Community Health Workers vs Health Education Specialists: $52K vs $64K Median Pay

Community Health Workers vs Health Education Specialists: what changes?

Consider Community Health Workers if you want to promote health within a community by assisting individuals to adopt healthy behaviors. Consider Health Education Specialists if you would rather provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles. Entry credentials differ: Community Health Workers, high school diploma or equivalent; Health Education Specialists, bachelor's degree.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Community Health Workers and Health Education Specialists. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Community Health Workers

National median pay (2025): $51,850
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Maintain updated client records with plans, notes, appropriate forms, or related information.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 7,000

Know before you choose

The work routinely happens in close physical proximity to other people; personal space is limited.

See the full Community Health Workers brief

Health Education Specialists

National median pay (2025): $64,070
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Prepare and distribute health education materials, such as reports, bulletins, and visual aids, to address smoking, vaccines, and other public health concerns.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 6,900

Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Health Education Specialists brief

How the national numbers differ

Health Education Specialists has the edge on median pay

Health Education Specialists is at $64,070, compared with $51,850 for Community Health Workers.

Community Health Workers has the edge on projected growth

Community Health Workers is at 12.7% projected growth, compared with 5.6% projected growth for Health Education Specialists.

Community Health Workers has the edge on annual openings

Community Health Workers is at 7,000 annual openings, compared with 6,900 annual openings for Health Education Specialists.

56.5/ 100

Community Health Workers

57.1/ 100

Health Education Specialists

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Community Health Workers vs Health Education Specialists

Dimension	Community Health Workers	Health Education Specialists
Median pay (2025)	$51,850	$64,070
Pay percentile	36.4 percentile	55.5 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	12.7%	5.6%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	7,000	6,900
2025 employment	64,700	70,400
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	Bachelor's degree
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 4	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Community Health Workers brief Read Health Education Specialists brief

Community Health Workers vs Health Education Specialists: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Community Health Workers

Health Education Specialists

How the national numbers differ

Health Education Specialists has the edge on median pay

Community Health Workers has the edge on projected growth

Community Health Workers has the edge on annual openings

Community Health Workers vs Health Education Specialists

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