Depending on the career path a graduate chooses, they can earn salaries ranging from $33,500 to over $150,000.
The demand for many types of public health professionals is increasing annually. This is largely because governments are starting to understand that one of the most cost-effective ways to improve population health and cut health costs is to invest in public health disease prevention. This is what is causing a great increase in demand for public health workers.
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that many types of public health professionals will see much higher demand in the near future.
For example, there will be a 37% increase in demand for public health educators by 2020.
Public Health Salaries on the Upswing
With the increase in demand, there has been a solid rise in salaries for many in the field. Some of the median salaries in common public health fields include:
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Health educator: $45,500
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Environmental scientist: $61,700
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Statistician: $72,800
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Public health nurse: $64,400
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Health service manager: $82,000
But remember that many public health salaries are going to vary a good deal based upon where you live.
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Top Cities for Public Health Employment
In fact, some cities are known to have more public health jobs and higher salaries than others. Some of the top cities for public health employment include the following:
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Raleigh, North Carolina: The metropolitan area of this fast-growing North Carolina city is one of the fastest-growing public health cities in the US. The median salary in the public health field is $40,000 but the area also boasts a low cost of living, ranking 46 on a 100 scale for affordability. Also, commutes are reasonable with an average of 21 minutes.
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Des Moines IA: This area has some of the lowest unemployment rates in the US, with a recent rate of 3.1%. The public health salary median is $41,000. There are many major health care players in this city, such as Principal Life Insurance Co., Iowa Health Systems and Wellmark.
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Boston MA: This top public health city is the home of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel. Each of these organizations employs thousands of health-related employees. The median public health salary here is about $49,000.
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Portland, OR: The median salary here is $45,000, and it has a low cost of living. Portland is well known for being a very livable city and having an excellent public transit system. Expect to save on gas and insurance here.
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Madison, WI: This city has a very low unemployment rate of 2.6%, and is the home of many excellent health care facilities. The median salary is about $41,000, but the cost of living is very reasonable. There also are many leading universities here, and this makes it an excellent home for public health researchers.
Some other US cities with a high number of health care and public health jobs include:
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Houston, Texas
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Baltimore, Maryland
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Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Denver, Colorado
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Fargo, North Dakota
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New York City, New York
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Cleveland, Ohio
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Norfolk, Virginia
Health care-focused cities such as those above should see an influx of public health and health care workers by 2020, with another 3.2 million jobs being added across the US in that time.
As a public health professional, you can earn a very good salary. Exactly how much you will earn depends upon your exact public health profession and where you live. Below are the average salaries for public health workers in different states. These also are figures for the average MPH salary. Keep in mind that while some states do have lower salaries, they also generally have a lower cost of living, such as for real estate, food and gas.
In the MPH salary outlook below, we have noted the states and cities where the cost of living is particularly high.
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Alabama (Birmingham): $46,677
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Alaska (Anchorage): $65,825 *High Cost of Living – 23% above national average*
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Arizona (Phoenix): $46,605
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Arkansas (Little Rock): $59,700
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California (Sacramento): $50,000 *High Cost of Living – 3% above national average*
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Colorado (Denver): $57,966 *High Cost of Living – 9% above national average*
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Connecticut (Hartford): $32,221
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Delaware (Wilmington): $77,100 *High Cost of Living – 37% above national average*
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Florida (Miami): $46,877 *High Cost of Living – 4% above national average*
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Georgia (Atlanta): $58,146 *High Cost of Living – 12% above national average*
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Hawaii (Honolulu): $59,114 *High Cost of Living – 24% above national average*
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Idaho (Boise): $60,029
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Illinois (Chicago): $48,370 *High Cost of Living – 3% above national average*
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Indiana (Indianapolis): $59,969
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Iowa (Des Moines): $50,644
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Kansas (Wichita): $56,859
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Kentucky (Louisville): $40,322
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Louisiana (New Orleans): $37,544
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Maine (Bangor): $51,036
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Maryland (Baltimore): $43,750
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Massachusetts (Boston): $62,741 *High Cost of Living – 9% above national average*
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Michigan (Grand Rapids): $51,018
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Minnesota (Minneapolis): $77,800
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Mississippi (Gulfport): $39,200
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Missouri (Kansas City): $55,004
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Montana (Helena): $54,213
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Nebraska (Columbus): $42,200
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New Hampshire (Rochester): $53,234
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New Jersey (Newark): $26,574
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New Mexico (Santa Fe): $42,845
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New York (New York): $76,213 *High Cost of Living – 24% above national average*
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North Carolina (Raleigh): $72,100
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North Dakota (Bismarck): $37,432
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Ohio (Columbus): $44,151
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Oklahoma (Oklahoma City): $47,978
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Oregon (Salem): $48,500
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Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh): $56,548
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Rhode Island (Portsmouth): $61,798
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South Carolina (Myrtle Beach): $55,466
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South Dakota (Sioux Falls): $58,165
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Tennessee (Chattanooga): $38,750
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Texas (Houston): $38,700
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Utah (Salt Lake City): $49,293
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Vermont (Burlington): $52,070
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Virginia (Alexandria): $75,400 *High Cost of Living – 50% above national average*
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Washington (Seattle): $65,628
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West Virginia (Wheeling): $49,064
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Wisconsin (Milwaukee): $50,419
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Wyoming (Laramie): $45,685
Epidemiologist Salaries by State
According to salarybystate.org Website, the median salaries for epidemiologists in each state vary widely:
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Alabama: $64,000
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Alaska: $53,000
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Arizona: $55,000
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Arkansas: $62,000
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California: $69,000
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Colorado: $55,000
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Connecticut: $68,000
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Delaware: $58,000
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Florida: $60,000
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Georgia: $68,000
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Hawaii: $44,000
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Idaho: $52,000
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Illinois: $66,000
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Indiana: $63,000
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Iowa: $59,000
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Kansas: $57,000
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Kentucky: $55,000
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Louisiana: $53,000
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Maine: $56,000
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Maryland: $63,000
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Massachusetts: $72,000
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Michigan: $61,000
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Minnesota: $57,000
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Mississippi: $73,000
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Missouri: $62,000
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Montana: $64,000
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Nebraska: $50,000
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Nevada: $58,000
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New Hampshire: $62,000
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New Jersey: $66,000
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New Mexico: $56,000
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New York: $74,000
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North Carolina: $62,000
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North Dakota: $59,000
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Ohio: $59,000
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Oklahoma: $57,000
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Oregon: $59,000
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Pennsylvania: $55,000
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Rhode Island: $63,000
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South Carolina: $57,000
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South Dakota: $49,000
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Tennessee: $59,000
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Texas: $59,000
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Utah: $55,000
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Vermont: $59,000
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Virginia: $63,000
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Washington: $60,000
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Washington DC: $71,000
