Community and Social Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 21-1091

Health Education Specialists

The published band from $42,990 to $118,200 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Social Workers, All Other.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Health Education Specialists: Social Workers, All Other ($72K) , Social and Human Service Assistants ($46K) , Directors, Religious Activities and Education ($52K) , Healthcare Social Workers ($68K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Health Education Specialists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 21-1091 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Prepare and distribute health education materials, such as reports, bulletins, and visual aids, to address smoking, vaccines, and other p…
  2. 2. Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with agencies and organizations interested in public health care
  3. 3. Maintain databases, mailing lists, telephone networks, and other information to facilitate the functioning of health education programs
  4. 4. Document activities and record information, such as the numbers of applications completed, presentations conducted, and persons assisted
  5. 5. Develop and present health education and promotion programs, such as training workshops, conferences, and school or community presentations
  6. 6. Collaborate with health specialists and civic groups to determine community health needs and the availability of services and to develop…
  7. 7. Develop, conduct, or coordinate health needs assessments and other public health surveys
  8. 8. Supervise professional and technical staff in implementing health programs, objectives, and goals
  9. 9. Develop educational materials and programs for community agencies, local government, and state government
  10. 10. Develop operational plans and policies necessary to achieve health education objectives and services
  11. 11. Provide program information to the public by preparing and presenting press releases, conducting media campaigns, or maintaining program…
  12. 12. Develop and maintain health education libraries to provide resources for staff and community agencies

Health Education Specialists: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 21-1091 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.1
  2. 2. Writing 4.1
  3. 3. Speaking 4.1
  4. 4. Learning Strategies 4.0
  5. 5. Active Learning 3.9
  6. 6. Social Perceptiveness 3.9
  7. 7. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  8. 8. Critical Thinking 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.6
  2. 2. Education and Training 4.5
  3. 3. English Language 4.2
  4. 4. Administrative 4.1
  5. 5. Psychology 3.6
  6. 6. Public Safety and Security 3.6
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$42,990 to $118,200
median $64,070 · ~2.7× spread
$64K
National median
↑ +5%
Growth 2024-2034
7,900
Annual openings
65,690
Estimated US jobs
Social Workers, All Other
Highest-pay peer · $72K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Health Education Specialists

1. Maryland $104,470
2. Iowa $75,750
3. Washington $77,420
4. Pennsylvania $80,670
5. Colorado $74,150
6. Minnesota $78,400
7. Rhode Island $75,360
8. District of Columbia $103,330
9. Georgia $99,400
10. Oregon $75,500

Other Community and Social Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. Directors, Religious Activities and Education $52,100
  2. 2. Social and Human Service Assistants $45,930
  3. 3. Healthcare Social Workers $67,880
  4. 4. Child, Family, and School Social Workers $59,550
  5. 5. Rehabilitation Counselors $46,850
  6. 6. Social Workers, All Other $71,900

The OEWS band for Health Education Specialists runs from $42,990 (10th) to $118,200 (90th), about 2.7× wide, with median $64,070. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +5% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 7,900 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. 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: Maryland at $104,470. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Social Workers, All Other at $71,900. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Health Education Specialists pay-rank #6 in Community and Social Service Occupations

Among 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations with a published OEWS median, Health Education Specialists is pay-rank #6, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third 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.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Health Education Specialists is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Health Education Specialists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 21-1091

Maryland · top state for Health Education Specialists

$104K published median

Iowa · #2 state pay

$76K · behind Maryland

Social Workers, All Other

Highest-pay peer vs Health Education Specialists · $72K

Social and Human Service Assistants

Lower-pay peer beside Health Education Specialists · $46K

Compare Health Education Specialists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Health Education Specialists with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Community and Social Service Occupations titles sit near Health Education Specialists at the top of the pay table? ▼
Health Education Specialists is pay-rank #6 of 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors ($64K), Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists ($66K), Marriage and Family Therapists ($67K), Healthcare Social Workers ($68K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do health education specialists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Health Education Specialists. Leading ones include: Prepare and distribute health education materials, such as reports, bulletins, and visual aids, to address smoking, vaccines, and other p…; 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. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for health education specialists? ▼
For SOC 21-1091, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.1), Writing (4.1), Speaking (4.1), Learning Strategies (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Health Education Specialists? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $42,990 and the 90th at $118,200 for Health Education Specialists (2.7× spread). The national median is $64,070. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Health Education Specialists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Health Education Specialists is +5%. Projected annual openings: about 7,900. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Health Education Specialists? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Health Education Specialists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Health Education Specialists? ▼
Maryland ($104,470), Iowa ($75,750), Washington ($77,420) 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 Health Education Specialists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 21-1091. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Health Education Specialists. 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