Community Health Worker
Human Services
Connect neighbors to care, coverage, and health resources.
Why it matters here: County health programs hire from the neighborhoods they serve.
Labor Market — DMV Region
Sourced from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS releases (DMV metro and nationwide) plus MD, VA, and D.C. workforce agencies.
Local cost of living is why DMV pay often differs from the national median.
- DMV & state figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — OEWS wage & employment estimates and Employment Projections, with OEWS area pay relatives for the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metro, Maryland, D.C., and Northern Virginia · View source
- Occupation profiles & skills: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor) · onetonline.org
All salary figures are published estimates for groups of workers, not offers or guarantees for any individual role.
Education & Career Pathways
Multiple ways to get here — pick the one that fits your life.
Career Progression
How you can grow — with expected salary at each step.
- Entry-level Community Health WorkerLearning the role, supervised work, building core skills.$43,600
- Community Health Worker (experienced)Independent work, mentoring newer team members.$53,480
- Senior / Lead Community Health WorkerOwning projects, specialization, higher responsibility.$66,490
- Manager or specialist trackSupervising a team or moving into a high-demand specialty.$79,788
Skills Required
What you'll actually do — and how you'll be judged.
Neighborhoods, clinics and homes, flexible weekday hours
Where you work
Community centers, clinics, churches, apartment buildings and clients' homes — you go where people are.
Hours and schedule
Weekday hours with evening and weekend outreach events when the community is available.
Pace and pressure
Varied and relationship-paced; a single visit can take much longer than planned.
Who you work with
You bridge clinical teams and the community, often as the trusted person from that community.
Physical demands
Walking neighborhoods, carrying supplies, driving between visits, all weather.
What people wear
Casual professional, often an agency polo; approachability matters more than formality.
Remote reality
Phone outreach is remote; the core of the role is in the community.
Workplace culture: what's normal here
- Trust is the whole job, and it's built by showing up consistently over months.
- Language and cultural match with the community is valued as a core qualification.
- You advocate inside the health system for clients who can't navigate it alone.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Work Environment, with regional detail for the DMV.
Official data behind this career
Federal statistics for DMV Region, translated into plain language.
Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV metro area
Source: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables DP03, DP02, DP05)
- The DMV functions as one labor market: workers routinely cross state lines to get to work.
- The largest employment destinations are D.C., Fairfax County and Montgomery County.
Top places these workers go to work
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — BEA regional GDP and personal income, most recent published year
Private-sector payroll data from ADP. It is a supplemental near-real-time indicator and does not replace BLS government employment statistics.
Source: ADP National Employment Report — Most recent monthly ADP National Employment Report
- 1U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OOH, OEWS, Employment Projections, CES) — Primary source for occupation wages, outlook, projected openings, education and training.
- 2U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey — Primary source for income, educational attainment, labor force and demographic context by place.
- 3Census LEHD (LODES / OnTheMap) — Primary source for where workers live versus where they work, and local workforce flows.
- 4U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Primary source for regional GDP, industry contribution, compensation and personal income.
- 5ADP National Employment Report — Supplemental near-real-time private-sector employment and pay indicator. Not a replacement for BLS.
Figures describe groups of workers, not any one person. Where an official figure is not published for a category, this page says “Data unavailable for this category.” rather than estimating.
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