Best Health Education Specialist programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles.
50 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 4,685 people a year. The job pays a median of $63,610 in California across about 12,520 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
8 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.2201In California → | 3,961 | 84.5% | 37 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 2 | CIP 51.2210In California → | 272 | 5.8% | 8 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 3 | Health and Wellness, Generalmain feeder CIP 51.0001In California → | 193 | 4.1% | 7 | $34,545 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 51.2207In California → | 119 | 2.5% | 6 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 5 | CIP 51.2212In California → | 96 | 2.0% | 4 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 6 | CIP 09.0905In California → | 29 | 0.6% | 3 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 7 | CIP 51.0504In California → | 12 | 0.3% | 1 | $195,650 | — |
| 8 | CIP 51.2209In California → | 3 | 0.1% | 1 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 17 of the 50 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of the People Pasadena, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 796 | Public Health, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 2 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 412 | Public Health, General | $36,300 | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 3 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 333 | Public Health, General | $34,909 | 70% | — | 91% |
| 4 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 309 | Public Health, General | $48,351 | 93% | — | 11% |
| 5 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 305 | Public Health, General | $41,092 | 76% | — | 36% |
| 6 | California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 297 | Public Health, General | $39,011 | 57% | — | 93% |
| 7 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 199 | Public Health, General | — | 69% | — | 85% |
| 8 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 198 | International Public Health/International Health | $39,144 | 86% | — | 27% |
| 9 | California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 168 | Public Health, General | $40,750 | 53% | — | 91% |
| 10 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 149 | Public Health, General | — | 50% | — | 96% |
| 11 | National University San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 124 | Public Health, General | $52,057 | 43% | $31,817 | — |
| 12 | California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 121 | Public Health, General | — | 56% | — | 94% |
| 13 | University of California - Merced Merced, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 111 | Public Health, General | $36,555 | 69% | — | 91% |
| 14 | Carrington College - Sacramento Sacramento, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 101 | Health and Wellness, General | $29,853 | 51% | $38,203 | — |
| 15 | California State University - Chico Chico, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 84 | Public Health, General | $45,339 | 63% | — | 93% |
| 16 | California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 80 | Public Health, General | — | 55% | — | 94% |
| 17 | California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 79 | Public Health, General | — | 48% | — | 97% |
| 18 | California State University - Stanislaus Turlock, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 68 | Public Health Education and Promotion | — | 53% | — | 98% |
| 19 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 60 | Public Health, General | $47,274 | 88% | $44,094 | 48% |
| 20 | Touro University California Vallejo, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 59 | Public Health, General | — | — | — | 0% |
| 21 | Loma Linda University Loma Linda, CA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 58 | Public Health Education and Promotion | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 55 | Public Health, General | — | 86% | — | 31% |
| 23 | California State University - San Marcos San Marcos, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Public Health, General | — | 55% | — | 95% |
| 24 | University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Public Health, General | — | 70% | $37,121 | 62% |
| 25 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Public Health, General | $32,880 | 69% | — | 46% |
All 50 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of the People | Pasadena | Private not-for-profit | 796 | 1 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 412 | 4 |
| California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton | Public | 333 | 1 |
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 309 | 1 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego | Public | 305 | 4 |
| California State University - Northridge | Northridge | Public | 297 | 1 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose | Public | 199 | 1 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 198 | 3 |
| California State University - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 168 | 1 |
| San Francisco State University | San Francisco | Public | 149 | 1 |
| National University | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 124 | 1 |
| California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento | Public | 121 | 1 |
| University of California - Merced | Merced | Public | 111 | 1 |
| Carrington College - Sacramento | Sacramento | Private for-profit | 101 | 1 |
| California State University - Chico | Chico | Public | 84 | 1 |
What health education specialists earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $64,070. California pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: California employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Health Education Specialists page.
How to become a Health Education Specialist
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Health Education Specialists9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0905Health Communication
- 51.0001Health and Wellness, General
- 51.0504Dental Public Health and Education
- 51.1504Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling
- 51.2201Public Health, General
- 51.2207Public Health Education and Promotion
- 51.2209Maternal and Child Health
- 51.2210International Public Health/International Health
- 51.2212Behavioral Aspects of Health
Common questions
Answers for people weighing health education specialists programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Health Education Specialist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Public Health, General, which awarded 3,961 degrees in California in 2024-25, 84.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Health Education Specialist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Public Health, Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, Public Relations, Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences. Together they graduate about 4,685 people a year in California.
How much do health education specialists earn in California?+
The median is $63,610 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.7% below the U.S. median of $64,070. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for health education specialists growing?+
BLS projects a +4.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 7,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
50 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 8 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do health education specialists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Health Educator, Clinical Instructor, Public Health Educator, Health Education Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1091.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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