Occupations · Life, Physical, and Social Science
Epidemiologists
Investigate and describe the determinants and distribution of disease, disability, or health outcomes. May develop the means for prevention and control.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 19-1041.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 54% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $98,520 | 530 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $92,210 | 510 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $102,920 | 480 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $69,780 | 440 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | $73,070 | 430 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $104,920 | 420 |
| Olympia-Tumwater, WA | $102,530 | 330 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $126,390 | 310 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $91,930 | 270 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $101,510 | 260 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $99,360 | 250 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA | $106,660 | 240 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Master's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Communicate research findings on various types of diseases to health practitioners, policy makers, and the public.
- Oversee public health programs, including statistical analysis, health care planning, surveillance systems, and public health improvement.
- Investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission.
- Educate healthcare workers, patients, and the public about infectious and communicable diseases, including disease transmission and prevention.
- Monitor and report incidents of infectious diseases to local and state health agencies.
- Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
- Provide expertise in the design, management and evaluation of study protocols and health status questionnaires, sample selection, and analysis.
- Write articles for publication in professional journals.
- Identify and analyze public health issues related to foodborne parasitic diseases and their impact on public policies, scientific studies, or surveys.
- Write grant applications to fund epidemiologic research.
- Plan, administer and evaluate health safety standards and programs to improve public health, conferring with health department, industry personnel, physicians, and others.
- Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2023-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2023-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Teach epidemiology to students in public health programs.
O*NET 30.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 12
No longer listed 2
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| epidemiologist | 2131.4.7 | exact |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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