Utilization Management Specialist salary: $58.40/hr$2,336/wk$121,472/yr median.
Pay range $32.86$1,314$68,349–$70.66/hr$2,826/wk$146,973/yr across the middle 50% of active Non-Clinical Clinical Operations postings nationwide.
18 unique employers · 20 cities · 12 states. Pay moved -56.8% over the last 30 days.
How Utilization Management Specialist pay is distributed.
10% of postings pay under $27.80/hr$1,112/wk$57,824/yr. The top 10% pay above $81.09/hr$3,244/wk$168,667/yr.
How Utilization Management Specialist pay has moved month over month.
Median pay moved from $32.86 in Nov 2025 to $28.50 in Apr 2026 (-13.3%). Bars show monthly posting volume; the line tracks the posting-weighted median.
| Month | Median /hr/wk/yr | P25–P75 | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | $32.86$1,314$68,349 | $32.86$1,314$68,349–$33.29$1,332$69,243 | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | $70.78$2,831$147,222 | $70.28$2,811$146,182–$70.78$2,831$147,222 | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | $52.09$2,084$108,347 | $46.80$1,872$97,344–$61.19$2,448$127,275 | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | $77.09$3,084$160,347 | $70.41$2,816$146,453–$83.89$3,356$174,491 | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | $65.95$2,638$137,176 | $63.05$2,522$131,144–$66.45$2,658$138,216 | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | $28.50$1,140$59,280 | $19.50$780$40,560–$29.75$1,190$61,880 | 7 |
Utilization Management Specialist pay across every state with live data.
Showing all 2 states with live data. Bars scale to the highest-paying state.
Where the top of the market is paying for Utilization Management Specialist.
| Employer | Median /hr/wk/yr | Range | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| idr healthcare | $70.53$2,821$146,702 | $70.28$2,811$146,182–$71.60$2,864$148,928 | 8 |
| kaiser permanente | $32.86$1,314$68,349 | $32.86$1,314$68,349–$52.09$2,084$108,347 | 5 |
Showing all 2 employers with live pay data.
How Utilization Management Specialist pay shifts by schedule and contract type.
Travel Contract pays the most at $70.53/hr$2,821/wk$146,702/yr median — 137% above Fulltime at $29.75/hr$1,190/wk$61,880/yr.
How to become a Utilization Management Specialist.
Clinical operations professionals run the non-clinician side of how care actually gets delivered — research operations, clinical trials coordination, regulatory affairs, EHR build and optimization, clinical project management, quality and accreditation, and process improvement. The category spans research coordinators, clinical project managers, informaticists, quality analysts, and accreditation specialists. Most roles draw from a mix of a science or clinical background plus operational training.
Three common entry routes. Research operations: bachelor's in life sciences → clinical research coordinator role (CRC-I) → ACRP/SOCRA certification → senior CRC or project manager. Quality / accreditation: clinical background (RN or other) → quality analyst role → CPHQ certification → manager / director. Informatics: clinical or IT background → analyst role on the EHR team → application analyst certification (Epic, Cerner) → lead / informaticist.
| Degree | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's in life sciences, nursing, or healthcare adminBS / BA / BSN | 4 years | Common starting point. Life science background helps for research operations; clinical background helps for quality, accreditation, and informatics. |
| Master of Health Administration / Public HealthMHA / MPH | 2 years | Standard credential for operations leadership tracks (quality, accreditation, performance improvement). |
| Master in Clinical Research / RegulatoryMSCR / MS Reg | 1-2 years | Specialty master's for clinical trials, regulatory affairs, and research operations roles in hospital research offices and industry. |
| Nursing informatics master'sMSN-INF | 2 years post-BSN | Required for senior nurse informaticist and EHR optimization roles. Pairs nursing clinical experience with informatics methodology. |
Clinical operations is largely an unlicensed field. Clinical research coordinators, informaticists, quality analysts, and accreditation specialists are credentialed through professional certifications rather than state licensure.
