LIVE MARKET·355 postings · last 6 months·Updated October 22, 2026

Community Health Worker salary: $24.50/hr$980/wk$50,960/yr median.

Pay range $21.50$860$44,720–$27.50/hr$1,100/wk$57,200/yr across the middle 50% of active Community Public Health Professional postings nationwide.

200 unique employers · 214 cities · 37 states. Pay moved +0.0% over the last 30 days.

Show pay as
Median /hr/wk/yr
$24.50$980$50,960
P25–P75
$21.50$860$44,720–$27.50$1,100$57,200
middle 50%
Postings
355
▲ 101.4%
Coverage
37 states
200 employers
01·PAY DISTRIBUTION·P10 → P90

How Community Health Worker pay is distributed.

10% of postings pay under $20.00/hr$800/wk$41,600/yr. The top 10% pay above $29.00/hr$1,160/wk$60,320/yr.

P10
$20.00
P25
$21.50
P50
$24.50
P75
$27.50
P90
$29.00
P10
$20.00/hr$800/wk$41,600/yr
P25
$21.50/hr$860/wk$44,720/yr
P50 (median)
$24.50/hr$980/wk$50,960/yr
P75
$27.50/hr$1,100/wk$57,200/yr
P90
$29.00/hr$1,160/wk$60,320/yr
03·STATE BREAKDOWN·n=355

Community Health Worker pay across every state with live data.

01California CA87 postings
$27.00/hr
02Connecticut CT6 postings
$21.00/hr
03Florida FL5 postings
$26.50/hr
04Hawaii HI5 postings
$20.50/hr
05Illinois IL22 postings
$28.00/hr
06Indiana IN6 postings
$18.50/hr
07Louisiana LA6 postings
$24.50/hr
08Maryland MD21 postings
$21.00/hr
09Massachusetts MA32 postings
$23.75/hr
10Michigan MI8 postings
$22.00/hr
11Minnesota MN12 postings
$23.75/hr
12New Jersey NJ17 postings
$28.00/hr
13New Mexico NM6 postings
$21.00/hr
14New York NY24 postings
$23.50/hr
15North Carolina NC6 postings
$25.25/hr
16Ohio OH16 postings
$25.75/hr
17Oregon OR11 postings
$25.50/hr
18Pennsylvania PA7 postings
$25.00/hr
19Washington WA9 postings
$28.00/hr

Showing all 19 states with live data. Bars scale to the highest-paying state.

04·TOP-PAYING CITIES·METROS WITH ACTIVE POSTINGS

The metros writing the biggest Community Health Worker paychecks.

CityStateMedian /hr/wk/yrP25–P75Postings
los angelesCA · CALIFORNIA$24.50$980$50,960$24.00$960$49,920–$25.50$1,020$53,04013

CITY PAY DATA

Unlock city-level salary data for Community Health Worker

Create a free salary account to compare city pay against state and national benchmarks, save searches, and get cleaner sample-size context.

05·EMPLOYER BREAKDOWN·TOP 20 BY PAY

Where the top of the market is paying for Community Health Worker.

EmployerMedian /hr/wk/yrRangePostings
Cleveland Clinic$19.75$790$41,080$16.50$660$34,320–$28.00$1,120$58,2406
COPE Health Solutions$27.50$1,100$57,200$27.50$1,100$57,200–$27.50$1,100$57,20010
CVS Health$28.00$1,120$58,240$24.50$980$50,960–$28.00$1,120$58,24029
Life Enhancement Services$30.00$1,200$62,400$30.00$1,200$62,400–$30.00$1,200$62,4006
Mass General Brigham$24.00$960$49,920$24.00$960$49,920–$26.50$1,060$55,1205
Oak Street Health, part of CVS Health$28.00$1,120$58,240$24.50$980$50,960–$30.00$1,200$62,4007
Unknown$26.00$1,040$54,080$16.50$660$34,320–$30.00$1,200$62,40017

Showing all 7 employers with live pay data.

