Recreation Workers: salary, outlook & degrees
Conduct recreation activities with groups in public, private, or volunteer agencies or recreation facilities. Organize and promote activities, such as arts and crafts, sports, games, music, dramatics, social recreation, camping, and hobbies, taking into account the needs and interests of individual members.
Middle half $31,780–$43,470. 331,490 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
44% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $42,771.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 67,000 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure | 15% | Kinesiology / Exercise Science · Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies |
| Psychology | 6% | Psychology |
| Nursing | 4% | Nursing |
| Treatment Therapy Professions | 4% | Rehabilitation / Therapy Sciences |
| History | 3% | History |
| Business Management And Administration | 3% | Business Administration |
| Communications | 3% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Marketing And Marketing Research | 2% | Marketing · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations |
| English Language And Literature | 2% | English |
| Multi-Disciplinary Or General Science | 2% | Biological and Physical Sciences |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Education workers say the job requires
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers (“required level of education”); small samples, so treat shares as approximate.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $46,460 |
| Washington | $44,890 |
| South Dakota | $42,270 |
| Hawaii | $41,000 |
| California | $39,780 |
| Oregon | $39,610 |
| Colorado | $38,820 |
| Massachusetts | $38,540 |
| New York | $38,040 |
| Alaska | $37,510 |
| Minnesota | $37,510 |
| Maine | $37,450 |
| Vermont | $37,450 |
| North Dakota | $37,310 |
| Maryland | $37,200 |
| New Hampshire | $37,040 |
| New Jersey | $36,880 |
| Connecticut | $36,610 |
| Rhode Island | $36,340 |
| Virginia | $36,120 |
| Arizona | $35,800 |
| Pennsylvania | $35,710 |
| Wisconsin | $35,530 |
| Florida | $35,490 |
| Illinois | $35,480 |
| Michigan | $35,090 |
| Montana | $35,090 |
| Nebraska | $34,590 |
| Missouri | $34,320 |
| Delaware | $33,790 |
| Iowa | $33,700 |
| Tennessee | $33,580 |
| VI | $33,400 |
| Utah | $32,890 |
| North Carolina | $32,720 |
| Texas | $32,720 |
| Georgia | $32,540 |
| Ohio | $32,420 |
| Kentucky | $32,400 |
| New Mexico | $31,900 |
| Kansas | $31,760 |
| Oklahoma | $31,580 |
| South Carolina | $31,420 |
| Wyoming | $30,720 |
| Indiana | $30,190 |
| Nevada | $30,150 |
| Idaho | $30,100 |
| West Virginia | $29,710 |
| Louisiana | $28,580 |
| Alabama | $28,360 |
| Mississippi | $28,060 |
| Arkansas | $27,770 |
| PR | $22,210 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$35,460
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$36,840
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$35,490
- Jacksonville$34,710
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$36,860
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$36,830
- Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach$34,470
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville$35,460
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$42,800
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$37,050
- Richmond$34,700
- Roanoke$33,210
- Charlottesville$36,360
- Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford$33,660
- Kingsport-Bristol$31,080
- Winchester$33,770
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$38,790
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$46,290
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$40,380
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$37,850
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$38,820
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$57,580
- Bakersfield-Delano$38,060
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$38,930
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
Knowledge used
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Law and Government
Work styles
- Cooperation
- Dependability
- Social Orientation
- Leadership Orientation
- Optimism
People in this job tend to have Social (helping), Enterprising (leading), Realistic (hands-on) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Recreation Workers: questions
How much do recreation Workers make?
Recreation Workers earn a U.S. median $36,560 a year; the middle half earn $31,780 to $43,470 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $36,731 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is recreation Workers a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 4.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 67,000 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a recreation Worker?
BLS lists the typical entry education as high school diploma or equivalent. In O*NET's survey, 62% of workers say a bachelor's or higher is required. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure (15%).
How much do recreation Workers make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $35,490 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $36,560 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 39-9032. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Recreation Workers: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/recreation-workers.