South Carolina Healthcare Informatics Salary - SC

By allied health world contributing writer
Published: February, 27 2010

Nationally, salaries for healthcare and nursing informatics specialists are dependent on educational level, professional experience, and geographical location.  Professionals on the high end of wage scale, such as registered nurses and nursing informatics specialists, earned a median annual salary of $62,450 in 2008 (bls.gov).  Health information technicians, who occupy the low end of the informatics wage scale according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov), earned a median annual wage of $30,610 in 2008.

The bureau’s 2008 data for South Carolina indicate informatics salaries are slightly below national averages.  A health information technician’s annual median salary was approximately $30,840.  The nursing informatics salary in South Carolina, included by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as part of the registered nurse occupational specialty, averaged $57,610 in 2008 (bls.gov).  According to the definitive job search site indeed.com, salaries for both specialties have risen since the bureau published its data.  South Carolina nursing informatics salary statistics for the state’s largest cities are (indeed.com):  

• $62,000 - Charleston
• $54,000 – Columbia            
• $57,000 – Greenville
• $75,000 – Myrtle Beach

Healthcare technician salaries in South Carolina have also increased (indeed.com):

• $41,000 - Charleston
• $36,000 – Columbia            
• $37,000 – Greenville
• $49,000 – Myrtle Beach

These examples illustrate the value of advanced degrees and certifications for South Carolina informatics professionals.  While earnings are up at both the high and low end of  informatics wage scale, individuals near the top, like highly educated nursing informatics specialists, have a yearly compensation rate of 51% more than the less educated healthcare technicians.