Interviewers Salary

Bureau of Labor Statistics title: Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan

The median interviewers salary in the United States is $45,920 per year ($22.08/hour). Salaries range from $33,900 at the entry level to $62,810+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 148,060 interviewers jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to decline 11.6% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$45,920
per year
Hourly Rate
$22.08
per hour
Employment
148,060
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$33,900
25th percentile
$38,330
Median
$45,920
75th percentile
$53,090
90th percentile
$62,810

Job Growth (2024-2034)

-11.6%
Decline

Annual Openings

15,800
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

High school diploma or equivalent

Training Needed

Short-term on-the-job training

Interviewers Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for interviewerss.

Interviewers (except eligibility and loan) sit across three distinct hiring pockets: hospital patient intake / admitting registrars, survey and market research interviewers at firms like NORC and Westat, and insurance intake coordinators at carriers like Aetna and Cigna. BLS pegs the occupation at 148,060 employed with median $45,920, p10 $33,900, and p90 $62,810. Entry pay is $33-40k in hospital and research intake; established registrars and Sr survey interviewers land $42-52k; team leads and bilingual senior interviewers in metro markets push $55-63k. The role is high-volume, HIPAA- and IRB-adjacent, and screens hard for accuracy, empathy, and script fidelity.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Structured interviewing & script fidelity
Follow CATI/CAPI or intake scripts verbatim without leading the respondent β€” survey validity at NORC, Westat, and RTI depends on it. Registrars at HCA and Kaiser follow admitting scripts that gate downstream billing.
Data entry accuracy at 8,000-12,000 keystrokes/hour
Most intake and survey systems (Epic ADT, Cerner Registration, Blaise, Voxco) score keystroke accuracy above 98%. Errors on payer ID, DOB, or MRN cause claim denials that cost employers real money.
HIPAA, IRB, and consent handling
Patient intake staff are covered entities under HIPAA; survey interviewers on federally funded studies work under IRB-approved consent scripts. Both screen hard for confidentiality mistakes in the interview.
De-escalation & empathetic listening
Emergency-department registrars at HCA and Ascension take intake from patients in acute distress; survey interviewers on sensitive topics (drug use, mental health, income) handle refusals daily. Reading tone and pacing is a hiring signal.
Bilingual capability (Spanish is highest-demand)
Spanish-English bilingual interviewers earn a 6-12% differential at Kaiser, HCA, NORC, and Westat. Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Haitian Creole also carry premiums in specific metros.
Insurance verification & eligibility lookup
Registrars use RTE (real-time eligibility) tools β€” Availity, Change Healthcare, Waystar β€” to verify coverage before service. Getting this right on the front end prevents 30-40% of downstream claim rework.
Refusal conversion & response-rate discipline
At NORC and Westat, individual response rates are tracked weekly. Top interviewers convert 25-35% of soft refusals through empathy and reframing without pressuring the respondent.

How to Become a Interviewers

  1. 1
    High school diploma or GED (associate's helps for hospital roles)
    Most survey and intake roles require HS diploma. Hospital admitting registrars increasingly prefer an associate's in health information or medical office administration, or a CHAA (Certified Healthcare Access Associate).
  2. 2
    Take an entry-level intake, front-desk, or call-center role for 6-18 months
    $31-38k. Learn the workflow β€” Epic or Cerner for hospital, Blaise or Voxco for survey. This is the training-ground rung.
  3. 3
    Earn a role-specific certification (CHAA for hospitals, NORC training for survey)
    CHAA from NAHAM costs ~$175 and lifts entry pay 6-10% at HCA, Ascension, Kaiser. NORC and Westat run paid internal certification tracks.
  4. 4
    Move into a full interviewer / registrar seat
    $40-52k. Add bilingual capability, insurance-verification depth, or IRB-consent training to command the top of that band.
  5. 5
    Promote into Sr interviewer, team lead, or QA / trainer
    $52-63k. Sr NORC / Westat field managers, hospital access services team leads, and QA reviewers at HCA and Kaiser sit here. From there the exit ramp is medical coder ($50-70k), patient access supervisor ($60-80k), or research coordinator ($55-75k).

