2027 Salary Guide · Healthcare · Health information
BLS counts health information technicians as Medical Records Specialists, an occupation with a median of $51,140 in May 2025, or about $54,500 in 2027 terms at current wage growth. The same occupation includes records clerks and medical coders, which is why the range runs from $37,000 to $81,150. The biggest pay jump for an HIT comes from leaving it: HIM managers are counted as Medical and Health Services Managers, with a $123,860 median.
Career ladder
BLS does not report pay by level. The first three steps map common records roles onto the occupation's percentiles; the last step is a separate BLS occupation.
About $37,000 to $43,500 (10th to 25th percentile)
Scanning, indexing and retrieving records, processing admission and discharge documents. Some employers hire with a high school diploma and train on the job.
About $43,500 to $64,800 (25th to 75th percentile)
Reviews records for completeness and compliance, handles release of information under privacy rules, abstracts data and works with coders on unclear documentation. An RHIT is common at this level.
About $64,800 to $81,200 (75th to 90th percentile)
Supervises a records team, owns data quality or a registry, or works on documentation integrity. These roles are most common in large hospital systems and high-paying metros.
Median about $123,900 (Medical and Health Services Managers)
O*NET lists Health Information Manager and HIM Director among the sample titles for Medical and Health Services Managers. BLS says managers typically need a bachelor's degree.
Pay distribution
The range covers records clerks, coders, credentialed technicians and lead roles in one occupation. BLS does not split it by title or credential, so where each role falls within it is an estimate, not a measured figure.
Typical for the Health Information Technician title: $43,490 to $64,820 (25th to 75th percentile of Medical Records Specialists)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $37,000 | $39,500 |
| 25th percentile | $43,490 | $46,000 |
| Median | $51,140 | $54,500 |
| 75th percentile | $64,820 | $69,000 |
| 90th percentile | $81,150 | $86,500 |
Local pay
The San Francisco Bay Area leads at $74,400, about $8,900 ahead of second-place Seattle ($65,530). New York (about 8,090 jobs) and Los Angeles (about 7,240) are the largest markets, at $61,190 and $59,110. Pittsburgh ($46,120) and Detroit ($46,730) are lowest.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area | $74,400 +45% | $49,520 – $107,470 | 1,880 |
| Seattle | $65,530 +28% | $47,650 – $100,560 | 2,830 |
| Providence | $62,030 +21% | $43,060 – $84,540 | 860 |
| Portland | $61,890 +21% | $48,230 – $85,490 | 1,340 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $61,830 +21% | $48,370 – $97,840 | 1,840 |
| San Diego | $61,480 +20% | $44,100 – $99,930 | 1,600 |
| Hartford | $61,320 +20% | $41,690 – $84,340 | 480 |
| Denver | $61,240 +20% | $47,830 – $96,180 | 870 |
| New York City | $61,190 +20% | $35,640 – $102,600 | 8,090 |
| Boston | $60,460 +18% | $45,540 – $82,260 | 2,630 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | $60,230 +18% | $39,680 – $83,650 | 830 |
| Baltimore | $59,390 +16% | $35,400 – $87,040 | 1,360 |
| Los Angeles | $59,110 +16% | $41,710 – $101,290 | 7,240 |
| Atlanta | $58,950 +15% | $39,310 – $90,370 | 2,790 |
| Washington, DC | $58,810 +15% | $42,960 – $92,540 | 2,370 |
| Chicago | $57,970 +13% | $41,460 – $78,470 | 4,510 |
| Albany | $55,860 +9% | $40,300 – $77,330 | 610 |
| Raleigh | $54,340 +6% | $37,130 – $93,950 | 900 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $52,140 +2% | $37,950 – $80,190 | 5,210 |
| Nashville | $51,300 +0% | $39,970 – $79,960 | 1,640 |
| Houston | $51,250 +0% | $38,150 – $80,510 | 3,680 |
| Charlotte | $51,110 +-0% | $40,150 – $82,090 | 1,450 |
| Tampa | $50,020 -2% | $36,700 – $81,470 | 2,450 |
| Philadelphia | $49,700 -3% | $38,380 – $83,650 | 3,260 |
| Miami | $49,010 -4% | $36,910 – $79,070 | 4,530 |
| Austin | $48,990 -4% | $25,890 – $79,700 | 1,320 |
| Phoenix | $47,450 -7% | $36,530 – $75,950 | 2,480 |
| Detroit | $46,730 -9% | $37,180 – $79,450 | 1,900 |
| Pittsburgh | $46,120 -10% | $38,700 – $73,230 | 1,740 |
BLS metro estimates, May 2025. Percent compares the metro median with the national median. "Jobs" is BLS estimated employment in the metro; blank where BLS does not publish it.
