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Role hub · Epidemiologists

Epidemiologist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of epidemiologists earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$87,220
Hourly
$41.93
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Epidemiologists investigate and describe the determinants and distribution of disease, disability, or health outcomes. The median pay is $87,220 a year ($41.93 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a master's degree (67% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$87,220
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
12,090
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 5 of 5
extensive preparation
Most common education
Master's Degree
67% of workers
Explore the role

Every page for Epidemiologists

SalaryEpidemiologist salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeEpidemiologist how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →Career changeEpidemiologist career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

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The work

What epidemiologists do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Communicate research findings on various types of diseases to health practitioners, policy makers, and the public.
  2. Oversee public health programs, including statistical analysis, health care planning, surveillance systems, and public health improvement.
  3. Investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission.
  4. Educate healthcare workers, patients, and the public about infectious and communicable diseases, including disease transmission and prevention.
  5. Monitor and report incidents of infectious diseases to local and state health agencies.
  6. Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
  7. Provide expertise in the design, management and evaluation of study protocols and health status questionnaires, sample selection, and analysis.
  8. Write articles for publication in professional journals.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Complex Problem SolvingcoreJudgment and Decision MakingcoreReading ComprehensioncoreCritical ThinkingActive ListeningWritingSpeakingScienceSystems Analysis

Knowledge areas: Mathematics, Biology, Medicine and Dentistry, English Language, Computers and Electronics, Communications and Media.

Tools and technology

Software epidemiologists use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • SASAnalytical or scientific softwareIn demand
  • ESRI ArcGIS softwareMap creation softwareHot technology
  • FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
  • IBM SPSS StatisticsAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epi InfoAnalytical or scientific software
  • Circle Systems Stat/TransferAnalytical or scientific software
  • Cytel EgretAnalytical or scientific software
  • Data visualization softwareAnalytical or scientific software
  • Disease Mapping and Analysis Program DMAPAnalytical or scientific software
  • ESRI ArcInfoGeographic information system
  • ESRI ArcViewGeographic information system
  • EpiData AnalysisAnalytical or scientific software

Also called: Chronic Disease Epidemiologist, Communicable Diseases Specialist, Environmental Epidemiologist, Epidemiology Investigator, Infection Control Practitioner (ICP).

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).