Community and Social Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 21-2011

Clergy

The published band from $37,860 to $98,890 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Healthcare Social Workers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Clergy: Healthcare Social Workers ($68K) , Religious Workers, All Other ($45K) , Rehabilitation Counselors ($47K) , Social and Human Service Assistants ($46K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Clergy publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 21-2011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Pray and promote spirituality
  2. 2. Prepare and deliver sermons or other talks
  3. 3. Read from sacred texts, such as the Bible, Torah, or Koran
  4. 4. Organize and lead regular religious services
  5. 5. Instruct people who seek conversion to a particular faith
  6. 6. Share information about religious issues by writing articles, giving speeches, or teaching
  7. 7. Counsel individuals or groups concerning their spiritual, emotional, or personal needs
  8. 8. Administer religious rites or ordinances
  9. 9. Prepare people for participation in religious ceremonies
  10. 10. Visit people in homes, hospitals, or prisons to provide them with comfort and support
  11. 11. Train leaders of church, community, or youth groups
  12. 12. Plan or lead religious education programs

Clergy: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 21-2011 - lead skill Speaking at 4.8 ; lead knowledge Philosophy and Theology. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 4.8
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.3
  3. 3. Social Perceptiveness 4.1
  4. 4. Instructing 4.0
  5. 5. Service Orientation 4.0
  6. 6. Reading Comprehension 3.9
  7. 7. Writing 3.9
  8. 8. Persuasion 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Philosophy and Theology 4.7
  2. 2. English Language 4.2
  3. 3. Administration and Management 4.1
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 4.0
  5. 5. Education and Training 3.8
  6. 6. Therapy and Counseling 3.8
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$37,860 to $98,890
median $60,810 · ~2.6× spread
$61K
National median
↑ +1%
Growth 2024-2034
23,000
Annual openings
57,200
Estimated US jobs
Healthcare Social Workers
Highest-pay peer · $68K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Clergy

1. Washington $80,830
2. Vermont $64,950
3. New Hampshire $65,200
4. New Jersey $65,500
5. Nevada $73,910
6. District of Columbia $64,800
7. Massachusetts $72,190
8. New Mexico $64,100
9. Maine $64,340
10. California $77,710

Other Community and Social Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. Healthcare Social Workers $67,880
  2. 2. Rehabilitation Counselors $46,850
  3. 3. Social and Human Service Assistants $45,930
  4. 4. Marriage and Family Therapists $66,940
  5. 5. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors $59,350
  6. 6. Religious Workers, All Other $45,280

The OEWS band for Clergy runs from $37,860 (10th) to $98,890 (90th), about 2.6× wide, with median $60,810. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +1% change between 2024 and 2034 (slower than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 23,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Washington at $80,830. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Healthcare Social Workers at $67,880. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Clergy pay-rank #7 in Community and Social Service Occupations

Clergy sits at pay-rank #7 of 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Clergy is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Clergy salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 21-2011

Washington · top state for Clergy

$81K published median

Vermont · #2 state pay

$65K · behind Washington

Healthcare Social Workers

Highest-pay peer vs Clergy · $68K

Religious Workers, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Clergy · $45K

Compare Clergy

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Clergy with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Clergy mid-table among Community and Social Service Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #7 of 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers ($60K), Child, Family, and School Social Workers ($60K), Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors ($59K), Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other ($57K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do clergy do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Clergy. Leading ones include: Pray and promote spirituality; Prepare and deliver sermons or other talks; Read from sacred texts, such as the Bible, Torah, or Koran; Organize and lead regular religious services. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for clergy? ▼
For SOC 21-2011, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (4.8), Active Listening (4.3), Social Perceptiveness (4.1), Instructing (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Philosophy and Theology, English Language, Administration and Management. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Clergy? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $37,860 and the 90th at $98,890 for Clergy (2.6× spread). The national median is $60,810. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Clergy? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Clergy is +1%. Projected annual openings: about 23,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: slower than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Clergy? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Clergy. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Clergy? ▼
Washington ($80,830), Vermont ($64,950), New Hampshire ($65,200) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Clergy card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 21-2011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Clergy. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics