Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Above-baseline growth SOC 19-1041

Epidemiologists

Projected +16% employment change leads this card; pay sits next to Physicists, Clinical and Counseling Psychologists, Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists, Biochemists and Biophysicists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Epidemiologists: Physicists ($172K) , Clinical and Counseling Psychologists ($101K) , Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists ($103K) , Biochemists and Biophysicists ($127K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Epidemiologists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 19-1041 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Communicate research findings on various types of diseases to health practitioners, policy makers, and the public
  2. 2. Oversee public health programs, including statistical analysis, health care planning, surveillance systems, and public health improvement
  3. 3. Investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission
  4. 4. Educate healthcare workers, patients, and the public about infectious and communicable diseases, including disease transmission and preve…
  5. 5. Monitor and report incidents of infectious diseases to local and state health agencies
  6. 6. Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease
  7. 7. Provide expertise in the design, management and evaluation of study protocols and health status questionnaires, sample selection, and ana…
  8. 8. Write articles for publication in professional journals
  9. 9. Identify and analyze public health issues related to foodborne parasitic diseases and their impact on public policies, scientific studies…
  10. 10. Write grant applications to fund epidemiologic research
  11. 11. Plan, administer and evaluate health safety standards and programs to improve public health, conferring with health department, industry…
  12. 12. Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings

O*NET skills and knowledge for Epidemiologists

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 19-1041 - entity-keyed; sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.3
  2. 2. Critical Thinking 4.3
  3. 3. Complex Problem Solving 4.3
  4. 4. Judgment and Decision Making 4.3
  5. 5. Active Listening 4.1
  6. 6. Writing 4.1
  7. 7. Speaking 4.1
  8. 8. Science 4.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mathematics 4.5
  2. 2. Biology 4.3
  3. 3. Medicine and Dentistry 4.0
  4. 4. English Language 4.0
  5. 5. Computers and Electronics 3.5
  6. 6. Communications and Media 3.5
Projected employment change 2024-2034
↑ +16%
much faster than average (3.1%)
National median $87,220/yr
$87K
National median
800
Annual openings
12,090
Estimated US jobs
Physicists
Highest-pay peer · $172K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Epidemiologists

1. Nevada $99,880
2. District of Columbia $112,370
3. Minnesota $104,460
4. Massachusetts $115,890
5. Illinois $102,720
6. California $110,760
7. New Jersey $109,760
8. Maryland $101,830
9. Tennessee $97,310
10. Washington $108,240

Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations titles

  1. 1. Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists $103,410
  2. 2. Biochemists and Biophysicists $127,410
  3. 3. Sociologists $106,030
  4. 4. Astronomers $128,820
  5. 5. Physicists $172,250
  6. 6. Clinical and Counseling Psychologists $100,580

BLS projects +16% employment change for Epidemiologists (2024-2034), much faster than average vs the all-occupations baseline of 3.1%. Published median pay is $87,220.

BLS assigns Master's degree as typical entry education. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal employer rules. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Nevada at $99,880. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Physicists at $172,250. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Where Epidemiologists sits in Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

Epidemiologists sits at pay-rank #27 of 48 detailed Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024–2034.

Dive into Epidemiologists in more depth or explore nearby career data.

Full Salary Details

State, metro, and percentile breakdown

Jobs in Nevada

Top-paying state for this role

Jobs in District of Columbia

Second-highest state pay

Physicists

Highest-pay peer · $172K

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

Lower-pay peer · $101K

Compare Side-by-Side

Head-to-head with another role
Compare Epidemiologists with another occupation →

Growth and outlook next reads

Fastest-Growing Rankings

National projection leaders

Highest-Paying Careers

Where growth meets pay

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Epidemiologists mid-table among Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #27 of 48 detailed Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Microbiologists ($88K), Food Scientists and Technologists ($89K), Urban and Regional Planners ($89K), Occupational Health and Safety Specialists ($90K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do epidemiologists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Epidemiologists. Leading ones include: Communicate research findings on various types of diseases to health practitioners, policy makers, and the public; Oversee public health programs, including statistical analysis, health care planning, surveillance systems, and public health improvement; Investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission; Educate healthcare workers, patients, and the public about infectious and communicable diseases, including disease transmission and preve…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for epidemiologists? ▼
For SOC 19-1041, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.3), Critical Thinking (4.3), Complex Problem Solving (4.3), Judgment and Decision Making (4.3). Knowledge areas emphasize Mathematics, Biology, Medicine and Dentistry. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Epidemiologists? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $87,220 as the national median for Epidemiologists. The published 10th-90th range is $61,270 to $138,800. Beside Physicists ($172,250), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
How fast is Epidemiologists projected to grow? ▼
BLS Employment Projections put Epidemiologists at +16% change for 2024-2034, with about 800 annual openings. Versus the all-occupations baseline (3.1%): much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Epidemiologists? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Epidemiologists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Epidemiologists? ▼
Nevada ($99,880), District of Columbia ($112,370), Minnesota ($104,460) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024–2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Epidemiologists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 19-1041. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Epidemiologists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics