Facts

• When the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzed the salaries of dietitians across the country in 2009, it determined the yearly salary for the profession as $53,230. The BLS also identified several industries in which dietitians received higher-than-average yearly salaries. At the top of the list were consulting services, paying $75,100 per year. The federal executive branch of the government also paid higher salaries of $68,390, followed by home healthcare services at $62,050.
  
  

Range

• No single pattern emerged from the states paying the highest salaries for dietitians in 2009. Maryland topped the BLS' list, with annual salaries of $64,600. In second place was Nevada, at $63,860, closely followed by California, at $63,610. Hawaii placed fourth with yearly dietitian salaries of $62,750, trailed by Connecticut with an above-average $61,750 per year.
  
  

Considerations

• Earning a salary as a dietitian requires considerably more than just knowing "bad" foods from "good." Dietitians follow a postsecondary path of education, starting with a bachelor's degree in dietetics, nutrition or a related area. Master's degrees and doctoral programs are available. The American Dietetic Association's Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education accredits more than 30 programs at schools such as Loma Linda University, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Dakota and Marywood University. Most states require some sort of license or certification for dietitians.
  
  

Outlook

• The BLS projects a 9 percent increase in employment of dietitians through 2018, adding 5,600 jobs to the field. Although the bureau rates this as average growth, the department expects increased demand for dietitians to come from the general public's growing awareness of the importance of food and nutrition, along with the aging population's reliance on dietitians for disease prevention.