Pathologist vs coroner

The differences between pathologists and coroners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a pathologist, becoming a coroner takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a pathologist has an average salary of $61,808, which is higher than the $53,616 average annual salary of a coroner.

The top three skills for a pathologist include patients, patient care and diagnosis. The most important skills for a coroner are law enforcement agencies, death investigations, and physical evidence.

Pathologist vs coroner overview

	Pathologist	Coroner
Yearly salary	$61,808	$53,616
Hourly rate	$29.72	$25.78
Growth rate	7%	16%
Number of jobs	20,340	111
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	48	46
Years of experience	6	2

Pathologist vs coroner salary

Pathologists and coroners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pathologist	Coroner
Average salary	$61,808	$53,616
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $148,000	Between $26,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	Anchorage, AK	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	UT Medical Group, Inc.	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between pathologist and coroner education

There are a few differences between a pathologist and a coroner in terms of educational background:

	Pathologist	Coroner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Physiology And Anatomy	Criminal Justice
Most common college	Stanford University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Pathologist vs coroner demographics

Here are the differences between pathologists' and coroners' demographics:

	Pathologist	Coroner
Average age	48	46
Gender ratio	Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3%	Male, 51.4% Female, 48.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 20.4% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 8.1% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	13%	12%

Differences between pathologist and coroner duties and responsibilities

Pathologist example responsibilities.

Supervise and manage pathology, microbiology and biochemistry laboratory.
Provide consultations to care providers and interpret laboratory findings and diagnosis to patients.
Screen by ELISA & immunoblots.
Result in answering an FDA concern regarding device.
Participate in FDA submissions, plan 510k and PMA submissions.
Perform oncology markers and hormonal assays by Elisa and Delfia system.

Coroner example responsibilities.

Perform DNA extraction, quantitation and PCR amplification
Perform in-depth forensic analysis of Macintosh computer hard drives and prepare expert report for use in ongoing litigation.
Upload to and compare candidate match profiles using the CODIS system.
Perform frozen sectioning for in-surgical consultation.

Pathologist vs coroner skills

Common pathologist skills

Patients, 31%
Patient Care, 11%
Diagnosis, 8%
GI, 4%
GYN, 4%
Frozen Sections, 3%

Common coroner skills

Law Enforcement Agencies, 37%
Death Investigations, 37%
Physical Evidence, 18%
Death Scenes, 6%
Death Certificates, 2%

Pathologist vs. similar jobs

Pathologist related careers

Pathologist related jobs

What similar roles do

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Pathologist vs Coroner

Updated January 8, 2025

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