Best Health Education Specialist programs in Washington, ranked by enrollment
Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles.
16 schools in Washington run programs that feed this job, graduating 799 people a year. The job pays a median of $77,420 in Washington across about 1,750 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Washington that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
8 programs in Washington that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Washington (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 Washington page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.2201In Washington → | 632 | 79.1% | 7 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 2 | CIP 51.1504In Washington → | 60 | 7.5% | 3 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
| 3 | CIP 51.2210In Washington → | 42 | 5.3% | 1 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 4 | Health and Wellness, Generalmain feeder CIP 51.0001In Washington → | 39 | 4.9% | 3 | $34,545 | $25,000 |
| 5 | CIP 09.0905In Washington → | 12 | 1.5% | 1 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 6 | CIP 51.2209In Washington → | 9 | 1.1% | 1 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 7 | CIP 51.2212In Washington → | 4 | 0.5% | 2 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 8 | CIP 51.2207In Washington → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
Top 16 schools in Washington
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 16 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · 3 feeder programs | 404 | Public Health, General | $46,016 | 85% | — | 39% |
| 2 | Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 195 | Public Health, General | — | 43% | — | 91% |
| 3 | Tacoma Community College Tacoma, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Public Health, General | — | 32% | — | — |
| 4 | Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Public Health, General | $42,137 | 54% | — | 91% |
| 5 | Carrington College - Spokane Spokane, WA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Health and Wellness, General | — | 42% | $35,985 | — |
| 6 | Seattle Central College Seattle, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling | — | 32% | — | — |
| 7 | Gonzaga University Spokane, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling | — | 86% | $30,006 | 82% |
| 8 | Bastyr University Kenmore, WA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Maternal and Child Health | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | Walla Walla Community College Walla Walla, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling | — | 38% | — | — |
| 10 | Washington State University Pullman, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Health Communication | $45,820 | 60% | — | 87% |
| 11 | Bellevue College Bellevue, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Health and Wellness, General | — | 36% | — | — |
| 12 | Lake Washington Institute of Technology Kirkland, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Public Health, General | — | 37% | — | — |
| 13 | University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Public Health, General | — | 68% | $35,057 | 72% |
| 14 | Antioch University - Seattle Seattle, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Health and Wellness, General | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Northwest Indian College Bellingham, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Behavioral Aspects of Health | — | 18% | — | — |
| 16 | Heritage University Toppenish, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Behavioral Aspects of Health | — | 54% | $13,380 | — |
All 16 schools in Washington
Every school in Washington 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 Washington - Seattle Campus | Seattle | Public | 404 | 3 |
| Eastern Washington University | Cheney | Public | 195 | 1 |
| Tacoma Community College | Tacoma | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Central Washington University | Ellensburg | Public | 28 | 1 |
| Carrington College - Spokane | Spokane | Private for-profit | 26 | 1 |
| Seattle Central College | Seattle | Public | 26 | 1 |
| Gonzaga University | Spokane | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 1 |
| Bastyr University | Kenmore | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 2 |
| Walla Walla Community College | Walla Walla | Public | 13 | 1 |
| Washington State University | Pullman | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Bellevue College | Bellevue | Public | 9 | 1 |
| Lake Washington Institute of Technology | Kirkland | Public | 5 | 1 |
| University of Puget Sound | Tacoma | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| Antioch University - Seattle | Seattle | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Northwest Indian College | Bellingham | Public | 3 | 1 |
What health education specialists earn in Washington
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $64,070. Washington pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Washington
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 Washington
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 Washington.
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 632 degrees in Washington in 2024-25, 79.1% 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, Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions, Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, Public Relations. Together they graduate about 799 people a year in Washington.
How much do health education specialists earn in Washington?+
The median is $77,420 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.8% above 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 Washington?+
16 institutions in Washington 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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