 USD
Kent128,400 USD
Las Vegas151,800 USD
Long Beach147,900 USD
Los Angeles185,900 USD
Memphis163,800 USD
Miami153,800 USD
Minneapolis142,300 USD
New Orleans146,700 USD
New York195,200 USD
Oakland153,800 USD
Oklahoma City158,900 USD
Orlando139,100 USD
Philadelphia177,100 USD
Phoenix190,400 USD
Sacramento157,600 USD
San Antonio175,200 USD
San Diego171,300 USD
San Francisco168,700 USD
San Jose180,500 USD
Seattle169,700 USD
Tampa140,700 USD
Vancouver134,100 USD
Washington D.C.165,900 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
Alaska142,300 USD
Arizona163,500 USD
Arkansas161,300 USD
California177,100 USD
Colorado153,700 USD
Connecticut160,700 USD
Delaware142,300 USD
District of Columbia134,700 USD
Georgia169,700 USD
Hawaii153,700 USD
Idaho151,800 USD
Illinois171,300 USD
Indiana172,200 USD
Iowa153,700 USD
Kansas150,100 USD
Kentucky163,500 USD
Louisiana158,900 USD
Maine142,100 USD
Maryland168,700 USD
Massachusetts164,100 USD
Michigan182,400 USD
Minnesota163,800 USD
Mississippi151,800 USD
Missouri171,300 USD
Montana147,900 USD
Nebraska146,700 USD
Nevada158,900 USD
New Hampshire147,900 USD
New Jersey163,500 USD
New Mexico153,700 USD
New York176,300 USD
North Carolina163,500 USD
North Dakota142,300 USD
Ohio169,700 USD
Oklahoma163,800 USD
Oregon158,700 USD
Pennsylvania171,300 USD
Rhode Island150,100 USD
South Carolina160,600 USD
South Dakota140,700 USD
Tennessee172,300 USD
Texas175,100 USD
Utah146,700 USD
Vermont142,300 USD
Virginia167,100 USD
Washington175,100 USD
West Virginia153,800 USD
Wisconsin160,700 USD
Wyoming146,700 USD

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