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1,579 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
575 Master's Degrees Annually
#20 in Popularity
$113,730 Median Salary

Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many health information management graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree 1,451
Master’s Degree 520
Basic Certificate 509
Associate Degree 244
Undergraduate Certificate 174
Graduate Certificate 44

What Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to health information were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Health Information Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

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  • Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
  • Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Health Information Majors

When studying health information, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Time Management - Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

Abilities for Health Information Majors

A major in health information will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Major?

People with a health information degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Medical and Health Services Managers 20.5% $99,730

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

1,451 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
87% Percent Women
44% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This major is dominated by women with about 87% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of health information majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 128
Black or African American 305
Hispanic or Latino 144
White 723
International Students 22
Other Races/Ethnicities 129

Geographic Diversity

Health Information appeals to people across the globe. About 1.5% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to health information is $113,730. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for a <nil> Major  113,730
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Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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250K
Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some degrees associated with health information may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for health information careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 19.2%
Bachelor’s Degree 65.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 3.9%
Master’s Degree 11.5%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 22 10
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 48 20
Bachelor’s Degree 26 15
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 29 22
Post-Master’s 3 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 1 1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 1 1
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a health information grad is $113,730 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 185% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,476,600 after 20 years!

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You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to health information.

Major Number of Grads
Health Care Management 30,702
Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder 10,541
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician 10,010
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller 9,004
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant & Medical Secretary 7,581
Medical Office Assistant/Specialist 4,981
Hospital & Health Care Facilities Administration/Management 3,981
Medical Office Management/Administration 3,470
Other Health & Medical Administrative Services 2,251
Medical/Health Management & Clinical Assistant/Specialist 1,257
Medical Reception/Receptionist 730
Clinical Research Coordinator 291
Long Term Care Administration/Management 221
Healthcare Innovation 193
Medical Office Computer Specialist/Assistant 118
Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk 109
Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist 83
Regulatory Science/Affairs 73
Medical Staff Services Technology/Technician 25
Disease Registry Data Management 15
Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor 11
Healthcare Information Privacy Assurance and Security 7
Health/Medical Claims Examiner 4

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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