Health Information

Types of Degrees Health Information Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many health information management graduations there were in 2021-2022 for each degree level.

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

What Health Information Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to health information and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Health Information Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in health information should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for Health Information Majors

A major in health information prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• 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.

Abilities for Health Information Majors

Health Information majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Health Information?

The major attracts more women than men. About 89% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	6
Black or African American	39
Hispanic or Latino	75
White	102
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	22

How Much Do Health Information Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Health Information majors often go into careers with median salaries of $113,730. This median refers to all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

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.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Health Information

Some careers associated with health information require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

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

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 Health Information 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 Health Information 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!

Trades Related to Health Information

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.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.