Best Education programs in Virginia, ranked by enrollment
Plan, direct, or coordinate academic or nonacademic activities of preschools or childcare centers and programs, including before- and after-school.
18 schools in Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,297 people a year. The job pays a median of $53,320 in Virginia across about 1,590 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Virginia that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in Virginia that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Virginia (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Virginia page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 13.0401In Virginia → | 1,289 | 99.4% | 17 | $37,480 | $23,000 |
| 2 | CIP 13.0404In Virginia → | 8 | 0.6% | 2 | $37,480 | $23,000 |
Top 18 schools in Virginia
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 18 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liberty University Lynchburg, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 660 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 65% | $28,911 | 99% |
| 2 | Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 91 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 63% | — | 93% |
| 3 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 89 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 80% | — | 72% |
| 4 | Marymount University Arlington, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 89 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 54% | $25,803 | 93% |
| 5 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 80 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 68% | — | 87% |
| 6 | Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 52 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 46% | — | 90% |
| 7 | Radford University Radford, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 49% | — | 90% |
| 8 | William & Mary Williamsburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 89% | — | 34% |
| 9 | University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 96% | — | 17% |
| 10 | Virginia State University Petersburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 39% | — | 89% |
| 11 | Hampton University Hampton, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 57% | $34,268 | 62% |
| 12 | Shenandoah University Winchester, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 67% | $27,455 | 77% |
| 13 | University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 85% | $24,049 | 22% |
| 14 | Averett University Danville, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 48% | $23,171 | 57% |
| 15 | University of Lynchburg Lynchburg, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 57% | $19,488 | 43% |
| 16 | Bluefield University Bluefield, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 18% | $22,057 | 59% |
| 17 | Regent University Virginia Beach, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Educational Leadership and Administration, General | — | 57% | $18,677 | 38% |
| 18 | Ferrum College Ferrum, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Educational, Instructional, and Curriculum Supervision | — | 32% | $22,258 | 89% |
All 18 schools in Virginia
Every school in Virginia with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty University | Lynchburg | Private not-for-profit | 660 | 1 |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | Richmond | Public | 91 | 1 |
| James Madison University | Harrisonburg | Public | 89 | 2 |
| Marymount University | Arlington | Private not-for-profit | 89 | 1 |
| George Mason University | Fairfax | Public | 80 | 1 |
| Old Dominion University | Norfolk | Public | 52 | 1 |
| Radford University | Radford | Public | 50 | 1 |
| William & Mary | Williamsburg | Public | 42 | 1 |
| University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville | Public | 35 | 1 |
| Virginia State University | Petersburg | Public | 30 | 1 |
| Hampton University | Hampton | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 1 |
| Shenandoah University | Winchester | Private not-for-profit | 16 | 1 |
| University of Richmond | University of Richmond | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
| Averett University | Danville | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| University of Lynchburg | Lynchburg | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
What education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare earn in Virginia
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $59,300. Virginia pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Virginia
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare page.
How to become a Education
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Virginia
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.0401Educational Leadership and Administration, General
- 13.0404Educational, Instructional, and Curriculum Supervision
- 13.0411Superintendency and Educational System Administration
- 13.0412International School Administration/Leadership
- 13.0414Early Childhood Program Administration
Common questions
Answers for people weighing education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare programs in Virginia.
What degree do you need to become an Education?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Educational Leadership and Administration, General, which awarded 1,289 degrees in Virginia in 2024-25, 99.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Education?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Educational Administration and Supervision. Together they graduate about 1,297 people a year in Virginia.
How much do education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare earn in Virginia?+
The median is $53,320 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 10.1% below the U.S. median of $59,300. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare growing?+
BLS projects a -2.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 5,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Virginia?+
18 institutions in Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Principal, Site Coordinator, Education Director, Preschool Director among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-9031.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card