| Credential | Issued by | Pay impact |
|---|---|---|
| CCRC / CCRP Certified Clinical Research Coordinator / Professional Industry standard for clinical research professionals. Required by most research-intensive academic medical centers and CROs. | ACRP / SOCRA | +5-15% |
| CPHQ Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality Standard quality / patient safety credential. Common for quality analyst, accreditation specialist, and performance improvement roles. | NAHQ | +5-15% |
| Epic / Cerner application certification Epic application or Cerner Millennium certification Application-specific certifications (Epic Willow, Cadence, ASAP, Cerner Millennium PowerChart, etc.) materially increase pay and job options for informaticists and analysts. | Epic / Oracle Cerner | +10-20% |
| PMP / Lean / Six Sigma Project Management / Lean / Six Sigma credentials Cross-industry credentials that translate well into clinical project management, process improvement, and accreditation work. | PMI / ASQ | +5-15% |
| RAC Regulatory Affairs Certification Standard credential for regulatory affairs professionals in medical device, pharma, and biologics. | RAPS | +10-20% |
- 0-3 yearsResearch / Operations Coordinator
Entry role on a research, quality, or EHR team. CRC-I in research, junior analyst in quality, or application analyst trainee in IT.
- 3-6 yearsSenior Coordinator / Analyst
Holds the specialty credential (CCRC, CPHQ, Epic certification). Independent ownership of trials, dashboards, or EHR modules.
- 6-10 yearsLead / Specialist
Specialty lead within a service line — clinical trials manager, quality lead, regulatory affairs specialist, or informatics lead.
- 10-15 yearsManager / Program Director
Owns operations, staffing, and budget for a clinical operations function. Common credentials: PMP, CPHQ, MHA.
- 15+ yearsDirector / Senior Director of Clinical Operations
Multi-program oversight. Often a stepping stone into VP roles in research, quality, regulatory, or informatics.
Schedule. Standard business hours dominate. Survey readiness, EHR go-lives, and trial-start activations can require extended hours. Many roles (especially informatics and research coordination) offer significant remote / hybrid flexibility.
Physical demands. Largely seated, screen-heavy work. Some hospital-based research coordination involves patient contact for consent and trial visits.
Healthcare operations roles benefit from sustained investment in research throughput, EHR optimization, value-based-care reporting, and quality / accreditation programs. Informatics demand is particularly strong as health systems consolidate and modernize their EHRs.
What clinicians ask about Utilization Management Specialist pay.
What is the average Utilization Management Specialist salary in 2026?
The median Utilization Management Specialist salary is $58.40/hr (approximately $121,472/yr) based on 30 active job postings.
What is the pay range for Utilization Management Specialist?
Hourly pay ranges from $32.86 at the 25th percentile to $70.66 at the 75th percentile, with the top 10% earning above $81.09/hr.
Which state pays Utilization Management Specialist roles the most?
Alabama currently leads with a median of $52.44/hr across 0 postings.
How many employers are hiring Utilization Management Specialists?
Our dataset shows 18 unique employers posting Utilization Management Specialist roles across 12 states.
Where does TrueRounds get Utilization Management Specialist salary data?
All salary figures are computed from active US healthcare job postings with listed pay ranges, collected over a rolling 180-day window and weighted by posting volume.
Explore other Clinical Operations tracks.
Utilization Management Specialist sits inside the Non-Clinical track. Here are sibling tracks across Clinical Operations — same category, different clinical focus and pay envelope.
Active US healthcare postings. Weighted by volume. Refreshed daily.
Pay benchmarks are computed from active job postings with listed pay ranges, collected on a rolling 180-day window. Each role's percentiles are weighted by posting volume so a metro with two postings doesn't outweigh a metro with two hundred. Outliers (postings priced more than 4× the role median) are dropped to avoid contract-line distortion.
Use the data, then push back.
Bring these numbers into your next contract conversation. Recruiters know what the market pays — now you do too.