The Highest Paying Dietitian Jobs: An Overview of RD Salaries
What are the highest-paying dietitian jobs? While the average dietitian salary has been creeping up, dietitians are still some of the lowest-paid professionals in allied healthcare. However, the earning potential for registered dietitians is truly vast and there are many variables that determine salary.
Before we dive into the top-paying career options for registered dietitians, let’s first dive into the average salary for RDs.
What is the average salary for registered dietitians?
This is a difficult question to answer without a lot of nuance, but we’ll share two numbers to start.
Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics Compensation & Benefits Survey
According to the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, the median salary for all dietitians was $79,998 or $37.98/hr in 2024.
Remember, this number is a median and reflects dietitians who live in both high-cost-of-living areas as well as those in low-cost-of-living areas. It also reflects the salaries of dietitians in all industries as well as those with no experience and those with 30+ years of experience.
The AND Compensation and Benefits report is only released every few years. The last median was $69,992 or $33.65/hr in 2021.
Bureau of Labor & Statistics
We also have annual data from the Bureau of Labor & Statistics. According to the BLS, the median salary for dietitians and nutritionists was $69.680 in 2023.
This number is lower, likely because it includes uncredentialed nutritionists and it likely underrepresents dietitians who work as consultants or who own their own business.
Now that we know the median salary, let’s look at some of the dietitian roles with the highest earning potential. This information will all be according to the data from the AND Compensation & Benefits Report.
Nutrition Professor
The highest-paid registered dietitians are Professors. This statistic actually surprised me as a lot of assistant professors and associate professors complain about poor pay. This was certainly the case when I worked in academia.
However, tenured professors with a PhD have a very high earning potential. According to the AND survey data, professors earned an average of $68.75/hr or $143,000 with the high end (>90th percentile) being around $190k.
Universities also tend to offer excellent benefits with lower health insurance premiums, excellent 401k plans, and some even still offer pension plans.
Food Service Manager, Clinical Nutrition Manager and School Foodservice Director
It probably comes as no surprise that dietitians in management-level positions have some of the highest salaries amongst dietitians. Those in executive-level positions at larger corporations reported a median earning of $61/hr ($126,880).
Those in Director roles for Food & Nutrition Services as well as Clinical Nutrition earned a median salary of ~$50/hr ($104,000).
Clinical Nutrition Managers and School Foodservice Directors were a little lower, averaging $44/hr and $45/hr respectively (~$93,600).
It isn’t surprising that these roles are some of the highest-paid dietitian positions. They typically involve managing a team, a budget, and often include working long hours.
Sales Representative
Dietitians working in sales reported a median salary of $45/hr or $93,600 a year. This is the base salary and doesn’t include commissions or bonuses.
Dietitians can work in sales for formula companies, software/tech products, supplements or durable medical supplies.
Bonuses are based on company goals as well as individual sales performance and can add a substantial amount to take-home pay. Most of my colleagues in this field state that the pay is VERY good if the company is doing well.
Corporate Dietitians
RDs working in the corporate setting are high earners in the field. Dietitians in this setting typically manage a corporate wellness program or can be responsible for corporate programming, marketing, or initiatives. Dietitians in the space are often employed by large companies and corporations (think along the lines of tech companies and companies with a national presence).
The median salary for dietitians in this role was $46.03/hr or $95,742.
Private Practice Dietitians & Consultants
The self-reported pay rate for consultants was on par with other higher-paying dietitian roles. Consultants reported an average hourly rate of $46.20/hr. However, keep in mind that most consultants are self-employed and do not receive benefits.
According to the AND report, dietitians in patient-facing private practice roles reported a median salary of $37.15/hr. This is right on par with the median income for all dietitians.
This was surprising to me as a lot of dietitian business coaches and private practice dietitians boast making over 6-figures a year. The earning potential is likely there, however when you factor in all private practice RDs, it makes sense that some are doing amazingly well and some are earning an average income.
Clinical Dietitian- Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist
Of those dietitians working in the clinical space, those with the CDCES credential reported the highest median pay. RDs in this specialty area report a median hourly wage of $41.48/hr or total compensation of $88,500/yr. Those at the highest end, reported making more than $127k annually.
I found this to be one of the most encouraging statistics from the AND Compensation Report. If you’re a clinical dietitian looking to specialize, becoming a diabetes educator could be a great investment!
Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics
Becoming a CSSD (Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) is another specialty certification that pays off. Dietitians in this space reported an average salary of $46.53/hr, a median cash compensation of $100,300. Those in the 90%ile reported incomes over $211k/year!
Unfortunately, the AND report provides no additional information about what industry these dietitians work in. I would presume that many are working in private practice and many are consultants for professional and semi-professional teams. Others might work for larger companies that have a vested interested in sports nutrition such as Gatorade.
Dietitians with a Doctoral Degree
Across all industries, dietitians with a doctoral degree (PhD) are well paid with a median salary of $131k reported. However, the sample size was also quite small (35 RDs).
Dietitians with a PhD typically work in academia or research-based positions for companies or non-governmental organizations.
Given how few dietitians go on to receive their PhD, it’s not surprising that dietitians with this background command high salaries.
Nutrition Informatics Specialist/Analyst
Dietitians working in the emerging field of nutrition informatics report an average pay of $43.35/hr or ~$90k. Foodservice companies like Computrition, MyDining and Morrison and Electronic Medical Record companies such as Epic and Cerner hire dietitians in this space for a variety of roles. Dietitians might help with menu and food input and analysis and analyzing data for cost-saving opportunities. RDs may also help with the system rollout of new EMRs or fine-tuning EMR performance.
Dietitians in informatics can also analyze population or local health data and report trends to various health officials and organizations.
Other High-Paying Dietitian Roles
The above job titles and areas are not the only possibilities for high-paying dietitian roles. There are dietitians working in all areas and industries that may not be accurately reflected in the AND Compensation Report.
Dietitians in media, course development, and content creation often boast about 6-figure incomes. There are dietitian business coaches that are making 7-figure incomes. However, it can be challenging to know if these dietitians are reporting gross revenue (ie. not factoring in expenses) or if they are reporting their personal income.
There are dietitians working as consultants for long-term care facilities clearing $100k/year. There are also dietitians working in the space of regulations and regulatory compliance that are making well over $100k.
If you’re looking for more ideas on high-paying RD roles, check out dietitiansalaries.com. This new initiative seeks to be another resource for salary research.
At the time of publication of this article, the top-paying roles for those who aren’t self-employed included:
· Chief Executive Officer- RD- $240,000
· Vice President of Scientific Affairs- $238,00
· Senior Software Engineer- $220,000
· Research Assistant Nutritionist- $200,000
· Field Access Lead (Sales)- $200,000
· Vice President- Medical Sciences (EN/PN)- $185,000
· Senior Director, Research & Development- $183,000
· Project Manager- $172,000
· Associate Chief of Clinical Nutrition- $172,000
This is just a selection of the top-paying RD roles, but as you can see, many involve sales, research or management.
How Can You Land a High-Paying RD Role?
There are a lot of different opportunities to land a high-paying dietitian role. One of the most important things that you can do is negotiate your salary (check out our blog with tips). And unfortunately, it is also true that changing jobs can be one of the best ways to land a pay increase.
Apart from that, mapping out a career plan is a helpful strategy. I guarantee that most of the RDs in high-paying roles have many years of experience. They did not start at the top.
Finally, if you are interested in pursuing a graduate degree, a specialty degree is going to be more beneficial than a MS in Nutrition. I recommend an MBA, a degree in marketing/communications, healthcare administration, health informatics, food science or a graduate degree with a strong focus in research design.
Growing areas in the field of dietetics including tech, informatics, regulatory compliance, nutrition communications, and project management.
Conclusion
The landscape for dietitian careers is far from one-size-fits-all, with a wide range of high-paying options available to those who are willing to explore different pathways, gain specialized experience, and take on leadership roles.
While reaching the top levels may require years of dedication, strategic career planning, continuous learning, and effective networking can make a substantial difference.
Remember, the journey to a high-paying role isn’t a sprint—it’s a marathon of skill-building, adaptability, and often, strategic job changes. Take the time to define your career goals, seek out mentors, and don’t shy away from negotiating for what you’re worth. Whether you're just starting or considering a transition, there’s a high-earning dietitian role out there for you!
About the Author
Kelan Sarnoff, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian with over 10 years of experience in the nutrition realm. She has experience in hiring and recruitment in both the clinical and academic settings. Kelan is passionate about helping dietitians land a job that aligns with their passion, values, and skills. She also believes in raising the pay for all dietitians and empowering dietitians to negotiate for desired compensation.
