# Health Education Specialists

US SOC code 21-1091. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/21-1091

Also called: Health educator, Public health educator, Health promotion specialist, Community health educator, CHES.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **65,690** US health education specialists, with median pay of **$64,070** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221176/) of **3,000** from 1935, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for health education specialists: Social media and digital health campaigns, 2015 to 2022.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 5.6% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=21-1091&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **50%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)
- **33%** of work tasks in community and social service occupations, this job's group, are exposed to automation by AI. Not a forecast of job losses. [Goldman Sachs, 2023](https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2023/03/27/d64e052b-0f6e-45d7-967b-d7be35fabd16.pdf)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Health Education Specialists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1910
- Latest US employment: 65,690 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $64,070 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +5.6% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [15]

### All 27 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1935 | 3,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCBI Bookshelf [1] |
| 1950 | 8,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Society for Public Health Education [2] |
| 1973 | 15,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., PMC [3] |
| 2000 | 47,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., PMC [4] |
| 2003 | 42,780 | $37,440 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 46,490 | $38,480 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 51,970 | $39,730 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 57,900 | $41,330 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 61,290 | $42,920 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 62,120 | $44,000 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 63,320 | $44,340 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 58,150 | $45,830 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 56,610 | $47,940 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 55,270 | $48,790 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 56,720 | $49,210 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 57,020 | $50,430 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 57,570 | $51,960 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 57,570 | $53,070 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 58,040 | $53,940 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 58,780 | $54,220 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 58,590 | $55,220 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 57,920 | $56,500 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 55,830 | $60,600 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 56,190 | $59,990 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 57,800 | $62,860 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 65,150 | $63,000 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 65,690 | $64,070 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (80)

### Employment series

1. [NCBI Bookshelf — "History and Current Status of Public Health Education in the United States" (Who Will Keep the Public Healthy?): Social Security Act 1935 and federal funding for state public health training](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221176/), National Academies Press / NCBI
2. [Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) — History: SOPHE founded 1950 as the Society of Public Health Educators; incorporated New York May 2, 1952](https://www.sophe.org/about/history/), Society for Public Health Education
3. [PMC — "The President's Committee on Health Education: a 20-year retrospective on its politics and policy impact" (AJPH 1992): committee created September 1971, final report September 1973; health educators recognized as profession for first time](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1694076/), American Journal of Public Health / PMC
4. [PMC — Health Education Workforce: Opportunities and Challenges (2018): 2006 BLS employment was 63,320, declining to 57,750 in 2015; article frames this as occupation definition instability rather than true workforce decline](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6040596/), PMC / American Journal of Health Education
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

7. [NCBI Bookshelf — "History and Current Status of Public Health Education in the United States": early public health education tools included pamphlets, posters, and public lectures in the 1910s-1930s](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221176/), National Academies Press / NCBI
8. [NCBI Bookshelf — "Evolution of School Health Programs": school health education in the 1920s-1940s relied on textbooks, posters, and public demonstration as primary instructional tools](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK232693/), National Academies Press / NCBI
9. [Wikipedia — Health education: 1978 Role Delineation Project established basic competencies; Health Belief Model and Social Learning Theory adopted as theoretical foundations during 1970s-1980s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_education), Wikipedia
10. [PMC — "The President's Committee on Health Education: a 20-year retrospective" (AJPH 1992): 1973 report triggered federal funding including the National Consumer Health Information and Health Promotion Act (1976); National Center for Health Education opened 1975](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1694076/), American Journal of Public Health / PMC
11. [NCHEC — Health Education Specialist Certification (CHES / MCHES): NCHEC established April 1988 after more than a decade of work; CHES first offered 1989; nearly 16,000 active practitioners at end of 2024](https://www.nchec.org/), National Commission for Health Education Credentialing
12. [PMC — Health Education Workforce: Opportunities and Challenges (2018): by 2015 health educators were distributed across hospital (21%), government (22%), and ambulatory care (16%) settings; digital tools and EHR integration a growing part of the role](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6040596/), PMC / American Journal of Health Education
13. [CDC — Vision for Using AI in Public Health: 103 AI solutions deployed by Dec 2025; the CDC's digital and social media health communication infrastructure has expanded continuously since 2015](https://www.cdc.gov/ai/vision/index.html), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
14. [PMC — Artificial Intelligence in Health Education and Practice (2025): AI integration in health education nascent but recognized as essential; 94% of health students lacked formal AI training; senior practitioners show more favorable AI attitudes](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12183008/), PMC

