Recreation Workers salary

SOC 39-9032 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$36,560

per year, nationally

Middle half

$31,780–$43,470

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

331,490

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+4.1%

68,100 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$27,600$50,410

10th: $27,600
25th: $31,780
Median: $36,560
75th: $43,470
90th: $50,410

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where recreation workers earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	District of Columbia	$46,460	109.9	470	0.31×
2	Washington	$44,890	107.0	6,380	0.84×
3	South Dakota	$42,270	88.6	650	0.67×
4	Hawaii	$41,000	110.0	1,590	1.19×
5	California	$39,780	110.7	48,560	1.25×
6	Oregon	$39,610	103.4	4,640	1.11×
7	Colorado	$38,820	103.1	6,100	1.00×
8	Massachusetts	$38,540	105.8	11,280	1.45×
9	New York	$38,040	107.9	24,790	1.20×
10	Minnesota	$37,510	98.6	7,940	1.26×
11	Alaska	$37,510	102.4	630	0.91×
12	Maine	$37,450	97.0	1,260	0.92×
13	Vermont	$37,450	98.0	840	1.29×
14	North Dakota	$37,310	89.0	730	0.79×
15	Maryland	$37,200	105.0	4,350	0.74×
16	New Hampshire	$37,040	104.2	2,030	1.39×
17	New Jersey	$36,880	108.8	7,550	0.83×
18	Connecticut	$36,610	103.6	5,000	1.38×
19	Rhode Island	$36,340	102.3	770	0.72×
20	Virginia	$36,120	101.1	9,260	1.06×
21	Arizona	$35,800	100.7	12,650	1.83×
22	Pennsylvania	$35,710	97.6	9,850	0.76×
23	Wisconsin	$35,530	94.1	6,840	1.09×
24	Florida	$35,490	103.4	18,010	0.85×
25	Illinois	$35,480	100.0	17,650	1.36×
26	Montana	$35,090	94.6	800	0.74×
27	Michigan	$35,090	96.2	10,850	1.16×
28	Nebraska	$34,590	90.1	1,510	0.69×
29	Missouri	$34,320	90.8	5,380	0.86×
30	Delaware	$33,790	99.8	1,230	1.19×
31	Iowa	$33,700	87.8	2,870	0.86×
32	Tennessee	$33,580	91.9	3,420	0.49×
33	Utah	$32,890	98.9	5,760	1.56×
34	Texas	$32,720	97.1	18,660	0.62×
35	North Carolina	$32,720	94.3	9,520	0.90×
36	Georgia	$32,540	96.3	8,160	0.78×
37	Ohio	$32,420	92.8	12,340	1.04×
38	Kentucky	$32,400	90.2	3,290	0.77×
39	New Mexico	$31,900	92.2	870	0.47×
40	Kansas	$31,760	90.1	2,990	0.98×
41	Oklahoma	$31,580	87.8	2,380	0.65×
42	South Carolina	$31,420	93.7	5,270	1.07×
43	Wyoming	$30,720	92.7	790	1.31×
44	Indiana	$30,190	93.3	8,050	1.18×
45	Nevada	$30,150	100.0	2,570	0.78×
46	Idaho	$30,100	95.5	2,080	1.14×
47	West Virginia	$29,710	89.5	1,410	0.94×
48	Louisiana	$28,580	88.2	2,830	0.69×
49	Alabama	$28,360	88.8	4,700	1.04×
50	Mississippi	$28,060	87.0	2,220	0.90×
51	Arkansas	$27,770	86.9	1,740	0.63×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where recreation workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for recreation workers

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Fairbanks-College, AK	$61,040	103.2	50	0.67×
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$57,580	110.4	2,620	1.08×
3	College Station-Bryan, TX	$47,870	91.0	1,170	4.09×
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$46,290	115.6	6,510	1.29×
5	Bend, OR	$46,230	103.6	290	1.25×
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$45,990	111.1	3,600	0.81×
7	Bozeman, MT	$45,010	102.5	70	0.44×
8	Bellingham, WA	$44,640	103.3	260	1.32×
9	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$43,460	100.1	120	0.45×
10	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$43,380	102.4	160	1.42×
11	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$43,060	105.6	220	1.11×
12	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$42,800	108.9	4,360	0.65×
13	Napa, CA	$42,670	112.6	240	1.45×
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$42,580	105.4	2,660	1.03×
15	Kahului-Wailuku, HI	$41,420	109.4	60	0.37×
16	Urban Honolulu, HI	$41,000	111.0	1,410	1.48×
17	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$40,380	111.9	4,200	1.28×
18	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$40,330	103.7	210	0.77×
19	Walla Walla, WA	$40,250	98.5	50	0.96×
20	Yuba City, CA	$40,100	104.2	70	0.61×
21	Sioux Falls, SD-MN	$40,050	90.6	180	0.47×
22	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$40,010	107.8	760	1.75×
23	Rapid City, SD	$39,850	89.2	100	0.66×
24	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$39,640	105.8	3,110	0.91×
25	Barnstable Town, MA	$39,430	98.4	320	1.57×
26	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$39,260	100.3	510	0.94×
27	Boulder, CO	$39,260	105.2	370	0.91×
28	Santa Fe, NM	$39,190	98.8	40	0.32×
29	Las Cruces, NM	$39,140	90.2	50	0.27×
30	Warner Robins, GA	$39,040	93.8	60	0.35×
31	Vallejo, CA	$38,990	108.5	550	1.78×
32	Great Falls, MT	$38,990	96.8	40	0.56×
33	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$38,930	110.5	1,030	1.49×
34	Lexington Park, MD	$38,880	100.8	100	0.64×
35	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$38,870	108.8	430	1.01×
36	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$38,820	106.7	2,810	1.22×
37	Yakima, WA	$38,820	95.5	170	0.84×
38	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$38,790	113.6	17,850	1.34×
39	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$38,770	108.3	8,720	1.51×
40	Kenosha, WI	$38,620	101.1	140	0.89×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where recreation workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Childcare Workers$34,980
Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors$47,160
Residential Advisors$42,240
Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other$41,600