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Nutrition counselor vs community dietitian

The differences between nutrition counselors and community dietitians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a nutrition counselor and a community dietitian. Additionally, a community dietitian has an average salary of $61,786, which is higher than the $49,744 average annual salary of a nutrition counselor.

The top three skills for a nutrition counselor include patients, counsel clients and blood pressure. The most important skills for a community dietitian are medical nutrition, health education, and heart disease.

Nutrition counselor vs community dietitian overview

Nutrition CounselorCommunity Dietitian
Yearly salary$49,744$61,786
Hourly rate$23.92$29.70
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs34,10516,585
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Nutrition counselor vs community dietitian salary

Nutrition counselors and community dietitians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Nutrition CounselorCommunity Dietitian
Average salary$49,744$61,786
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $82,000Between $30,000 And $123,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between nutrition counselor and community dietitian education

There are a few differences between a nutrition counselor and a community dietitian in terms of educational background:

Nutrition CounselorCommunity Dietitian
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common majorDieteticsDietetics
Most common collegePurdue UniversityUniversity of Maryland - College Park

Nutrition counselor vs community dietitian demographics

Here are the differences between nutrition counselors' and community dietitians' demographics:

Nutrition CounselorCommunity Dietitian
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 14.2% Female, 85.8%Male, 4.1% Female, 95.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 8.8% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 9.0% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between nutrition counselor and community dietitian duties and responsibilities

Nutrition counselor example responsibilities.

  • Provide ambulatory care to all outpatients including, diabetics, pediatric, allergy / GI issues, weight loss.
  • Take measurements for BMI as needed.
  • Assist and develop custom/specialized menus for participants who require meal accommodations due to allergies, intolerances, or medical conditions.
  • Assist in clinical inpatient setting as needed, where TPN consultations are frequently perform.

Community dietitian example responsibilities.

  • Manage the anemia status of patients by reviewing necessary lab data and initiating or adjusting medication doses.
  • Provide nutrition education and diet counseling to WIC participants, groups and individuals.
  • Provide basic nutrition education to WIC patients and teach nutrition classes in this rural community.
  • Monitor patients' nutrition status, laboratory values, diet tolerance, and motivate them to adhere to dietary/medications recommendations.
  • Provide individualized nutrition consultations for sports nutrition, weight-loss, diabetes, hypertension and hormonal changes.

Nutrition counselor vs community dietitian skills

Common nutrition counselor skills
  • Patients, 29%
  • Counsel Clients, 8%
  • Blood Pressure, 6%
  • Weight Management, 5%
  • Diabetes Management, 4%
  • Eating Disorders, 4%
Common community dietitian skills
  • Medical Nutrition, 17%
  • Health Education, 7%
  • Heart Disease, 6%
  • Community Health, 5%
  • Disease Management, 5%
  • Eating Disorders, 5%

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