Career Progression

Intake Clerk / Junior Interviewer
0-2 yrs$33-40k ($16-19/hr)
  • β€’Complete patient registration, survey interview, or insurance intake calls under supervision
  • β€’Verify demographics, insurance eligibility, and consent per script
  • β€’Meet keystroke accuracy targets (>=98%) and daily call/completion quotas
  • β€’Refer complex or escalated calls to senior interviewer or supervisor
Next: Full Interviewer / Registrar at 1-2 years, once accuracy and script fidelity are proven.
Interviewer / Patient Access Registrar / Survey Interviewer
2-5 yrs$40-52k ($19-25/hr)
  • β€’Own full intake workflow end-to-end: consent, demographics, insurance verification, MRN creation
  • β€’Handle bilingual (Spanish-English) intake at a 6-12% differential
  • β€’Convert soft refusals on survey studies at a 25-35% conversion rate
  • β€’Complete CHAA (NAHAM) or NORC-certified interviewer training
Next: Sr Interviewer or Team Lead at 4-7 years, once quality scores are consistently top-quartile.
Sr Interviewer / Access Services Team Lead / QA Reviewer
5-10 yrs$50-63k ($24-30/hr)
  • β€’Coach and QA-review a team of 6-12 interviewers or registrars
  • β€’Handle escalations from ED registration, VIP patient intake, or complex research consent
  • β€’Own weekly QA scorecards and coaching feedback; track team accuracy and response rates
  • β€’Partner with Revenue Cycle (hospitals) or Study PIs (research) on script and workflow updates
Next: Patient Access Supervisor, Research Coordinator, or Medical Coder β€” a lateral into a higher-paying band.
Patient Access Supervisor / Field Manager / Trainer
8+ yrs$58-78k+ (out of BLS band; exits into supervisory pay scale)
  • β€’Manage a team of 15-40 interviewers or registrars, including hiring and performance management
  • β€’Own team-level KPIs: registration accuracy, insurance-verification rate, patient satisfaction, or survey response rate
  • β€’Report to Director of Patient Access, VP Revenue Cycle, or Field Operations Director
  • β€’Own training curriculum and onboarding for new hires
Next: Director of Patient Access, Field Operations Manager, or exit to Medical Coding / Research Coordinator career paths.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 17 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through a difficult patient intake or survey call and how you handled it.situational
Structure it: (1) The situation β€” an ED patient at Kaiser arriving in acute distress with no ID, or a Westat respondent refusing on a sensitive topic like income. (2) What made it hard β€” the patient's daughter was hostile, or the respondent had done 20 minutes of the survey before soft-refusing on a demographic question. (3) The action you took β€” repeated back their concern, offered to skip the sensitive item and return, or paused registration to let a nurse handle triage first. (4) The outcome β€” completed intake without a data quality issue, or converted the refusal and completed the survey. Interviewers who talk about the person, not just the process, win this question.
Q2. How do you keep keystroke accuracy above 98% on high-volume shifts?technical
Talk about the concrete habits: reading DOB, insurance ID, and MRN back to the patient or respondent before submitting; using the Epic or Cerner double-entry validation prompts on payer fields; taking the 5-minute micro-break every 90 minutes that HCA and Ascension access teams schedule specifically to prevent error clustering. Mention that in your last role your monthly QA score was X% and that you review your own error log every Friday. Concrete self-QA habits beat generic 'I'm detail-oriented' answers.
Q3. How do you handle a respondent who wants to refuse mid-survey?behavioral
Never pressure. Acknowledge their time first β€” 'I hear you, and I really appreciate the time you've already given us.' Ask if the issue is a specific question or the survey overall β€” often it's one sensitive item like income or drug use, and you can offer to skip it and come back. Offer to pause and call back at a better time; NORC and Westat both allow scheduled callbacks. If the refusal is firm, thank them and log the disposition accurately β€” refusal conversion is measured, but so is respecting a firm no. Your response rate matters, but not at the cost of coercion.
Q4. Why interviewing or patient access, not a customer-service role?culture
The honest answer that lands: you like structured work where accuracy has direct downstream consequences β€” a wrong insurance ID at HCA becomes a denied claim; a leading question at NORC contaminates a published study. You want a job where every call is a different person and a different situation, but the workflow is disciplined. Avoid saying 'I'm a people person' β€” say what specifically drew you to healthcare intake or research interviewing. Naming the specific employer type (a research firm vs an ED registration desk) signals that you understand the role.
Q5. Where do you see yourself in three to five years?closer
Show that you understand the ladder: from interviewer to Sr interviewer / team lead ($50-63k), then into either the supervisory track (Patient Access Supervisor, $58-78k) or a lateral into a higher-paying credentialed role (Medical Coder $50-70k, Research Coordinator $55-75k). Name one certification you're planning β€” CHAA from NAHAM, a CCA from AHIMA, or the NORC field manager track. Hiring managers screen for candidates who've thought about advancement concretely, not 'I'll see where things go.'

