CCollegeMatcher

Community Health Workers

US occupation · SOC 21-1094

Job titles people report: Communicable Disease Liaison, Community Health Coordinator, Community Health Outreach Worker, Community Health Program Coordinator, Community Health Program Representative (Community Health Program Rep), Community Health Promoter, Community HIV Education Specialist (Community Human Immunodeficiency Virus Education Specialist), Community Navigator, Community Nutrition Educator, Health Program Specialist

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$51,850
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$45,640 – $62,540
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
61,660
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+12.7%
Growing at twice the all-jobs rate or more (7%+)
Openings a year (projected)
7,000
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
High school diploma or equivalent
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Promote health within a community by assisting individuals to adopt healthy behaviors. Serve as an advocate for the health needs of individuals by assisting community residents in effectively communicating with healthcare providers or social service agencies. Act as liaison or advocate and implement programs that promote, maintain, and improve individual and overall community health. May deliver health-related preventive services such as blood pressure, glaucoma, and hearing screenings. May collect data to help identify community health needs.

Main tasks

  • Report incidences of child or elder abuse, neglect, or threats of harm to authorities, as required.
  • Monitor nutrition of children, elderly, or other high-risk groups.
  • Maintain updated client records with plans, notes, appropriate forms, or related information.
  • Contact clients in person, by phone, or in writing to ensure they have completed required or recommended actions.
  • Advise clients or community groups on issues related to self-care, such as diabetes management.
  • Refer community members to needed health services.
  • Advise clients or community groups on issues related to improving general health, such as diet or exercise.
  • Develop plans or formal contracts for individuals, families, or community groups to improve overall health.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
High school diploma or equivalent
Training once hired: short-term on-the-job training
O*NET Job Zone 4
Considerable preparation
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 9 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Health & Nursing

  • Health and Wellness, General
  • Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling
  • Public Health, General
  • Public Health Education and Promotion
  • Community Health and Preventive Medicine
  • Maternal and Child Health
  • Behavioral Aspects of Health
  • Arts in Medicine/Health

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Health & Nursing at the Major step.

Where many students take health & nursing

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Communications & Media

  • Health Communication

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Communications & Media at the Major step.

Where many students take communications & media

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk