How Much Can You Make as a Healthcare Analyst?

Collecting data has become an essential part of how businesses operate—especially in the healthcare sector. The business and technology sides of the healthcare industry have to understand how to provide patients the care they need in a cost-effective manner. This takes healthcare data analysts—those who analyze large swaths of data and assess trends, with the goal being improved operations. 

To put simply, the role of healthcare analysts is an essential component to hospitals and healthcare operations.

If you’re considering a career in healthcare data analytics and wondering how much you can make as a junior or senior data analyst in the field, this guide will outline everything you need to know. Keep reading to learn more about healthcare analyst salary averages.

What Do Healthcare Analysts Do?

So, what exactly do healthcare analysts do? The duties of a healthcare data analyst are largely based around data collection, health information management, data analysis and statistics. As a healthcare analyst or healthcare data scientist, you are responsible for researching, collecting, managing, and analyzing information, identifying trends within the data, and then using your findings to come up with actionable insights or ways to lower costs and improve services within the healthcare system you work in¹.

Another part of the healthcare data analyst job is creating executive summaries, graphs, and other reports, and then presenting them to your workplace's management team, and sometimes also to the multiple locations where you sourced your data².

Looking to learn more about healthcare analytics? Get started today at Alliant University.

The Job Market

Like most industries in today’s society, the healthcare industry has quickly become reliant on digital systems—and will continue to do so with each newly available technological advancement. With the expanding digital side of business, job openings in healthcare data are growing as well, with no end in sight.

While the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) doesn’t collect data specifically on healthcare data analysts, the duties of the position are a mixture of two departments they do track:

1. Medical records and health information technicians (who collect and input data) – Their job outlook from 2018-2028 is a predicted 11% increase, according to the BLS¹.
2. Operations research analysts (who do research and statistical analysis, problem-solve, and give presentations) – Over the same period of time, 2018-2028, their job market is expected to have a 26% increase, according to the BLS².

Considering the overall growth rate for all occupations in the United States is just 5% on average, collecting and analyzing healthcare data is an area of work with significant job security¹.

Healthcare Data Analyst Average Salary

Making a difference with your work and having great job security in your field are obvious benefits to choosing a career in healthcare analytics and data science, but another big advantage is the pay for health data analysts.

The average healthcare data analyst salary is $63,150, with an overall salary range of $47,000 to $82,000, according to Payscale³. 

This range of salary is for healthcare analysts who work in a typical position and are employed by the following healthcare facilities and organizations:

• Hospitals (state, local, or private)
• Physicians’ offices
• Nursing home facilities
• Insurance companies
• Government agencies (state or federal)
• Non-governmental organizations

While the healthcare data analyst salary is substantial, certain credentials will increase your pay even more—such as the time you’ve spent working in the position, your level of education, and your certifications in the field⁴.

Average Salaries Based on Credentials

Finding ways to increase your salary as a healthcare data analyst is simple: the more credentials you have, the better pay you’ll tend to qualify for. Some credentials are as easy as staying in the business for a long time, while others are based on education.

Amount of Work Experience

As a healthcare analyst, when your time in the industry increases, your pay increases with it. According to a report from Payscale, the average healthcare data analyst with one year or less work experience can earn approximately $59,000 - $62,000; one to four years experience is approximately $63,000 - $70,000; five to 19 years can go up to $73,000 depending still on the length of experience. For professionals who have been in the industry for 20 years, the salary can reach approximately $75,000 or more. Please note, this is an estimate based on Payscale.

These averages are impressive considering it’s possible to get a job as a healthcare data analyst with only an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree—assuming you completed the necessary supplemental coursework through a healthcare analytics certificate program. 

With a graduate degree, you'll have more opportunities for even better health data scientist salary⁴.

Ready to start your journey to higher education? Earn your bachelor’s degree at Alliant today!

Jobs with a Master’s Degree

Having a degree, such as a Master’s in Healthcare Analytics, may help you in the following ways:

• Higher likelihood of being chosen for a job
• Potential of receiving higher pay within typical jobs
• Qualifying for additional, higher-paying positions

According to the average salaries taken from The Balance Careers, you'll be able to acquire a position in some of the higher-paying data jobs if you have a master's degree (and some experience in the field). Data architects, data scientists, and data engineers can earn from $100,00 up to $113,000. please note, these are all average salaries from Balance Careers.

Becoming a Certified Healthcare Analyst

Not to be confused with healthcare analytics certification programs, advanced certifications that come after mastering the subject, such as becoming a Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA), are a useful way to have a higher salary⁵.

While the average salary for healthcare data analyst salary is around $60,000 - $63,000, the average salary for a CHDA is from $70,000 - $72,000, according to a report by Payscale⁵. This higher salary shows that a CHDA has greater earning potential and career opportunities within their field. 

Become a Healthcare Analyst with Alliant

At Alliant International University, you can receive your Master of Science in Healthcare Analytics in as little as one year, graduating with work experience and feeling prepared for your CDHA exam. Becoming a healthcare data analyst is a career choice you can feel confident in—contact with Alliant today to learn how to get started.

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Sources

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Medical Records and Health Information Specialists : Occupational Outlook Handbook," U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 02, 2021. Accessed November 29, 2021. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm
2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Operations Research Analysts : Occupational Outlook Handbook," 
   U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 08, 2021. Accessed November 29, 2021. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/operations-research-analysts.htm#tab-1
3. Payscale, "Average Health Data Analyst Salary," PayScale, November 12, 2021. Accessed November 29, 2021. https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Health_Data_Analyst/Salary
4. Alison Doyle, "Top 7 Big Data Jobs," The Balance Careers, June 19, 2020. Accessed November 29, 2021. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-7-big-data-jobs-4588947
5. Payscale, "Salary for Certification: Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA)," PayScale, July 13, 2021. Accessed November 29, 2021. https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Certification=Certified_Health_Data_Analyst_(CHDA)/Salary