Salary Study Provides More Detailed Data

In past years, our salary information came from the data provided by members via AHIMA’s online profile tool. This year’s salary study presents similar data, but the results are more specific because respondents were asked to provide actual salary figures instead of indicating a range. More than 13,300 individuals responded to the survey.

The survey results reveal a wealth of information with multiple layers to explore. For instance, this data allows us to estimate that the average annual full-time HIM salary across all work settings is $55,676. But this number doesn’t tell the whole story. It doesn’t reflect the great diversity of those working in HIM (based on work setting, job title, education level, certification, and more). In this article, we’ll look more closely at these results.

Respondents are grouped in these primary setting categories, but they also indicated a more defined setting within that category. “Average Salaries by Work Setting” (page 2) shows average salary levels for those working in the broad setting categories. Those working in consultant/vendor settings ($84,383) and integrated delivery system ($70,501) boast the highest average salaries. The hospital category appears in the middle ($53,389), while physician office ($46,034) and long-term care settings ($46,017) salaries are at the lower end.

One of the factors impacting these averages is the variety of positions available within each setting. For instance, the hospital setting has the largest spectrum of positions in which HIM professionals work, while the number is much more defined in the consultant/vendor area.

A closer look at the hospital setting (see “Average Salary: Hospital Setting,” on page 4) shows how the type of hospital impacts average salary. Average salaries at acute care hospitals ($54,117) and long-term acute care hospitals ($54,580) are the highest, while salaries at ambulatory surgery, hospital-based facilities ($41,620) average quite a bit less.