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Community Health Worker

$51,030
median pay per year
full range coming in the next data update

What the job actually is

Connect community members to health and social services and teach basic health and wellness.

Where you work

Clinics, homes, and community sites

The hours

Full time, mostly daytime

By the numbers

May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$51,030
per year
What most earn
range coming soon
Openings a year
~7,800
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+11%
Much faster than average
Working in the U.S.
65,100
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: High school plus on-the-job training.

License or certification

No license nationwide, though some states offer or require a certification.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

What it takes

CommunicationLocal knowledgeOutreachEmpathy

The honest take

Connects people in their own neighborhoods to health services, often bridging language and cultural gaps.

Standard Occupational Classification 21-1094. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.