### Forecasts and exposure studies

15. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 21-1091 Health education specialists (2025: 70.4 thousand; 2035: 74.4 thousand; +5.6%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=21-1091&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
16. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 21-1091.00, human-rated β 0.5)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI
17. [Briggs & Kodnani, "The Potentially Large Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Economic Growth", Goldman Sachs Global Economics Analyst (26 March 2023), Exhibit 5 (US): community and social service 33%](https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2023/03/27/d64e052b-0f6e-45d7-967b-d7be35fabd16.pdf), Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research

### Historical notes

18. [NCBI Bookshelf — "History and Current Status of Public Health Education in the United States": Rockefeller Sanitary Commission (1909) and early public health education campaigns](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221176/), National Academies Press / NCBI
19. [Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) — History: founded 1950, incorporated May 2, 1952; initial membership required graduate degree](https://www.sophe.org/about/history/), Society for Public Health Education
20. [PMC — "The President's Committee on Health Education: a 20-year retrospective on its politics and policy impact" (AJPH 1992): report submitted September 1973; first federal recognition of health educators as distinct profession](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1694076/), American Journal of Public Health / PMC
21. [Wikipedia — Health promotion: US Surgeon General's "Healthy People" report (1979) set national health promotion objectives; directly influenced by 1974 Lalonde Report from Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_promotion), Wikipedia
22. [NCHEC — Health Education Specialist Certification: NCHEC established April 1988; first CHES exam 1989; CHES accredited by NCCA 2008; nearly 16,000 active CHES/MCHES practitioners at end of 2024](https://www.nchec.org/), National Commission for Health Education Credentialing
23. [BLS OOH — Health Education Specialists and Community Health Workers: ACA-era Prevention and Public Health Fund drives hospital and health system demand for specialists](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
24. [CDC — Vision for Using AI in Public Health: COVID-19 accelerated CDC's investment in health communication tools and digital public health infrastructure; 103 AI solutions deployed by Dec 2025](https://www.cdc.gov/ai/vision/index.html), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

### Predecessors & successors

25. [NCBI Bookshelf — "History and Current Status of Public Health Education in the United States": early health education workers included public health nurses doing community outreach and patient education](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221176/), National Academies Press / NCBI
26. [NCBI Bookshelf — "Evolution of School Health Programs": school health education formalized in the 1920s-1940s; school health teachers were a primary career path into the emerging health educator occupation](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK232693/), National Academies Press / NCBI

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Health Education Specialists (21-1091.00): tasks, work activities, technology skills, employment data](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1091.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OOH — Health Educators and Community Health Workers: 71,800 employed 2024; +4% growth 2024-2034; median annual wage $63,000; 7,900 projected annual openings](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): occupational LLM exposure framework; healthcare and education sectors rated lower exposure (17-22%) vs. administrative work due to face-to-face, community systems, and advocacy tasks](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Goldman Sachs — The Jobs AI Is Likely to Boost and Those It May Disrupt (2025): healthcare 17% task exposure; high human-contact roles retain strongest defense](https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/the-jobs-ai-is-likely-to-boost-and-those-it-may-disrupt), accessed 2026-06-05
- [PMC — Artificial Intelligence in Health Education and Practice (2025): AI integration in health education is nascent but recognized as essential; 94% of health students lacked formal AI training; admin burden reduction is most valued use](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12183008/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [CDC — Vision for Using AI in Public Health: 103 AI solutions deployed via AIX program by Dec 2025; NLP, computer vision, and ML used for pattern recognition, prediction, and data analysis in public health](https://www.cdc.gov/ai/vision/index.html), accessed 2026-06-05
- [NCHEC — CHES certification: nearly 16,000 active CHES and MCHES practitioners in the US at end of 2024; eight responsibility areas including assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation, and communication](https://www.nchec.org/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [MHP Salud — Utilizing AI Tools to Amplify CHW Impact (2025): case documentation workflow summarizes de-identified notes into actionable follow-up items; strict data protection guardrails using placeholder identifiers](https://mhpsalud.org/resource/utilizing-ai-tools-to-amplify-community-health-workers-chws-impact-within-health-centers-a-2-week-starter-plan/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Jasper Healthcare — content production 68% cost reduction reported by one healthcare organization (2025); patient-facing content and lifecycle communications at scale with compliance guardrails](https://www.jasper.ai/solutions/by-industry/healthcare), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Canva — Magic Write AI text generator and Magic Design: used by health educators to create workshops, handouts, and social campaigns; available free to nonprofits and K-12 health organizations](https://www.canva.com/magic-write/), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.