Public Health Professional salaries: $25.00/hr median.
Public health professionals focus on population health and disease prevention. Epidemiologists, community health workers, and health educators.
Showing 7 titles (7 with pay data) across 6 tracks and 25 states. Latest data as of October 22, 2026.
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| Role | Category · Track | Median /hr | P25–P75 | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Health Worker | Public Health Professional · Community | $24.50 | $21.50–$27.50 | 355 |
| Care Transition Coordinator | Public Health Professional · Care Coordination | $29.50 | $23.38–$84.07 | 32 |
| Oncology Nurse Navigator | Public Health Professional · Navigation | $45.25 | $42.63–$68.75 | 14 |
| Epidemiologist | Public Health Professional · Community | $42.50 | $37.00–$42.50 | 12 |
| Public Health Educator | Public Health Professional · Education | $34.33 | $26.13–$43.07 | 6 |
| Population Health Nurse | Public Health Professional · Population | $37.22 | $37.22–$37.22 | 1 |
Public Health Professional pay across every state with live data.
Showing all 25 states with live data. Bars scale to the highest-paying state.
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How to become a Public Health Professional.
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.
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.
| Degree | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Public HealthBPH / BS | 4 years | Sufficient for entry-level health educator, community outreach, and program assistant roles. Common stepping stone to MPH. |
| Master of Public HealthMPH | 2 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 HealthDrPH | 4-6 years | Practice-oriented doctorate for senior leadership roles. Often pursued by mid-career professionals. |
| PhD in Public Health disciplinePhD | 5-7 years | Research doctorate in epidemiology, biostatistics, or another public health science. Standard for academic and high-end research roles. |
| Nursing or clinical degreeBSN / MSN | Varies | Public 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. |
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.
Required for public health nurse roles. Some states have a separate Public Health Nurse certificate built on top of the RN license.
| Credential | Issued by | Pay 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% |
- 0-2 yearsPublic 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.
- 2-6 yearsEpidemiologist / Health Educator / Specialist
Specialty role aligned with the MPH concentration: outbreak investigation, surveillance, health education campaigns, environmental inspections, or infection prevention.
- 6-10 yearsSenior Specialist / Program Lead
Leads a program or surveillance area. Holds the appropriate specialty credential (CPH, CIC, REHS, etc.). May supervise junior staff.
- 10-15 yearsManager / Program Director
Owns operational and budget responsibility for a public health program: communicable disease, maternal/child health, environmental health, or community health.
- 15+ yearsPublic Health Director / Officer
Director or health officer for a local or state health department. Often requires a DrPH, MD/MPH, or equivalent terminal degree.
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.
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.