Starting Salary

• While the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not provide salary data for health coding specialists in particular, the agency finds that most employers prefer to hire health information technicians with professional credentials, such as certification or registration. Certification or registration through a professional organization commonly involves completing a two-year educational program and passing an exam administered by the organization. Waukesha County Technical College, which offers an associate degree in medical coding, says the average entry-level salary for their recent graduates is $29,098 per year as of 2011. That equals about $13.40 per hour.
  
  

Salary Range

• The median salary for all health coding specialists as of May 2011 was $44,251 per year, according to Salary.com. That translates to about $21.30 per hour. The middle 50 percent of health coding specialists make $38,270 to $50,611 per year. The bottom 10 percent had pay rates of $32,826 per year and below, and the top 10 percent earn more than $56,400 per year.
  
  

Geography

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists high-paying locations for medical records workers in general, and Salary.com confirms some of these for health coding specialists in particular. The median annual salary for these workers in Chicago as of May 2011 was $46,950; in Bethesda, Maryland, $48,233; in Seattle, $48,676; in Honolulu, Hawaii, $48,897; in Newark, New Jersey, $51,994, and in San Jose, California, $53,101. Newark and San Jose ranked in the top 25 percent nationwide. The top 10 percent of health coding specialists in Newark and San Jose earned more than $66,000 per year.
  
  

Considerations

• Health coding specialists and other medical records workers need strong communication skills because they commonly act as liaisons between health care facilities and insurance companies, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employers also prefer applicants who are proficient with computers, as coding is performed using software and because health care facilities increasingly use electronic records.