Salaries for Jobs in Health Care and Wellness

About the numbers

Burning Glass (BG)* and NCCareers.org (NCC)** use various data, including quarterly wage and salary information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to project salaries for entry-level positions, as well as after four to five years and after 10 years in specific careers.

The projections are sometimes far apart because the two services use different methodologies in their calculations. NCCareers.org, for example, includes data from the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Labor and Economic Analysis Division, while Burning Glass adds its own proprietary internal projections into the mix.

Program BG
Entry-level		 BG
4-5 year		 BG
10 year		 NCC
Entry-level		 NCC
4-5 years		 NCC
10 years		 Star rating***
Computed Tomography $58,500 $76,400 NA NA NA NA NA
Dental Assisting $31,900 $35,200 NA $33,700 $46,675 $61,026 5
Dental Hygiene $57,800 $61,300 NA $54,657 $74,442 $89,234 5
Electroneurodiagnostic Technology $58,700 $58,500 NA $29,112 $39,382 $60,770 NA
Health and Fitness Science $37,500 $57,700 NA $20,736 $45,122 $67,621 4
Human Services Technology $33,000 $41,5000 NA $21,663 $30,899 $40,028 3
Human Services Technology: Gerontology $70,500 $75,500 NA NA NA NA NA
Human Services Technology: Mental Health $33,000 $41,150 NA $38,946 $52,943 $85,201 5
Human Services Technology: Substance Abuse $37,700 $43,000 $43,500 $38,946 $52,943 $85,201 5
Magnetic Resonance Imaging $65,400 $60,400 NA $53,608 $69,400 $91,731 4
Mammography $45,995 $50,196 NA NA NA NA NA
Medical Assisting $27,900 $86,700 NA $27,279 $35,507 $42,046 4
Medical Laboratory Technology $36,333 $38,066 NA $32,702 $53,060 $78,895 5
Nurse Aide $28,100 $29,600 NA $21,306 $29,175 $38,850 2
Nursing $63,100 $72,650 NA $52,357 $67,612 $95,672 5
Pharmacy Technology $31,600 $34,500 NA $23,036 $32,127 $43,793 3
Phlebotomy $29,600 $32,500 NA $27,489 $35,186 $42,271 4
Practical Nursing $41,700 NA $53,000 $39,235 $48,341 $61,234 4
Radiography $50,500 $66,600 NA $43,192 $61,136 $82,755 4
Registered Behavior Technician $39,500 NA NA $33,860 $47,749 $73,598 NA
Sonography $60,000 $64,700 NA $54,483 $70,629 $93,105 5

*Burning Glass is an Idaho-based labor market data analysis firm that aims to help communities understand the economic value of higher education and help colleges maximize the value of their education. Its data helps identify skill gaps that keep job seekers and employers apart and tools to bridge that gap.

**NCCareers.org is a partnership of state-level experts in public education, higher education, workforce development, college financing and labor market economics. It studies national, statewide and local economic trends to produce shot- and long-term employment projections for North Carolina and areas across the state.

***Star ratings are assigned by NCCareers.org based on wages, projected growth rate and projected job openings. Occupations are rated from one to five stars, and those with more stars are considered to have better career prospects.