Resume Template β€” Interviewer / Patient Access Registrar (2-5 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Interviewer / Patient Access Registrar (2-5 yrs)
  • β–ΈCompleted 55-70 patient registrations per shift in Kaiser ED using Epic ADT; maintained 98.7% QA accuracy and 96% real-time insurance verification rate.
  • β–ΈBilingual Spanish-English intake; handled 40% of Spanish-speaking patient volume at a 6% shift differential ($1.10/hr) over base.
  • β–ΈCertified Healthcare Access Associate (CHAA, NAHAM); scored top-quartile on monthly QA audit for 8 consecutive months.
  • β–ΈBase $22.50/hr ($46.8k) + $1.10/hr bilingual differential + $1,200 annual retention bonus.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—Keystroke accuracy below 96% on the pre-hire typing/data-entry test β€” hospitals and survey firms screen this out hard.
  • βœ—Cannot follow a script verbatim; interviewer paraphrases or leads the respondent, contaminating survey validity or intake data.
  • βœ—No familiarity with HIPAA basics (minimum-necessary rule, PHI handling) for patient-facing roles; no IRB / consent-form fluency for research roles.
  • βœ—Weak de-escalation β€” freezes on hostile or emotional callers, or gets pulled into arguments.
  • βœ—Poor call disposition discipline β€” soft refusals coded as completes, missed callbacks, sloppy notes in the CATI system.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“Bilingual differential β€” Spanish-English adds 6-12% at HCA, Kaiser, NORC, Westat. Vietnamese, Mandarin, Haitian Creole in specific metros carry similar premiums.
  • βœ“Shift differential β€” evenings +8-12%, overnights +10-18%, weekends +5-10% at hospital access desks. Ask for both.
  • βœ“Certification premium β€” CHAA (NAHAM) lifts base 6-10% at most hospital systems; ask employers to reimburse the $175 exam and study materials.
  • βœ“Metro cost adjustment β€” SF, NYC, Boston, Seattle intake and survey pay is 20-35% above the BLS median. Anchor to metro-specific data on Glassdoor or Payscale, not the national median.
  • βœ“Retention or referral bonuses β€” HCA and Ascension pay $1,000-3,000 retention bonuses at 6- and 12-month milestones; NORC and Westat pay $250-750 study-completion bonuses on federal contracts. Confirm eligibility before signing.
  • βœ“Career-path commitment β€” ask in writing about CHAA reimbursement, tuition assistance (medical coding, HIM associate's), and internal-mobility eligibility timelines. This is worth more long-term than $0.50/hr.

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  • βœ“ 30–60–90 day plan for your first role
  • βœ“ Cover letter templates specific to this occupation
  • βœ“ Detailed salary negotiation script
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Interviewers Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$34K
$57Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

California
$57K
+24%
New York
$55K
+21%
Washington
$51K
+11%
Oregon
$51K
+10%
Massachusetts
$50K
+10%
Minnesota
$50K
+9%
Rhode Island
$50K
+8%
District of Columbia
$50K
+8%
Colorado
$50K
+8%
Vermont
$49K
+8%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
California$56,880+23.9%
New York$55,410+20.7%
Washington$51,090+11.3%
Oregon$50,730+10.5%
Massachusetts$50,340+9.6%
Minnesota$49,980+8.8%
Rhode Island$49,780+8.4%
District of Columbia$49,730+8.3%
Colorado$49,660+8.1%
Vermont$49,480+7.8%
1–10 of 50

Interviewers Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$70,840+54.3%
Vallejo, CA$68,830+49.9%
Barnstable Town, MA$66,320+44.4%
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$63,690+38.7%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$63,020+37.2%
Modesto, CA$62,100+35.2%
Merced, CA$61,650+34.3%
Redding, CA$61,390+33.7%
Rochester, MN$61,340+33.6%
Stockton-Lodi, CA$60,760+32.3%
1–10 of 273
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A interviewers earning $45,920/year would need 1298 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1394 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how interviewers salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Interviewers salary trend (2011–2024) β†’