Careers / Dietitians and Nutritionists

Dietitians and Nutritionists — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$76,400

United States, 2025

Employment

77,570

United States, 2025

Typical education

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate

Job Zone 5

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Plan and conduct food service or nutritional programs to assist in the promotion of health and control of disease. May supervise activities of a department providing quantity food services, counsel individuals, or conduct nutritional research.

O*NET code
29-1031.00
Job zone
5
Experience required
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years

Typical tasks

  • Assess nutritional needs, diet restrictions, and current health plans to develop and implement dietary-care plans and provide nutritional counseling.
  • Evaluate laboratory tests in preparing nutrition recommendations.
  • Counsel individuals and groups on basic rules of good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and nutrition monitoring to improve their quality of life.
  • Advise patients and their families on nutritional principles, dietary plans, diet modifications, and food selection and preparation.
  • Incorporate patient cultural, ethnic, or religious preferences and needs in the development of nutrition plans.
  • Consult with physicians and health care personnel to determine nutritional needs and diet restrictions of patient or client.
  • Record and evaluate patient and family health and food history, including symptoms, environmental toxic exposure, allergies, medication factors, and preventive health-care measures.
  • Develop recipes and menus to address special nutrition needs, such as low glycemic, low histamine, or gluten- or allergen-free.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$49,090
10th
$63,080
25th
$76,400
Median
$89,340
75th
$103,720
90th

10th percentile

$49,090

25th percentile

$63,080

75th percentile

$89,340

90th percentile

$103,720

Most important skills

  • Critical Thinking4.0
  • Social Perceptiveness4.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making4.0
  • Speaking4.0
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Monitoring3.9
  • Writing3.9
  • Service Orientation3.9
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
  • Instructing3.8
  • Coordination3.8

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 22 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

22

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Reading Comprehension4.04.9Not selected4.9
Social Perceptiveness4.04.3Not selected4.3
Writing3.94.3Not selected4.3
Critical Thinking4.04.1Not selected4.1
Speaking4.04.1Not selected4.1
Judgment and Decision Making4.04.0Not selected4.0
Active Listening4.04.0Not selected4.0
Monitoring3.94.1Not selected4.1
Service Orientation3.94.1Not selected4.1
Complex Problem Solving3.94.1Not selected4.1
Learning Strategies3.84.1Not selected4.1
Active Learning3.64.1Not selected4.1
Instructing3.83.9Not selected3.9
Coordination3.83.9Not selected3.9
Persuasion3.44.0Not selected4.0
Science3.33.6Not selected3.6
Systems Evaluation3.33.6Not selected3.6
Time Management3.33.5Not selected3.5
Negotiation3.13.6Not selected3.6
Systems Analysis3.13.5Not selected3.5
Operations Analysis3.13.4Not selected3.4
Mathematics3.03.0Not selected3.0

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
San Jose, CA$122,9106102025
San Francisco, CA$117,3801,2102025
Vallejo, CA$111,4301002025
Santa Cruz, CA$103,760402025
Sacramento, CA$102,5805502025
Santa Maria, CA$102,0601002025
Salinas, CA$101,640602025
Napa, CA$101,050402025
Santa Rosa, CA$99,7201102025
San Diego, CA$98,8706202025
CA$98,8508,7202025
Modesto, CA$97,8301002025
San Luis Obispo, CA$97,350702025
Visalia, CA$96,880602025
Los Angeles, CA$95,4503,0602025
Riverside, CA$95,2807102025
Chico, CA$93,900402025
Oxnard, CA$93,8601502025
Fresno, CA$93,4702402025
Stockton, CA$93,0101502025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Dietitians and Nutritionists to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.