Credentials
BLS says employers may prefer certified medical records specialists and that some expect certification soon after hire. These are AHIMA's health information credentials.
| Credential | Full name | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| RHIT | Registered Health Information Technician | The core HIT credential. AHIMA describes an academic route through accredited programs that takes about 2 years. |
| RHIA | Registered Health Information Administrator | The administrator-level credential, aimed at the move toward HIM management. |
| CDIP | Certified Documentation Integrity Practitioner | Clinical documentation integrity work, between records and coding. |
| CCA / CCS | Certified Coding Associate / Certified Coding Specialist | Coding credentials; see the medical coder page. |
Source: AHIMA certifications overview. Eligibility rules change; check AHIMA before applying. BLS does not record credentials, so no federal data shows a pay premium for any of them.
Outlook
BLS projects much faster than average growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,000 openings a year across 200,700 jobs. The projection covers the whole occupation, coders and clerks included.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Medical Records Specialists as a whole.
For HIM departments
BLS reports coders and records technicians as one occupation, and the title "health information technician" draws both. State plainly whether coding is part of the work.
Requiring an RHIT narrows the pool to graduates of accredited programs. Listing it as preferred, with a deadline to earn it, keeps experienced clerks in the running.
BLS notes that records staff in hospitals and other always-open facilities may work nights or weekends. Hospitals employ about 28 percent of the occupation.
The Bay Area median is about $28,300 above Pittsburgh's. Use the local figure in the city table, not the national median.
Compare
Medical coders share this occupation's figures exactly. Billing and posting clerks earn a little less at the median ($48,500), and Medical and Health Services Managers, where HIM directors are counted, earn more than twice as much.
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Information Technician | $51,140 | $54,500 | Much faster than average |
| Medical Coder | $51,140 | $54,500 | Much faster than average |
| Healthcare Administrator | $123,860 | $131,500 | Much faster than average |
| Billing Specialist | $48,500 | $51,500 | Little or no change |
| Medical Assistant | $45,690 | $48,500 | Much faster than average |
FAQ
BLS reports health information technicians as Medical Records Specialists. The median for that occupation was $51,140 in May 2025, and the middle half earned between $43,490 and $64,820. With two years of wage growth at 3.1% a year, the 2027 planning median is about $54,500.
BLS does not track credentials, so there is no federal RHIT salary figure. BLS does say employers may prefer certified medical records specialists, and the middle half of the occupation earned roughly $43,490 to $64,820 in May 2025, a reasonable range to compare an RHIT offer against. We do not quote a specific RHIT premium.
Not quite, but BLS counts them as one occupation, Medical Records Specialists, so their federal pay figures are identical. Technicians focus on the record itself: completeness, privacy, release of information and data quality. Coders translate the record into diagnosis and procedure codes for billing. Many jobs mix both.
BLS says hospitals employ about 28 percent of medical records specialists and physicians' offices about 18 percent, with the rest in professional and technical services, administrative support services and company headquarters. Hospital roles are more likely to involve night or weekend shifts.
BLS says medical records specialists typically need a postsecondary certificate, though some qualify with a high school diploma and some positions ask for an associate's or bachelor's degree. The RHIT credential is earned through AHIMA's academic route, which AHIMA says takes about 2 years through an accredited program.
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