Community and Social Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 21-2021

Directors, Religious Activities and Education

The published band from $34,670 to $98,310 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 Directors, Religious Activities and Education: Healthcare Social Workers ($68K) , Social and Human Service Assistants ($46K) , Marriage and Family Therapists ($67K) , Counselors, All Other ($51K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Directors, Religious Activities and Education publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 21-2021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Develop or direct study courses or religious education programs within congregations
  2. 2. Identify and recruit potential volunteer workers
  3. 3. Select appropriate curricula or class structures for educational programs
  4. 4. Schedule special events, such as camps, conferences, meetings, seminars, or retreats
  5. 5. Counsel individuals regarding interpersonal, health, financial, or religious problems
  6. 6. Collaborate with other ministry members to establish goals and objectives for religious education programs or to develop ways to encourag…
  7. 7. Train and supervise religious education instructional staff
  8. 8. Implement program plans by ordering needed materials, scheduling speakers, reserving space, or handling other administrative details
  9. 9. Analyze member participation or changes in congregational emphasis to determine needs for religious education
  10. 10. Analyze revenue and program cost data to determine budget priorities
  11. 11. Attend workshops, seminars, or conferences to obtain program ideas, information, or resources
  12. 12. Visit congregational members' homes or arrange for pastoral visits to provide information or resources regarding religious education prog…

Directors, Religious Activities and Education: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 21-2021 - lead skill Speaking at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Philosophy and Theology. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 4.1
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.0
  3. 3. Social Perceptiveness 4.0
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 3.9
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.9
  6. 6. Active Learning 3.9
  7. 7. Instructing 3.9
  8. 8. Service Orientation 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Philosophy and Theology 4.2
  2. 2. Education and Training 4.0
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 3.9
  4. 4. English Language 3.8
  5. 5. Psychology 3.5
  6. 6. Therapy and Counseling 3.4
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$34,670 to $98,310
median $52,100 · ~2.8× spread
$52K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
13,800
Annual openings
22,160
Estimated US jobs
Healthcare Social Workers
Highest-pay peer · $68K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Directors, Religious Activities and Education

1. Alabama $79,310
2. North Carolina $63,280
3. Nevada $62,460
4. Texas $75,420
5. Colorado $67,760
6. Georgia $72,910
7. New Jersey $65,730
8. Nebraska $72,500
9. Iowa $66,140
10. Massachusetts $62,930

Other Community and Social Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. Marriage and Family Therapists $66,940
  2. 2. Healthcare Social Workers $67,880
  3. 3. Counselors, All Other $50,860
  4. 4. Social and Human Service Assistants $45,930
  5. 5. Child, Family, and School Social Workers $59,550
  6. 6. Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers $60,280

The OEWS band for Directors, Religious Activities and Education runs from $34,670 (10th) to $98,310 (90th), about 2.8× wide, with median $52,100. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 13,800 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. 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: Alabama at $79,310. 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.

Directors, Religious Activities and Education pay-rank #12 in Community and Social Service Occupations

Directors, Religious Activities and Education sits at pay-rank #12 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 Directors, Religious Activities and Education is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Directors, Religious Activities and Education salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 21-2021

Alabama · top state for Directors, Religious Activities and Education

$79K published median

North Carolina · #2 state pay

$63K · behind Alabama

Healthcare Social Workers

Highest-pay peer vs Directors, Religious Activities and Education · $68K

Social and Human Service Assistants

Lower-pay peer beside Directors, Religious Activities and Education · $46K

Compare Directors, Religious Activities and Education

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Directors, Religious Activities and Education 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 Directors, Religious Activities and Education mid-table among Community and Social Service Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #12 of 17 detailed Community and Social Service Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other ($57K), Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors ($59K), Child, Family, and School Social Workers ($60K), Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers ($60K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do directors, religious activities and education do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Directors, Religious Activities and Education. Leading ones include: Develop or direct study courses or religious education programs within congregations; Identify and recruit potential volunteer workers; Select appropriate curricula or class structures for educational programs; Schedule special events, such as camps, conferences, meetings, seminars, or retreats. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for directors, religious activities and education? ▼
For SOC 21-2021, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (4.1), Active Listening (4.0), Social Perceptiveness (4.0), Reading Comprehension (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Philosophy and Theology, Education and Training, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Directors, Religious Activities and Education? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $34,670 and the 90th at $98,310 for Directors, Religious Activities and Education (2.8× spread). The national median is $52,100. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Directors, Religious Activities and Education? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Directors, Religious Activities and Education is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 13,800. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Directors, Religious Activities and Education? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Directors, Religious Activities and Education. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Directors, Religious Activities and Education? ▼
Alabama ($79,310), North Carolina ($63,280), Nevada ($62,460) 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 Directors, Religious Activities and Education card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 21-2021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Directors, Religious Activities and Education. 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