LIVE MARKET·74 postings · last 180 days·Updated April 30, 2026

Oncology Nurse Navigator salary: $69.83/hr$2,793/wk$145,236/yr median.

Pay range $52.83$2,113$109,886$73.50/hr$2,940/wk$152,880/yr across the middle 50% of active Navigation Public Health Professional postings nationwide.

43 unique employers · 28 cities · 16 states. Pay moved +3.6% over the last 30 days.

Show pay as
Median /hr/wk/yr
$69.83$2,793$145,236
P25–P75
$52.83$2,113$109,886$73.50$2,940$152,880
middle 50%
Postings
74
61.5%
Coverage
16 states
43 employers
01·PAY DISTRIBUTION·P10 → P90

How Oncology Nurse Navigator pay is distributed.

10% of postings pay under $46.95/hr$1,878/wk$97,656/yr. The top 10% pay above $74.26/hr$2,970/wk$154,461/yr.

P10
$46.95
P25
$52.83
P50
$69.83
P75
$73.50
P90
$74.26
P10
$46.95/hr$1,878/wk$97,656/yr
P25
$52.83/hr$2,113/wk$109,886/yr
P50 (median)
$69.83/hr$2,793/wk$145,246/yr
P75
$73.50/hr$2,940/wk$152,880/yr
P90
$74.26/hr$2,970/wk$154,461/yr
03·STATE BREAKDOWN·n=74

Oncology Nurse Navigator pay across every state with live data.

01California CA10 postings
$90.00/hr
02Colorado CO19 postings
$70.00/hr
03Illinois IL5 postings
$52.60/hr
04Massachusetts MA12 postings
$73.50/hr
05New York NY5 postings
$36.50/hr

Showing all 5 states with live data. Bars scale to the highest-paying state.

04·TOP-PAYING CITIES·METROS WITH ACTIVE POSTINGS

The metros writing the biggest Oncology Nurse Navigator paychecks.

CityStateMedian /hr/wk/yrP25–P75Postings
pagosa springsCO · COLORADO$70.65$2,826$146,952$70.00$2,800$145,600$72.15$2,886$150,07217
05·EMPLOYER BREAKDOWN·TOP 20 BY PAY

Where the top of the market is paying for Oncology Nurse Navigator.

EmployerMedian /hr/wk/yrRangePostings
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute$73.50$2,940$152,880$73.50$2,940$152,880$73.50$2,940$152,88013
Dartmouth Health$53.50$2,140$111,280$53.50$2,140$111,280$53.50$2,140$111,2805
Stanford Health Care$91.50$3,660$190,320$91.50$3,660$190,320$103.00$4,120$214,2406

Showing all 3 employers with live pay data.

06·SHIFT & CONTRACT MIX·PAY BY WORK PATTERN

How Oncology Nurse Navigator pay shifts by schedule and contract type.

Per Diem pays the most at $73.50/hr$2,940/wk$152,880/yr median — 28% above Fulltime at $57.50/hr$2,300/wk$119,600/yr. Fulltime drives the volume with 41 active postings.

BY SHIFT
Not Specified
51 postings
$57.50/hr$2,300/wk$119,600/yr
Days
18 postings
$70.00/hr$2,800/wk$145,600/yr
Flexible
3 postings
$70.00/hr$2,800/wk$145,600/yr
BY JOB TYPE
Fulltime
41 postings
$57.50/hr$2,300/wk$119,600/yr
Travel Contract
22 postings
$70.00/hr$2,800/wk$145,600/yr
Per Diem
6 postings
$73.50/hr$2,940/wk$152,880/yr
Not Specified
3 postings
$73.70/hr$2,948/wk$153,296/yr
08·HOW TO BECOME·CAREER PATHWAY·GENERAL TO PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONAL

How to become a Oncology Nurse Navigator.

Public health professionals protect and improve population health through epidemiology, health education, environmental health, infection prevention, policy, and emergency preparedness. The category covers epidemiologists, public health nurses, community health educators, biostatisticians, environmental health specialists, and infection preventionists across local, state, federal, hospital, and nonprofit settings. Most roles require a bachelor's or master's in public health, with credentialing varying by specialty.

Education·Min: Bachelor's (community health, health education) · Preferred: Master of Public Health (MPH)

Bachelor's in public health or a related discipline (or a clinical credential like BSN) → 2-year MPH (or DrPH/PhD for research and leadership) → entry-level role at a health department, hospital, or nonprofit. Many specialties also pursue role-specific credentials: CIC for infection preventionists, CHES/MCHES for health educators, REHS for environmental health.

DegreeDurationNotes
Bachelor of Public HealthBPH / BS4 yearsSufficient for entry-level health educator, community outreach, and program assistant roles. Common stepping stone to MPH.
Master of Public HealthMPH2 years (1 year if accelerated)Standard credential for public health practice. Concentrations include epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health policy, health behavior, and global health.
Doctor of Public HealthDrPH4-6 yearsPractice-oriented doctorate for senior leadership roles. Often pursued by mid-career professionals.
PhD in Public Health disciplinePhD5-7 yearsResearch doctorate in epidemiology, biostatistics, or another public health science. Standard for academic and high-end research roles.
Nursing or clinical degreeBSN / MSNVariesPublic health nurses, infection preventionists, and many state health department roles draw heavily from licensed clinicians who add public health knowledge on top of their clinical credential.
Licenses & Exams·2 credentials
No state license requiredMost public health roles are unlicensedOptional
Issued by:

Public health practice is largely unlicensed in the US — credentialing happens through professional certification (CIC, CHES, REHS, etc.) rather than state licensure. Public health nurses, MDs, and other clinical roles maintain their underlying clinical license.

RN LicenseRegistered Nurse License (for public health nurses)Optional
Exam: NCLEX-RN · Issued by: State Board of Nursing

Required for public health nurse roles. Some states have a separate Public Health Nurse certificate built on top of the RN license.

Optional Certifications·Pay boost where known
CredentialIssued byPay impact
CPH
Certified in Public Health
Cross-discipline public health credential. Eligibility requires an MPH or equivalent plus public health experience. Standard credential for federal and CDC-aligned roles.
NBPHE+5-10%
CIC
Certification in Infection Prevention and Control
Required by most hospital infection preventionist roles. Eligibility requires 2 years of IP experience.
CBIC+10-20%
CHES / MCHES
Certified Health Education Specialist (Master level for MCHES)
Health education and behavior change credential. Required for many state and federal health-promotion roles.
NCHEC+5-10%
REHS / RS
Registered Environmental Health Specialist / Sanitarian
Required for most local and state environmental health inspector roles.
NEHA+5-10%
Career Path·5 steps
  1. 0-2 years
    Public Health Associate / Program Assistant

    Entry-level role at a health department, nonprofit, or federal program. Strong programs include the CDC Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) and state-level fellowships.

  2. 2-6 years
    Epidemiologist / Health Educator / Specialist

    Specialty role aligned with the MPH concentration: outbreak investigation, surveillance, health education campaigns, environmental inspections, or infection prevention.

  3. 6-10 years
    Senior Specialist / Program Lead

    Leads a program or surveillance area. Holds the appropriate specialty credential (CPH, CIC, REHS, etc.). May supervise junior staff.

  4. 10-15 years
    Manager / Program Director

    Owns operational and budget responsibility for a public health program: communicable disease, maternal/child health, environmental health, or community health.

  5. 15+ years
    Public Health Director / Officer

    Director or health officer for a local or state health department. Often requires a DrPH, MD/MPH, or equivalent terminal degree.

Work Environment
Local and state health departmentsCDC and federal health agenciesHospital infection prevention departmentsAcademic medical centers and schools of public healthNonprofits and global health organizationsInsurance and managed-care population health teams

Schedule. Most public health roles run standard business hours. Outbreak response, emergency preparedness, and reportable-disease investigation can require evening, weekend, or surge coverage. Public health is one of the more telework-friendly fields in healthcare.

Physical demands. Largely office-based and cognitive. Environmental health inspectors and field epidemiologists do meaningful site visits. Outbreak responders may deploy domestically or internationally.

Job Outlook·Strong (specialty-dependent)
+27% epidemiologists, +7% health educators (2022-2032)

Epidemiology and biostatistics rank among the fastest-growing professional occupations of the decade — driven by post-pandemic surveillance investment, real-world evidence demand from biopharma, and the expansion of data-driven public health. Frontline public health (health educators, community health workers) is growing more steadily, partly reliant on federal and state funding cycles.

FAQ — Becoming this role·3 questions
Do I need an MPH to work in public health?

Not for entry-level community health, outreach, or program-assistant roles — a bachelor's in public health, biology, social work, or nursing is enough. But for epidemiologist, biostatistician, health educator (CHES), and most leadership roles, the MPH is the standard credential and often a hard requirement.

Is public health a stable career?

Frontline state and local roles are somewhat tied to federal and state funding cycles. Epidemiology, biostatistics, infection prevention, and managed-care population health roles are more stable and pay better than legacy state-level public health work. Hospital and biopharma demand has grown materially since 2020.

Can I work in public health without a clinical background?

Yes. Most public health roles (epidemiology, biostatistics, health education, environmental health, policy) do not require a clinical credential. A nursing, medicine, or pharmacy background is a meaningful advantage for clinically-anchored roles like infection prevention or public health nursing.

09·FREQUENTLY ASKED·ONCOLOGY NURSE NAVIGATOR

What clinicians ask about Oncology Nurse Navigator pay.

What is the average Oncology Nurse Navigator salary in 2026?

The median Oncology Nurse Navigator salary is $69.83/hr (approximately $145,236/yr) based on 74 active job postings.

What is the pay range for Oncology Nurse Navigator?

Hourly pay ranges from $52.83 at the 25th percentile to $73.50 at the 75th percentile, with the top 10% earning above $74.26/hr.

Which state pays Oncology Nurse Navigator roles the most?

Alabama currently leads with a median of $68.71/hr across 0 postings.

How many employers are hiring Oncology Nurse Navigators?

Our dataset shows 43 unique employers posting Oncology Nurse Navigator roles across 16 states.

Where does TrueRounds get Oncology Nurse Navigator salary data?

All salary figures are computed from active US healthcare job postings with listed pay ranges, collected over a rolling 180-day window and weighted by posting volume.

10·OTHER TRACKS IN PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONAL·5 SPECIALTIES

Explore other Public Health Professional tracks.

Oncology Nurse Navigator sits inside the Navigation track. Here are sibling tracks across Public Health Professional — same category, different clinical focus and pay envelope.

11·METHODOLOGY·HOW WE BUILD THESE NUMBERS

Active US healthcare postings. Weighted by volume. Refreshed daily.

Pay benchmarks are computed from active job postings with listed pay ranges, collected on a rolling 180-day window. Each role's percentiles are weighted by posting volume so a metro with two postings doesn't outweigh a metro with two hundred. Outliers (postings priced more than 4× the role median) are dropped to avoid contract-line distortion.

Use the data, then push back.

Bring these numbers into your next contract conversation. Recruiters know what the market pays — now you do too.