Health Education Specialists Salary: $71,851 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 65,150 health education specialists nationally earn a mean of $71,851. Employment in the series shown rose about 58% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 1.7% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Health Education Specialists: what the data shows
Common questions about health education specialists careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a health education specialists?
Health Education Specialists is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 21-1091.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 65,150 workers.
What does a health education specialists do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Getting Information, Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a health education specialists make?
BLS national median annual wage: $63,000 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $71,851 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $47,969 |
| 25th percentile | $51,061 |
| Median (50th) | $61,785 |
| 75th percentile | $79,380 |
| 90th percentile | $113,483 |
What education do you need?
For Health Education Specialists, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Writing, Speaking, Active Listening, Learning Strategies, Social Perceptiveness, Active Learning, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training, English Language, Administrative. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is health education specialists in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.7% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 8.7%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 18.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 65,150.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do health education specialistss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 65,150 | 18.0% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 38,530 | 10.6% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 28,060 | 7.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 26,620 | 7.3% |
| Hospitals | 21,110 | 5.8% |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 19,620 | 5.4% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Health Education Specialists in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 3,282,010 | $93,600 |
| Home Health Aides | — | — |
| Mental Health Counselors | — | — |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | 84,930 | $80,060 |
| Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | 23,220 | $109,660 |
| Public Safety Telecommunicators | 101,140 | $50,730 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Health Education Specialists workforce.
Employment Over Time
65,150 Workforce in 2023
The Health Education Specialists workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Health Education Specialists.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$71,851 Average Wage
In 2023, Health Education Specialists earned an average of $71,851.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Health Education Specialists.
Salary distribution for Health Education Specialists.
Employment Growth Projections
1.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
61,797 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 8.7%
67,163 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 18.1%
This occupation is projected to grow at 1.7% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Health Education Specialists.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Health Education Specialists and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Health Education Specialists employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Health Education Specialists.
Wage Trends by Industry
-9.6% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Health Education Specialists.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Health Education Specialists.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 13,200 employees, $71,997 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Health Education Specialists.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 4,260 employees, $67,206 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 1,320 employees, $66,014 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 1,210 employees, $66,684 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 1,090 employees, $93,371 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 1,050 employees, $71,029 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 890 employees, $82,253 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 730 employees, $69,160 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 690 employees, $92,364 avg wage
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA: 300 employees, $62,185 avg wage
- Bakersfield-Delano MSA: 250 employees, $62,832 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Health Education Specialists.
Diversity
Demographic information on Health Education Specialists in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Health Education Specialists in 2023 was 65,150 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Health Education Specialists.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Health Education Specialists.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Health Education Specialists.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Health Education Specialists in 2023 were Business, Social Sciences, General Studies.
Common majors for Health Education Specialists.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Health Education Specialists workers.
Education level distribution for Health Education Specialists.
Skills
Health Education Specialists need many skills, but most especially Writing, Speaking, Active Listening, Learning Strategies, Social Perceptiveness.
Required skills for Health Education Specialists.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Health Education Specialists.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Health Education Specialists include Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training, English Language, Administrative, Psychology.
Knowledge areas required for Health Education Specialists.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Health Education Specialists include Oral Expression, Written Expression, Speech Clarity, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension.
Required abilities for Health Education Specialists.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Health Education Specialists.
Daily Activities
Health Education Specialists spend their time on activities such as Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Getting Information, Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others.
Most important work activities for Health Education Specialists.
About
Health Education Specialists
The average yearly wage for Health Education Specialists was $71,851 in 2023.
SOC Code
21-1091 - Health Education Specialists
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Health Education Specialists reports an average salary of $71,851.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 65,150 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 1.7%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.