Careers / Health Education Specialists

Health Education Specialists — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$64,070

United States, 2025

Employment

65,690

United States, 2025

Typical education

Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree

Job Zone 4

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles. Use data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments. May link health systems, health providers, insurers, and patients to address individual and population health needs. May serve as resource to assist individuals, other health professionals, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.

O*NET code
21-1091.00
Job zone
4
Experience required
Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years

Typical tasks

  • Prepare and distribute health education materials, such as reports, bulletins, and visual aids, to address smoking, vaccines, and other public health concerns.
  • Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with agencies and organizations interested in public health care.
  • Maintain databases, mailing lists, telephone networks, and other information to facilitate the functioning of health education programs.
  • Document activities and record information, such as the numbers of applications completed, presentations conducted, and persons assisted.
  • Develop and present health education and promotion programs, such as training workshops, conferences, and school or community presentations.
  • Collaborate with health specialists and civic groups to determine community health needs and the availability of services and to develop goals for meeting needs.
  • Develop, conduct, or coordinate health needs assessments and other public health surveys.
  • Supervise professional and technical staff in implementing health programs, objectives, and goals.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$42,990
10th
$50,620
25th
$64,070
Median
$87,130
75th
$118,200
90th

10th percentile

$42,990

25th percentile

$50,620

75th percentile

$87,130

90th percentile

$118,200

Most important skills

  • Speaking4.1
  • Active Listening4.1
  • Writing4.1
  • Learning Strategies4.0
  • Social Perceptiveness3.9
  • Active Learning3.9
  • Reading Comprehension3.8
  • Critical Thinking3.8
  • Coordination3.6
  • Instructing3.4
  • Time Management3.4
  • Service Orientation3.3

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 21 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

21

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
Speaking4.14.3Not selected4.3
Active Listening4.14.0Not selected4.0
Writing4.14.0Not selected4.0
Learning Strategies4.04.1Not selected4.1
Social Perceptiveness3.93.9Not selected3.9
Reading Comprehension3.84.0Not selected4.0
Critical Thinking3.84.0Not selected4.0
Active Learning3.93.6Not selected3.6
Monitoring3.33.8Not selected3.8
Coordination3.63.3Not selected3.3
Instructing3.43.3Not selected3.3
Time Management3.43.3Not selected3.3
Service Orientation3.33.3Not selected3.3
Judgment and Decision Making3.33.1Not selected3.1
Persuasion3.13.3Not selected3.3
Systems Analysis3.13.1Not selected3.1
Complex Problem Solving3.13.0Not selected3.0
Negotiation3.03.1Not selected3.1
Management of Personnel Resources3.03.0Not selected3.0
Operations Analysis3.03.0Not selected3.0
Systems Evaluation3.03.0Not 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
Washington, DC$124,5902,1002025
Atlanta, GA$112,4502,5802025
MD$104,4702,2202025
DC$103,3306802025
Trenton, NJ$102,680602025
GA$99,4003,2102025
San Francisco, CA$99,2601,8502025
Eugene, OR$94,870602025
Corvallis, OR$87,370402025
Lancaster, PA$87,190702025
Harrisburg, PA$84,0704302025
St. Cloud, MN$83,200602025
Vallejo, CA$81,6301302025
Minneapolis, MN$80,9907702025
Rochester, MN$80,9601402025
Charleston, WV$80,850502025
Killeen, TX$80,840502025
Allentown, PA$80,8201502025
PA$80,6702,6902025
Denver, CO$80,0604502025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

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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.