Health Education Specialists
Also called: Behavioral Health Educator, BLS Instructor (Basic Life Support Instructor), Breastfeeding Educator, Breastfeeding Peer Counselor, Certified Breastfeeding Educator (CBE), Certified Diabetes Educator, Certified Health Education Specialist, Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC)
Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles.
What health education specialists do
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.
- Develop operational plans and policies necessary to achieve health education objectives and services.
- Provide program information to the public by preparing and presenting press releases, conducting media campaigns, or maintaining program-related Web sites.
- Develop and maintain health education libraries to provide resources for staff and community agencies.
- Design and conduct evaluations and diagnostic studies to assess the quality and performance of health education programs.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Health Education Specialists salary
The median annual wage for health education specialists is $64,070 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $42,990 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $118,200. The mean annual wage is $73,280.
The mean hourly wage of $35.00 is 4.8× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Health Education Specialists (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $64,070 → in 3 years $70,300 → in 5 years $74,800 → in 10 years $87,200 (10-year range $75,000–$101,300). The model assumes pay growth of +3.1% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Health Education Specialists
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Health Education Specialists? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Health Education Specialists
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Health Education Specialists
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★★☆☆ Moderate (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become health education specialists
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as health education specialists
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.