Healthcare administration jobs are highly important, especially in the current climate of changing healthcare management and delivery. If you're planning to work in healthcare administration, you will likely work within a hospital or hospital network. Other healthcare facilities, such as skilled nursing homes, doctors' offices, home health care organizations or laboratories may also require the management skills of a qualified healthcare administrator. As you begin to look for work in this field, you may be pondering relocation and wondering which cities have the most job opportunities for healthcare administrators.

Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas

Since many administration jobs are centered in hospitals, it makes sense that job availability is better in large metropolitan areas with large hospitals and healthcare networks. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics looked at that factor but also centered in on employment growth and the overall economic health of cities to compile their list of cities with the most healthcare administration jobs.

The results may surprise you. The six cities listed by the BLS are located in just three states. Going by these statistics, centering your search in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas might not be a bad place to start.

In Ohio, both Columbus and Cincinnati are good places to look for administration positions. Columbus has lower unemployment and Cincinnati is experiencing much growth. Both cities have two major healthcare systems and a number of hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, on opposite ends of Pennsylvania, are also good candidates for healthcare administrator jobs. Philadelphia has major hospitals and a big pharmaceutical presence and the overall economic health of the city is on an upswing. Pittsburgh also boasts large hospitals, some connected to the presence of strong universities. In addition, it has a low cost of living so your salary can stretch.

In Texas, look especially to San Antonio and Austin. San Antonio has three major healthcare networks and healthy job growth. Austin is also on an upward trend economically and has a strong healthcare presence and also technology industries.

Other Cities to Consider

It's worth noting that these six cities listed by the BLS are certainly not the only cities where healthcare administration jobs are plentiful. These were simply considered the strongest for opportunities when a range of factors was considered. The BLS mentions that healthcare administration opportunities are also strong in cities in both New York and Missouri.

You might also want to check out general lists of best hospitals. USA Today created a list of ten best hospitals in light of several factors like research, resources and opportunities for professional advancement. This may not guarantee they'll have administration openings, but certainly the best hospitals require excellent management.

Remember, even if they don't make these kinds of lists, plenty of other cities have opportunities. Any city with a major hospital, healthcare network, or other facility is going to need managers. Those could include smaller cities as well as larger ones, depending on job openings. Looking at places that have healthcare support positions may also provide leads to administration and management openings. In addition to some of the places already mentioned, North Carolina, Florida and Minnesota all land on lists of most available healthcare support jobs.