Community and Social Service · Holland code SEI
Community Health Workers
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.
Also called: Community Health Outreach Worker, Community Health Promoter, Community Navigator, Community Nutrition Educator, Communicable Disease Liaison, Community Health Coordinator, Community Health Program Coordinator, Community Health Program Representative (Community Health Program Rep).
O*NET 21-1094.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $51,850
- Middle half earn $45,640 to $62,540. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +11% · Much faster than average
- 65,100 jobs in 2024, projected 72,500. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Community health workers".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- 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.
- Perform basic diagnostic procedures, such as blood pressure screening, breast cancer screening, or communicable disease screening.
- 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.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening4.0 / 5
- Speaking4.0 / 5
- Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
- Active Learning3.9 / 5
- Writing3.8 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.3 / 5
- English Language4.1 / 5
- Medicine and Dentistry3.8 / 5
- Psychology3.8 / 5
- Therapy and Counseling3.7 / 5
- Computers and Electronics3.6 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic17
- Investigative42
- Artistic20
- Social93
- Enterprising42
- Conventional40
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- community care case worker · DE Koordinator im Bereich der ambulanten Pflege und Betreuung/Koordinatorin im Bereich der ambulanten Pflege und Betreuung · FR aide-soignant à domicile/aide-soignante à domicile
- community health worker · DE Sozialmedizinischer Assistent/Sozialmedizinische Assistentin · FR agent de santé communautaire/agente de santé communautaire
- adult community care worker · DE Sozialbetreuer für Erwachsene/Sozialbetreuerin für Erwachsene · FR auxiliaire de vie en structure d’hébergement pour adultes
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Social workers (2461)139,800 employed
- Probation officers (2462)11,900 employed
- Youth work professionals (2464)10,200 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €50,992 |
| Austria | €46,986 |
| Germany | €44,473 |
| Netherlands | €42,448 |
| Ireland | €41,613 |
| Sweden | €41,155 |
| Italy | €34,882 |
| France | €34,816 |
| Spain | €29,757 |
| Portugal | €18,080 |
| Poland | €12,108 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.04. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (21-1094).
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