06·SHIFT & CONTRACT MIX·PAY BY WORK PATTERN

How Community Health Worker pay shifts by schedule and contract type.

Temporary pays the most at $25.50/hr$1,020/wk$53,040/yr median — 12% above Parttime at $22.75/hr$910/wk$47,320/yr. Fulltime drives the volume with 257 active postings.

BY SHIFT
Not Specified
355 postings
$24.50/hr$980/wk$50,960/yr
BY JOB TYPE
Fulltime
257 postings
$24.50/hr$980/wk$50,960/yr
Not Specified
54 postings
$23.75/hr$950/wk$49,400/yr
Parttime
32 postings
$22.75/hr$910/wk$47,320/yr
Contract
7 postings
$24.00/hr$960/wk$49,920/yr
Temporary
3 postings
$25.50/hr$1,020/wk$53,040/yr
08·HOW TO BECOME·CAREER PATHWAY·GENERAL TO PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONAL

How to become a Community Health Worker.

Public health professionals protect and improve population health through epidemiology, health education, environmental health, infection prevention, policy, and emergency preparedness. The category covers epidemiologists, public health nurses, community health educators, biostatisticians, environmental health specialists, and infection preventionists across local, state, federal, hospital, and nonprofit settings. Most roles require a bachelor's or master's in public health, with credentialing varying by specialty.

Education·Min: Bachelor's (community health, health education) · Preferred: Master of Public Health (MPH)

Bachelor's in public health or a related discipline (or a clinical credential like BSN) → 2-year MPH (or DrPH/PhD for research and leadership) → entry-level role at a health department, hospital, or nonprofit. Many specialties also pursue role-specific credentials: CIC for infection preventionists, CHES/MCHES for health educators, REHS for environmental health.

DegreeDurationNotes
Bachelor of Public HealthBPH / BS4 yearsSufficient for entry-level health educator, community outreach, and program assistant roles. Common stepping stone to MPH.
Master of Public HealthMPH2 years (1 year if accelerated)Standard credential for public health practice. Concentrations include epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health policy, health behavior, and global health.
Doctor of Public HealthDrPH4-6 yearsPractice-oriented doctorate for senior leadership roles. Often pursued by mid-career professionals.
PhD in Public Health disciplinePhD5-7 yearsResearch doctorate in epidemiology, biostatistics, or another public health science. Standard for academic and high-end research roles.
Nursing or clinical degreeBSN / MSNVariesPublic health nurses, infection preventionists, and many state health department roles draw heavily from licensed clinicians who add public health knowledge on top of their clinical credential.
Licenses & Exams·2 credentials
No state license requiredMost public health roles are unlicensedOptional
Issued by: —

Public health practice is largely unlicensed in the US — credentialing happens through professional certification (CIC, CHES, REHS, etc.) rather than state licensure. Public health nurses, MDs, and other clinical roles maintain their underlying clinical license.

RN LicenseRegistered Nurse License (for public health nurses)Optional
Exam: NCLEX-RN · Issued by: State Board of Nursing

Required for public health nurse roles. Some states have a separate Public Health Nurse certificate built on top of the RN license.

Optional Certifications·Pay boost where known
CredentialIssued byPay impact
CPH
Certified in Public Health
Cross-discipline public health credential. Eligibility requires an MPH or equivalent plus public health experience. Standard credential for federal and CDC-aligned roles.
NBPHE+5-10%
CIC
Certification in Infection Prevention and Control
Required by most hospital infection preventionist roles. Eligibility requires 2 years of IP experience.
CBIC+10-20%
CHES / MCHES
Certified Health Education Specialist (Master level for MCHES)
Health education and behavior change credential. Required for many state and federal health-promotion roles.
NCHEC+5-10%
REHS / RS
Registered Environmental Health Specialist / Sanitarian
Required for most local and state environmental health inspector roles.
NEHA+5-10%
Career Path·5 steps
  1. 0-2 years
    Public Health Associate / Program Assistant

    Entry-level role at a health department, nonprofit, or federal program. Strong programs include the CDC Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) and state-level fellowships.

