Health Education Specialists Salary: $63,000 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 65,150 health education specialists work nationally, and $63,000 is the BLS national median annual wage. Employment in the series shown rose about 58% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 1.7% annual growth.
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 percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| 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 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 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Health Education Specialists grew from 43,560 in 2009 to 56,860 in 2025 (30.5%).
Historical employment for Health Education Specialists from the California OEWS series, 2009–2025. The U.S. workforce figure is national and is not the endpoint of this line.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$63,000 Median pay (BLS national)
Health Education Specialists earn $63,000 as the BLS national median annual wage.
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.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 14,650 employees, $69,950 avg wage
- TX: 4,550 employees, $64,750 avg wage
- NY: 3,850 employees, $64,770 avg wage
- GA: 3,260 employees, $99,960 avg wage
- FL: 2,710 employees, $62,850 avg wage
- PA: 2,230 employees, $77,500 avg wage
- MD: 2,160 employees, $104,440 avg wage
- MA: 1,970 employees, $69,830 avg wage
- NC: 1,830 employees, $66,320 avg wage
- MI: 1,820 employees, $57,090 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Health Education Specialists.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 5,580 employees, $65,150 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 3,280 employees, $73,710 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 2,600 employees, $106,910 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 2,100 employees, $117,280 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 2,020 employees, $86,260 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 1,470 employees, $71,850 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA: 1,210 employees, $64,920 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 1,200 employees, $74,380 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 1,110 employees, $68,530 avg wage
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA: 1,060 employees, $71,560 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 U.S. workforce for Health Education Specialists is about 65,150 people in our OEWS extract.
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
Health Education Specialists earn $63,000 as the BLS national median annual wage.
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.