Community Health Worker salary: $24.50/hr$980/wk$50,960/yr median.
Pay range $22.00$880$45,760–$26.50/hr$1,060/wk$55,120/yr across the middle 50% of active Community Public Health Professional postings nationwide.
342 unique employers · 345 cities · 69 states. Pay moved +0.0% over the last 30 days.
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 $28.50/hr$1,140/wk$59,280/yr.
How Community Health Worker pay has moved month over month.
Median pay moved from $23.00 in Nov 2025 to $24.50 in Apr 2026 (+6.5%). Bars show monthly posting volume; the line tracks the posting-weighted median.
| Month | Median /hr/wk/yr | P25–P75 | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | $23.00$920$47,840 | $20.50$820$42,640–$25.50$1,020$53,040 | 72 |
| Dec 2025 | $24.50$980$50,960 | $22.50$900$46,800–$26.00$1,040$54,080 | 167 |
| Jan 2026 | $24.50$980$50,960 | $22.50$900$46,800–$28.00$1,120$58,240 | 145 |
| Feb 2026 | $25.00$1,000$52,000 | $22.00$880$45,760–$25.50$1,020$53,040 | 45 |
| Mar 2026 | $24.50$980$50,960 | $22.00$880$45,760–$27.50$1,100$57,200 | 153 |
| Apr 2026 | $24.50$980$50,960 | $22.00$880$45,760–$27.50$1,100$57,200 | 199 |
Community Health Worker pay across every state with live data.
Showing all 26 states with live data. Bars scale to the highest-paying state.
The metros writing the biggest Community Health Worker paychecks.
| City | State | Median /hr/wk/yr | P25–P75 | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| seattle | WA · WASHINGTON | $28.50$1,140$59,280 | $28.00$1,120$58,240–$35.00$1,400$72,800 | 10 |
| chicago | IL · ILLINOIS | $26.00$1,040$54,080 | $24.00$960$49,920–$28.00$1,120$58,240 | 13 |
| los angeles | CA · CALIFORNIA | $25.00$1,000$52,000 | $23.50$940$48,880–$28.00$1,120$58,240 | 20 |
| sacramento | CA · CALIFORNIA | $24.00$960$49,920 | $23.00$920$47,840–$27.75$1,110$57,720 | 10 |
| boston | MA · MASSACHUSETTS | $23.25$930$48,360 | $22.00$880$45,760–$26.50$1,060$55,120 | 12 |
Where the top of the market is paying for Community Health Worker.
| Employer | Median /hr/wk/yr | Range | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adventist Health | $27.00$1,080$56,160 | $25.00$1,000$52,000–$27.00$1,080$56,160 | 9 |
| AltaMed Health Services | $29.50$1,180$61,360 | $29.50$1,180$61,360–$29.50$1,180$61,360 | 5 |
| Community & State | $27.50$1,100$57,200 | $27.50$1,100$57,200–$27.50$1,100$57,200 | 8 |
| COPE Health Solutions | $28.00$1,120$58,240 | $28.00$1,120$58,240–$28.00$1,120$58,240 | 8 |
| CVS Health | $28.00$1,120$58,240 | $24.50$980$50,960–$28.00$1,120$58,240 | 30 |
| Oak Street Health, part of CVS Health | $26.50$1,060$55,120 | $24.50$980$50,960–$30.00$1,200$62,400 | 39 |
| Providence | $29.50$1,180$61,360 | $28.50$1,140$59,280–$30.50$1,220$63,440 | 7 |
| SCAN Health Plan | $26.00$1,040$54,080 | $26.00$1,040$54,080–$26.00$1,040$54,080 | 6 |
| Tarzana Treatment Centers | $28.75$1,150$59,800 | $28.50$1,140$59,280–$29.00$1,160$60,320 | 6 |
| UnitedHealthcare | $28.00$1,120$58,240 | $28.00$1,120$58,240–$28.00$1,120$58,240 | 8 |
Showing all 10 employers with live pay data.
How Community Health Worker pay shifts by schedule and contract type.
Per Diem pays the most at $25.00/hr$1,000/wk$52,000/yr median — 14% above Parttime at $22.00/hr$880/wk$45,760/yr. Fulltime drives the volume with 568 active postings.
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.
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.
| Degree | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Public HealthBPH / BS | 4 years | Sufficient for entry-level health educator, community outreach, and program assistant roles. Common stepping stone to MPH. |
| Master of Public HealthMPH | 2 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 HealthDrPH | 4-6 years | Practice-oriented doctorate for senior leadership roles. Often pursued by mid-career professionals. |
| PhD in Public Health disciplinePhD | 5-7 years | Research doctorate in epidemiology, biostatistics, or another public health science. Standard for academic and high-end research roles. |
| Nursing or clinical degreeBSN / MSN | Varies | Public 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. |
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.
Required for public health nurse roles. Some states have a separate Public Health Nurse certificate built on top of the RN license.
| Credential | Issued by | Pay 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% |
- 0-2 yearsPublic 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.
- 2-6 yearsEpidemiologist / Health Educator / Specialist
Specialty role aligned with the MPH concentration: outbreak investigation, surveillance, health education campaigns, environmental inspections, or infection prevention.
- 6-10 yearsSenior Specialist / Program Lead
Leads a program or surveillance area. Holds the appropriate specialty credential (CPH, CIC, REHS, etc.). May supervise junior staff.
- 10-15 yearsManager / Program Director
Owns operational and budget responsibility for a public health program: communicable disease, maternal/child health, environmental health, or community health.
- 15+ yearsPublic Health Director / Officer
Director or health officer for a local or state health department. Often requires a DrPH, MD/MPH, or equivalent terminal degree.
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.
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.
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 781 active job postings.
What is the pay range for Community Health Worker?
Hourly pay ranges from $22.00 at the 25th percentile to $26.50 at the 75th percentile, with the top 10% earning above $28.50/hr.
Which state pays Community Health Worker roles the most?
Alabama currently leads with a median of $22.79/hr across 0 postings.
How many employers are hiring Community Health Workers?
Our dataset shows 342 unique employers posting Community Health Worker roles across 69 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 180-day window and weighted by posting volume.
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.
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.