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How to Become a Health Unit Coordinator: Education & Licensing

Discover what you’ll do in a health unit coordinator career.

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Home » Specialties » Health Unit Coordinator

Health Unit Coordinator: Fast Facts

  • What you’ll do: You’ll handle everything from maintaining patient charts and scheduling diagnostic tests to ordering supplies and transcribing doctor’s orders. You’ll also receive new patients and give information and directions to visitors. Because you’ll serve as an important link between departments, physicians, nursing staff and patients and their visitors, you’ll need to have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Where you’ll work: Hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, public health care agencies, nursing homes
  • Degree you’ll need: High school diploma plus 6-month to 1-year certificate or diploma program
  • Median annual salary: $38,500
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Health Unit Coordinator Training

In addition to having your GED or high school diploma, you’ll need to complete a unit coordinator program, usually a 6-month to 1-year certificate or diploma program. In the training programs, students receive a combination of classroom and clinical training. You’ll learn clerical skills, medical terminology, hospital organization, legal and ethical responsibilities, and transcription of doctors’ orders.

HUC Salaries by State

Compare median annual health unit coordinator salary figures by state, as classified under medical secretaries.

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

National data

Median Salary: $38,500

Projected job growth: 6.7%

10th Percentile: $30,230

25th Percentile: $35,240

75th Percentile: $46,550

90th Percentile: $55,620

Projected job growth: 6.7%

State data

State Median Salary Bottom 10% Top 10%
Alabama $37,080 $27,810 $50,310
Alaska $45,220 $33,170 $57,480
Arizona $38,900 $33,260 $47,950
Arkansas $33,870 $27,040 $46,290
California $45,760 $34,350 $65,420
Colorado $38,920 $30,690 $49,590
Connecticut $46,230 $36,560 $58,930
Delaware $37,950 $30,640 $50,960
District of Columbia $47,140 $37,380 $72,170
Florida $36,710 $29,470 $46,960
Georgia $36,500 $29,050 $49,160
Hawaii $42,110 $33,910 $52,880
Idaho $36,770 $27,640 $47,850
Illinois $39,010 $32,020 $48,710
Indiana $37,230 $29,900 $48,670
Iowa $36,600 $28,660 $48,280
Kansas $36,950 $28,920 $48,650
Kentucky $35,220 $27,440 $45,260
Louisiana $34,390 $27,020 $44,510
Maine $39,830 $32,430 $51,620
Maryland $40,210 $31,520 $51,950
Massachusetts $47,100 $37,800 $60,690
Michigan $37,730 $30,380 $46,430
Minnesota $46,190 $38,070 $57,900
Mississippi $31,600 $23,450 $46,300
Missouri $36,680 $29,310 $48,530
Montana $36,100 $29,620 $46,220
Nebraska $37,750 $30,810 $47,060
Nevada $37,440 $30,700 $52,010
New Hampshire $40,710 $34,850 $52,600
New Jersey $45,650 $36,070 $55,650
New Mexico $36,880 $29,810 $46,920
New York $45,240 $33,370 $58,880
North Carolina $37,640 $30,100 $46,900
North Dakota $38,630 $30,520 $49,490
Ohio $37,750 $30,360 $46,950
Oklahoma $35,990 $27,040 $47,760
Oregon $46,270 $35,750 $58,940
Pennsylvania $37,120 $29,780 $47,600
Rhode Island $44,650 $36,770 $54,930
South Carolina $36,360 $29,290 $48,480
South Dakota $39,540 $34,930 $46,550
Tennessee $35,540 $28,180 $46,660
Texas $36,940 $27,880 $48,670
Utah $36,640 $29,250 $49,280
Vermont $38,490 $35,460 $58,910
Virginia $39,410 $29,990 $56,710
Washington $47,990 $38,170 $61,030
West Virginia $35,440 $28,590 $45,720
Wisconsin $39,590 $35,360 $48,480
Wyoming $37,650 $30,920 $49,370

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2022 median salary; projected job growth through 2032. Actual salaries may vary depending on location, level of education, years of experience, work environment, and other factors. Salaries may differ even more for those who are self-employed or work part time.

Health Unit Coordinator Licensure

National certification is optional, but some employers may require it. After you graduate from an accredited unit coordinator program, you’ll qualify to sit for the National Health Unit Coordinator Certification Examination (NHUCCE). Successful completion results in the title of Certified Health Unit Coordinator (CHUC).

Where are the Majority of Health Unit Coordinators Employed?

The BLS says the cites and metropolitan areas with the highest levels of employment are as follows.

Metropolitan Areas Employment
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 37,720
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 34,440
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 21,720
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 18,010
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 17,850
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 17,470
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 13,000
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 12,960
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 12,360
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 11,970