  2. 2-6 years
    Epidemiologist / Health Educator / Specialist

    Specialty role aligned with the MPH concentration: outbreak investigation, surveillance, health education campaigns, environmental inspections, or infection prevention.

  3. 6-10 years
    Senior Specialist / Program Lead

    Leads a program or surveillance area. Holds the appropriate specialty credential (CPH, CIC, REHS, etc.). May supervise junior staff.

  4. 10-15 years
    Manager / Program Director

    Owns operational and budget responsibility for a public health program: communicable disease, maternal/child health, environmental health, or community health.

  5. 15+ years
    Public Health Director / Officer

    Director or health officer for a local or state health department. Often requires a DrPH, MD/MPH, or equivalent terminal degree.

Work Environment
Local and state health departmentsCDC and federal health agenciesHospital infection prevention departmentsAcademic medical centers and schools of public healthNonprofits and global health organizationsInsurance and managed-care population health teams

Schedule. Most public health roles run standard business hours. Outbreak response, emergency preparedness, and reportable-disease investigation can require evening, weekend, or surge coverage. Public health is one of the more telework-friendly fields in healthcare.

Physical demands. Largely office-based and cognitive. Environmental health inspectors and field epidemiologists do meaningful site visits. Outbreak responders may deploy domestically or internationally.

Job Outlook·Strong (specialty-dependent)
+27% epidemiologists, +7% health educators (2022-2032)

Epidemiology and biostatistics rank among the fastest-growing professional occupations of the decade — driven by post-pandemic surveillance investment, real-world evidence demand from biopharma, and the expansion of data-driven public health. Frontline public health (health educators, community health workers) is growing more steadily, partly reliant on federal and state funding cycles.

FAQ — Becoming this role·3 questions
Do I need an MPH to work in public health?

Not for entry-level community health, outreach, or program-assistant roles — a bachelor's in public health, biology, social work, or nursing is enough. But for epidemiologist, biostatistician, health educator (CHES), and most leadership roles, the MPH is the standard credential and often a hard requirement.

Is public health a stable career?

Frontline state and local roles are somewhat tied to federal and state funding cycles. Epidemiology, biostatistics, infection prevention, and managed-care population health roles are more stable and pay better than legacy state-level public health work. Hospital and biopharma demand has grown materially since 2020.

Can I work in public health without a clinical background?

Yes. Most public health roles (epidemiology, biostatistics, health education, environmental health, policy) do not require a clinical credential. A nursing, medicine, or pharmacy background is a meaningful advantage for clinically-anchored roles like infection prevention or public health nursing.

09·FREQUENTLY ASKED·COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER

What clinicians ask about Community Health Worker pay.

What is the average Community Health Worker salary in 2026?

The median Community Health Worker salary is $24.50/hr (approximately $50,960/yr) based on 355 active job postings.

What is the pay range for Community Health Worker?

Hourly pay ranges from $21.50 at the 25th percentile to $27.50 at the 75th percentile, with the top 10% earning above $29.00/hr.

Which state pays Community Health Worker roles the most?

Illinois currently leads with a median of $28.00/hr across 22 postings.

How many employers are hiring Community Health Workers?

Our dataset shows 200 unique employers posting Community Health Worker roles across 37 states.

Where does TrueRounds get Community Health Worker salary data?

All salary figures are computed from active US healthcare job postings with listed pay ranges, collected over a rolling 6-month window and weighted by posting volume.

10·OTHER TRACKS IN PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONAL·5 SPECIALTIES

Explore other Public Health Professional tracks.

Community Health Worker sits inside the Community track. Here are sibling tracks across Public Health Professional — same category, different clinical focus and pay envelope.

See all Public Health Professional salaries →Browse every category
11·METHODOLOGY·HOW WE BUILD THESE NUMBERS

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 6-month 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.