Public health dietitian vs community dietitian

The differences between public health dietitians 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 public health dietitian and a community dietitian. Additionally, a community dietitian has an average salary of $61,786, which is higher than the $60,855 average annual salary of a public health dietitian.

The top three skills for a public health dietitian include public health, patients and wic program. The most important skills for a community dietitian are medical nutrition, health education, and heart disease.

Public health dietitian vs community dietitian overview

	Public Health Dietitian	Community Dietitian
Yearly salary	$60,855	$61,786
Hourly rate	$29.26	$29.70
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	66,512	16,585
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	2	2

Public health dietitian vs community dietitian salary

Public health dietitians and community dietitians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Health Dietitian	Community Dietitian
Average salary	$60,855	$61,786
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $116,000	Between $30,000 And $123,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	Amazon	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between public health dietitian and community dietitian education

There are a few differences between a public health dietitian and a community dietitian in terms of educational background:

	Public Health Dietitian	Community Dietitian
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Dietetics	Dietetics
Most common college	University of Maryland - College Park	University of Maryland - College Park

Public health dietitian vs community dietitian demographics

Here are the differences between public health dietitians' and community dietitians' demographics:

	Public Health Dietitian	Community Dietitian
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 5.1% Female, 94.9%	Male, 4.1% Female, 95.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 9.2% White, 65.2% 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 Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between public health dietitian and community dietitian duties and responsibilities

Public health dietitian example responsibilities.

Manage the anemia status of patients by reviewing necessary lab data and initiating or adjusting medication doses.
Partner with certify diabetes educator on consulting gestational diabetic patients on glucose monitors and diabetic eating guidelines.
Provide diabetes education to community groups.
Implement and develop diabetes information newsletters.
Provide medical nutrition therapy for medically high risk patients.
Write quarterly project newsletters, create tools need to properly assess for obesity causing behaviors and develop educationmaterials as needed.

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.

Public health dietitian vs community dietitian skills

Common public health dietitian skills

Public Health, 28%
Patients, 15%
WIC Program, 7%
Nutrition Services, 5%
Medical Nutrition Therapy, 5%
Community Nutrition, 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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Public Health Dietitian
Public Health Dietitian vs Community Dietitian

Updated January 8, 2025

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