Best degree programs for Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars, ranked by enrollment
6 college programs and 777 schools train Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $68,020 median wage, 38,100 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
6 college programs at 777 schools train health information technologists and medical registrars, graduating 29,088 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $68,020 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About health information technologists and medical registrars
Apply knowledge of healthcare and information systems to assist in the design, development, and continued modification and analysis of computerized healthcare systems. Abstract, collect, and analyze treatment and followup information of patients. May educate staff and assist in problem solving to promote the implementation of the healthcare information system. May design, develop, test, and implement databases with complete history, diagnosis, treatment, and health status to help monitor diseases.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
6 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.0707 | 12,261 | 42.2% | 314 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
| 2 | CIP 51.0713 | 10,263 | 35.3% | 355 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
| 3 | Medical Informaticsmain feeder CIP 51.2706 | 3,664 | 12.6% | 157 | $47,775 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 51.0706 | 2,865 | 9.8% | 126 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
| 5 | CIP 51.0721 | 28 | 0.1% | 5 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
| 6 | CIP 51.0723 | 7 | 0.0% | 2 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What health information technologists and medical registrars earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | $62,780 | 900 | 0.60× | 39 | 5,593 |
| Arizona | $50,740 | 900 | 1.13× | 17 | 2,133 |
| Texas | $76,820 | 2,880 | 0.83× | 61 | 2,048 |
| California | $90,750 | 2,920 | 0.65× | 52 | 1,829 |
| New York | $75,320 | 2,000 | 0.84× | 35 | 1,392 |
| Minnesota | $90,760 | 1,040 | 1.44× | 20 | 1,287 |
| Florida | $76,950 | 2,360 | 0.97× | 32 | 1,127 |
| Ohio | $71,330 | 2,500 | 1.84× | 40 | 1,078 |
| Indiana | $46,470 | 1,040 | 1.33× | 9 | 1,007 |
| Georgia | $70,170 | 1,630 | 1.36× | 39 | 1,002 |
| Tennessee | $64,560 | 580 | 0.72× | 21 | 878 |
| Utah | $75,320 | — | — | 7 | 830 |
| Louisiana | $65,620 | 210 | 0.45× | 19 | 753 |
| Pennsylvania | $59,980 | 1,090 | 0.74× | 34 | 680 |
| Wisconsin | $89,260 | 650 | 0.90× | 24 | 652 |
| Washington | $59,640 | 670 | 0.77× | 18 | 529 |
| Missouri | $59,380 | 930 | 1.29× | 17 | 425 |
| Virginia | $59,060 | 770 | 0.76× | 22 | 416 |
| Michigan | $67,150 | 1,020 | 0.94× | 19 | 400 |
| North Carolina | $63,010 | 2,370 | 1.95× | 20 | 386 |
| Colorado | $78,470 | 370 | 0.53× | 12 | 367 |
| Arkansas | $93,300 | — | — | 18 | 303 |
| Connecticut | $76,140 | 180 | 0.43× | 6 | 300 |
| Massachusetts | $81,420 | 880 | 0.99× | 15 | 290 |
| Kansas | $60,030 | 610 | 1.72× | 10 | 269 |
| Maryland | $70,040 | 1,170 | 1.72× | 12 | 258 |
| New Jersey | $61,940 | 1,680 | 1.60× | 16 | 256 |
| Oklahoma | $45,210 | 610 | 1.47× | 11 | 231 |
| Mississippi | $47,000 | 120 | 0.43× | 13 | 212 |
| Kentucky | $49,330 | 1,320 | 2.68× | 10 | 200 |
| West Virginia | $61,330 | 100 | 0.56× | 11 | 189 |
| South Carolina | $44,530 | 470 | 0.83× | 11 | 188 |
| Nebraska | $49,520 | 260 | 1.02× | 6 | 145 |
| Oregon | $86,230 | 660 | 1.37× | 11 | 145 |
| Wyominglimited | $88,560 | 50 | 0.69× | 2 | 137 |
| Alaska | $71,100 | 70 | 0.87× | 5 | 126 |
| New Hampshiremoderate | $81,020 | 170 | 1.02× | 4 | 122 |
| Iowa | $80,600 | 270 | 0.71× | 10 | 121 |
| Hawaiilimited | $51,930 | 150 | 1.01× | 2 | 98 |
| Maine | $50,320 | 200 | 1.29× | 6 | 93 |
| South Dakotamoderate | $60,740 | 140 | 1.29× | 4 | 70 |
| Nevadamoderate | $63,610 | 250 | 0.65× | 3 | 66 |
| New Mexicomoderate | $42,000 | 120 | 0.58× | 4 | 49 |
| Montana | $79,140 | 190 | 1.50× | 5 | 38 |
| Idaholimited | $56,300 | 560 | 2.66× | 2 | 19 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $72,120 | 50 | 0.42× | 1 | 18 |
| Vermontlimited | $73,130 | 80 | 1.02× | 1 | 18 |
| District of Columbialimited | $75,460 | 80 | 0.48× | 1 | 11 |
| Delawarelimited | $68,890 | — | — | 2 | 11 |
| North Dakotamoderate | $81,170 | 60 | 0.56× | 4 | 11 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Assign the patient to diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), using appropriate computer software.
- Compile medical care and census data for statistical reports on diseases treated, surgery performed, or use of hospital beds.
- Design databases to support healthcare applications, ensuring security, performance and reliability.
- Develop in-service educational materials.
- Evaluate and recommend upgrades or improvements to existing computerized healthcare systems.
- Facilitate and promote activities, such as lunches, seminars, or tours, to foster healthcare information privacy or security awareness within the organization.
- Identify, compile, abstract, and code patient data, using standard classification systems.
- Manage the department or supervise clerical workers, directing or controlling activities of personnel in the medical records department.
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Health Information Technologist
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 6 majors mapped to Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars6 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.0706Health Information/Medical Records Administration/Administrator
- 51.0707Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician
- 51.0713Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder
- 51.0721Disease Registry Data Management
- 51.0723Healthcare Information Privacy Assurance and Security
- 51.2706Medical Informatics
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Health Information Technologist?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician, which awarded 12,261 degrees in 2024-25, 42.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Health Information Technologist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Health and Medical Administrative Services, Medical Illustration and Informatics. Together they graduate about 29,088 people a year.
How much do health information technologists and medical registrars earn?+
The median is $68,020 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $39,830 at the 10th percentile to $117,420 at the 90th. 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 information technologists and medical registrars growing?+
BLS projects a +14.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 3,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
777 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 6 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 information technologists and medical registrars work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Medical Records Analyst, Medical Records Director among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-9021.
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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