Community Health Worker: Duties, Salary + How to Become One

Key takeaways

Community health workers operate across community‑based settings, moving between homes, agencies, and public spaces to stay accessible to people.

• The number of job openings for community health workers is expected to increase by 11 percent, making it a strong, fast‑growing career path with steady demand [1].

• Community health workers span multiple roles, from advocacy and outreach to family support and community liaison work.

• You can enter the field by obtaining the necessary training, developing core communication and empathy skills, and building experience serving your community.

Learn more about what community health workers do, their salary and job outlook, the roles that define the field, and steps you can take for this career path. Afterward, if you'd like to build your public health knowledge, consider enrolling in Johns Hopkins' Foundations of Global Health Specialization. In as little as two months, you can learn the foundational building blocks of humanitarian program planning, implementation, and evaluation.

What is a community health worker?

Community health workers (CHWs) support communities in many ways by providing outreach, first aid, maternity support, education, advocacy, and informal counseling. In this role, you’ll be a frontline public health worker who builds relationships with the community to bring essential services to the people, rather than working in a formal health facility. 

Community health workers are a crucial and supportive link between health and social services and the communities they serve. From facilitating health care access to improving the well-being of community members, community health workers provide a service that positively impacts the lives of the nation’s vulnerable groups. Many job titles fall under the umbrella of community health workers, and responsibilities can vary depending on the position. 

What does a community health worker do?

A community health worker’s responsibilities will often vary depending on their position. A CHW working as an advocate for children may have very different responsibilities from someone working as a community health advisor, but both generally focus on helping their respective communities with the available resources.

Some common responsibilities that CHWs share include:

• Facilitating communication between community members and health or care organizations

• Building a trusting relationship with the community you represent

• Helping people understand their health or social conditions

• Providing advocacy for those who need it

• Making home visits to high-risk patients, pregnant or nursing mothers, and the elderly

• Holding group and individual meetings with people in the community

• Delivering health care information in a way that is easy to understand

• Providing informal counseling

• Determining eligibility for health care plans

• Collecting data to inform future programs 

Community health worker salary and job outlook

Community health workers earn a median annual salary of $51,030 as of May 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) [1]. Glassdoor estimates that the median total salary for community health workers is $52,000 [2]. This figure includes base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation. The exact figure you can expect as a community health worker typically depends on your specific role, location, and experience level.

Overall, the need for community health workers is likely to grow faster than average over the next decade. The number of job openings for community health workers is expected to increase by 11 percent [1].

Read more: Community Health Worker Salary Guide

Where are community health workers employed?

Organizations that hire community health workers may include government-run programs, nonprofit organizations, health care agencies, and other community-based organizations.

Given that they need to be accessible to the communities they support, CHWs often move around, visiting homes, distributing information, running group programs, and being present in community locations where people know they can meet with them. 

Community health worker jobs

Community health worker is an umbrella term that encompasses many other roles. Discover some of the most common community health worker jobs:

1. Community health advocate

A community health advocate works closely with patients undergoing any health care treatment to help them understand the process, health care plans, and use of medication, and to assist with anything the patient needs concerning insurance and financial support. 

2. Family advocate

A family advocate works with families to support children’s best interests during parental disputes or cases where children could be at risk. In this role, you’ll serve as a liaison between family, community care, and other professionals to assess the child’s home life and make recommendations in court about the care and guardianship of the child.

3. Outreach worker

An outreach worker helps people in the community by liaising between them and any external agencies, groups, or services that they might be able to utilize. Each has an area of specialism, whether that’s children and young people, the elderly community, or health care. 

4. Community liaison worker

As a community liaison worker, you interact with community members on behalf of official organizations like schools or the police if it benefits the community member or if there has been an incident.

How to become a community health worker

CHWs provide critical health care services to some of the most vulnerable communities in the country. To handle such an important responsibility, you’ll need appropriate training and experience. Explore three steps to become an effective community health worker.

1. Get educated.

Regardless of their role, community health workers must gain the training and education required to join the profession. Requirements vary considerably across states and job roles.

Typically, CHWs need at least a high school diploma. A bachelor’s degree is often an asset, and it may help you land a job. Most CHWs receive on-the-job training. In some cases, employers might also require an associate degree or a community health worker certification through a one- or two-year program.

2. Hone the right skills.

CHWs help vulnerable communities and individuals achieve important public health care goals. You’ll want to build the following skills to provide effective and empathetic care:

• Interpersonal and communication skills

• Empathy

• Patience

• Relationship-building skills

• Time management

• Knowledge of the community and its needs

Community health workers tend to be helpful and curious without being intrusive. They use empathy so that people feel valued and comfortable speaking honestly about their issues. Ideally, they belong to the same community as those they serve and can speak the same language.

3. Gain relevant work experience.

The more experience you have working in a specific community, the better qualified you’ll be for a community health worker role. For example, anyone working in children’s services may need to have experience working with children. Similarly, those working with individuals with substance abuse issues would benefit from previous experience working with addicts or recovery programs.

Generally, any experience working in the public space supporting individuals may be beneficial. This can consist of paid experience or even any tasks that you have undertaken voluntarily, such as caring for a relative, shopping for an elderly neighbor, or mentoring someone at school or in your community. 

4. Consider certification

Whether your employer requires it or not, acquiring a community health worker certification can be a valuable way to develop and demonstrate job-specific skills.

One option is the Certified Health Education Specialist certification from the National Commission for Health Credentialing. It can validate your skills in evaluation, research, communication, advocacy, and implementation, among other areas. To be eligible, you’ll need a bachelor's degree in health education or a related field and a minimum of 25 credits in coursework relating to the Eight Areas of Responsibility and Competency of Health Education Specialists.

How to get a community health worker certification

The requirements and steps to obtaining a community health worker certification typically depend on the state in which you reside and plan to work. As of May 2025, 12 states have a state-operated community health worker certification program, 11 additional states have a privately operated program, and eight states have a program in development [3]. 

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