Wellness professionals come in a variety of titles and responsibilities. But that title carries significant weight salary-wise, according to an analysis of titles and salaries reported for the Wellness Professionals’ Salary and Benefits Survey.

A professional with the title wellness manager earns an average of $11,167 more per year than someone with the title senior program manager without taking experience and education into account.

The average salary for a wellness manager participating in the survey was $69,500 and the average salary of a senior program planner was $58,333, the salary survey found.

Those who hold the title wellness coordinator had an average salary of $43,842,$25,658 lower than the annual salary of a wellness manager. Those with wellness consultant titles averaged $44,125 in salary, according to survey results.

There were not enough participants holding titles that included Manager, Employee Health and Wellness by variations, but just to share those figures, the average salary was $59,853.

The overall average salary for a wellness professional in 2008 was $55,304, the survey found. 

And, taking level of education into account, a Master’s degree-level wellness professional earns $8,212 more per year than their counterpart holding a Bachelor’s degree, the survey found. 

In a future issue we will look at an analysis of salary level combined with years of experience.

The following table illustrates ranking wellness titles with average salary, in descending order of average salary, titles we could compare.

Comparing Wellness Titles With Salaries
Title	Average Salary
Wellness Manager	$69,500
Manager, Employee Health and Wellness	$59,853
Senior Program Manager	$58,333
Wellness Consultant	$44,125
Wellness Coordinator	$43,842

Source: Wellness Professionals Salary and Benefits Survey, conducted by Wellness Program Management Advisor. Copyright 2009 Wellness Management Information Center

Of course it is important to keep in mind that the single most important factor influencing a wellness professional’s salary is years of experience coupled with the actual job description – what the organization expects the wellness professional to do and achieve.

Because there are so many variations for a wellness professional’s job title we could only do the comparison where there was an adequate number of survey respondents reporting similar titles.

The range of titles include: injury and illness prevention coordinator, health/wellness coordinator, health management administrator, health coach, employee wellness specialist, disease management and wellness coordinator, director of employee benefits and wellness, business coordinator for worksite wellness development, occupational health nurse, regional director of health and wellness, and medical and wellness coordinator.

The periodic salary and benefits survey of wellness professionals was conducted online among wellness professionals and subscribers to Wellness Program Management Advisor, Wellness Junction Professional Update and members of the Wellness Manager Professional Discussion Group and reflects salary and benefit information for the 2007-2008 periods.

Editor’s Note: This confidential salary and benefits data of wellness professionals has been exclusively gathered and compiled by Wellness Program Management Advisor. This information is intended for the private use only of subscribers to Wellness Program Management Advisor. The data is the property of Wellness Management Information Center.