Health data analyst education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a health data analyst. Health data analysts usually study business, health care administration, or psychology. 60% of health data analysts hold a bachelor's degree, and 22% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 483 real health data analyst resumes to see exactly what health data analyst education sections show.

The most common colleges for health data analysts are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online health data analyst courses to help get the education required to be a health data analyst.

What education do you need to become a health data analyst?

What degree do you need to be a health data analyst?

The most common degree for health data analysts is bachelor's degree, with 60% of health data analysts earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 22% and master's degree degree at 9%.

Bachelor's, 60%

Master's, 22%

Associate, 9%

Doctorate, 4%

Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a health data analyst?

You should major in business to become a health data analyst. 13% of health data analysts major in business. Other common majors for a health data analyst include health care administration and psychology.

Business, 13%

Health Care Administration, 13%

Psychology, 8%

Public Health, 7%

Other Majors, 59%

Most common colleges for health data analysts

Health data analysts often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Boston University, and Vanderbilt University. Here are the most common colleges for health data analysts in the US based on their resumes.

Health data analyst common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	7.89%
Boston University	6.58%
Vanderbilt University	6.58%
Eastern Kentucky University	6.58%
Texas State University	5.26%

Show more common health data analyst colleges

Best majors for health data analysts

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	12.5%
2	Health Care Administration	12.5%
3	Psychology	7.9%
4	Public Health	6.7%
5	Biology	6.3%

Show more common health data analyst majors

Best colleges for health data analysts

The best colleges for health data analysts are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Harvard University.

A health data analyst with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for health data analysts. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become health data analysts.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

5. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

6. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,230

Enrollment

12,161

7. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

8. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$53,909

Enrollment

6,348

9. University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$50,226

Enrollment

10,873

10. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

20 best online courses for health data analysts

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1. Data Analysis Immersive (Full-time)

Learn to problem solve, and effectively communicate, like an analyst. This course teaches you to use industry-standard tools to make ethical, data-driven decisions. Experience hands-on training to master SQL, Excel, Tableau, PowerBI, and Python – tools listed in virtually every data analytics job posting across industries...

2. Data Analytics (Part Time)

Harness Excel, SQL, and Tableau to drive powerful analysis and insights. Build confidence and credibility to apply this versatile skill set to countless jobs. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

3. Data Analyst

Use Python, SQL and Statistics to advance your programming skills and refine your ability to work with messy, complex datasets...

4. Data Structures and Algorithms

Get hands-on practice with over 80 data structures and algorithm exercises and guidance from a dedicated mentor to help prepare you for interviews and on-the-job scenarios...

5. Data and Health Indicators in Public Health Practice

Epidemiology is often described as the cornerstone science in public health. Epidemiology in public health practice uses study design and analyses to identify causes in an outbreak situation, guides interventions to improve population health, and evaluates programs and policies. In this course, we'll define the role of the professional epidemiologist as it relates to public health services, functions, and competencies. With that foundation in mind, we'll introduce you to the problem solving...

6. Introduction to Statistics & Data Analysis in Public Health

Welcome to Introduction to Statistics & Data Analysis in Public Health! This course will teach you the core building blocks of statistical analysis - types of variables, common distributions, hypothesis testing - but, more than that, it will enable you to take a data set you've never seen before, describe its keys features, get to know its strengths and quirks, run some vital basic analyses and then formulate and test hypotheses based on means and proportions. You'll then have a solid grounding...

7. Health Data 101

4.4

(1,787)

An Introduction to Health Data for data analysts...

8. Data Science for Healthcare Claims Data

4.4

(489)

Learn and practice how to transform raw healthcare claims data into valuable knowledge and actionable insights!...

9. Intro to Data Analytics

Discover if data is a career fit for you Regardless of your industry or role, fluency in the language of data analytics will allow you to contribute to data driven decision making. In this free, two-hour livestream, you’ll learn to understand, analyze, and interpret data so you too can join the data conversation. We’ll cover how to ask the right questions of your data and basic analytic functionality. Then you’ll apply your new found data analytic skills to a real-world dataset, allowing you...

10. Data Visualization

You will start by building data visualizations and dashboards, considering your audiences to be as effective as possible. Then, you’ll move into drafting presentations using storytelling techniques, visualizations, and animations to provide data-driven recommendations...

11. Intro to Data Analysis

Start your data science journey right with this hands-on introduction to the discipline of data analysis. In this course you'll learn the 5 key stages of the data analysis process and apply them to real data sets using Python libraries NumPy, pandas, and Matplotlib...

12. Healthcare Data Literacy

This course will help lay the foundation of your healthcare data journey and provide you with knowledge and skills necessary to work in the healthcare industry as a data scientist. Healthcare is unique because it is associated with continually evolving and complex processes associated with health management and medical care. We'll learn about the many facets to consider in healthcare and determine the value and growing need for data analysts in healthcare. We'll learn about the Triple Aim and...

13. Data Science for Health Research

In Data Science for Health Research, learn to organize and visualize health data using statistical analysis in programs like R. Explore how to translate data, interpret statistical models, and predict outcomes to help make data-informed decisions within the public health field...

14. The Data Analyst Course: Complete Data Analyst Bootcamp

4.5

(11,857)

Complete Data Analyst Training: Python, Num Py, Pandas, Data Collection, Preprocessing, Data Types, Data Visualization...

15. Practical SQL Bootcamp for Data Analysts and Data Scientists

4.6

(1,147)

Master One of the Most In-Demand Skills for Data Analysts in 2020!...

16. Data Visualization

Discover how data visualization can communicate insights far more effectively than text or tables. In this course, you’ll learn how to build data visualizations programmatically using Python, and how you can use visualization to both discover and convey trends in your data...

17. Experimental Design & Recommendations

Learn two of the most in-demand skills in the entire field of data science! By the end of this course, you’ll know how to generate personalized recommendations based on user data, as well as run statistically valid tests that produce clean, interpretable results...

18. Data Warehouse Development Process

4.3

(790)

Specific aspects of Data Warehouse Development Process...

19. Statistics / Data Analysis: Survey Data and Likert Scales

4.6

(505)

How to Process Survey Data and Analyze Likert Scales In SPSS...

20. Data Science:Data Mining & Natural Language Processing in R

4.7

(387)

Harness the Power of Machine Learning in R for Data/Text Mining, & Natural Language Processing with Practical Examples...

Top 10 most affordable universities for health data analysts

The most affordable schools for health data analysts are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for health data analysts are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for health data analysts.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

6. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

7. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

8. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

9. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

10. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for health data analysts

The hardest universities for health data analysts to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Harvard University.

Some great schools for health data analysts are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for health data analysts based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,520

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

5. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

7. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,512

8. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

9. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

10. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for health data analysts

The easiest schools for health data analysts to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, felician university, and barry university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a health data analyst without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for health data analysts.

1. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

2. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

3. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

4. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

5. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

6. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

7. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

8. University of Baltimore

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,020

9. University of North Texas at Dallas

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

992

10. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

Average health data analyst salary by education level

According to our data, health data analysts with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $76,749 annually. Health data analysts with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $73,482.

Health data analyst education level	Health data analyst salary
Master's Degree	$73,482
Bachelor's Degree	$67,951
Doctorate Degree	$76,749

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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