Recreation Worker Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Recreation Workers earn a median of $36,560 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 28% below the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $17.58/hr. The middle half earn between $31,780 and $43,470. The top 10% earn $50,410 or more.

The median hourly wage for recreation workers is $17.58 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $36,560 annual median works out to about $3,050 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of recreation workers earn less than $27,600 a year and the bottom quarter less than $31,780 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

The highest state medians for Recreation Workers are District of Columbia ($46,460), Washington ($44,890), South Dakota ($42,270) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, South Dakota moves to the top at $47,716.

BLS does not split recreation workers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $50,410, against a median of $36,560 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are District of Columbia ($46,460), Washington ($44,890), South Dakota ($42,270). BLS also counts 5 specialty careers inside this occupation (outdoor educator, scuba diving instructor, ski instructor, surf instructor), which share its federal pay figures.

No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Recreation Workers. BLS also lists short-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 62.0% hold bachelor's degree.

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for recreation workers is a high school diploma or equivalent. Once hired, BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical. O*NET classes the work as needing considerable preparation.

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 4.3% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 67,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Recreation workers organize, conduct, and promote a variety of group activities for leisure and other purposes. A core O*NET task: assess the needs and interests of individuals and groups and plan activities accordingly, given the available equipment or facilities. Employers most often ask for Electronic mail software, Office suite software, Operating system software.

Most work fewer than 40. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 21% of recreation workers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 38% work exactly 40 and 41% work fewer. 81% say their schedule is regular and 19% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Recreation Workers highest on the Social, Enterprising and Realistic interest areas, so the work mixes teaching, helping and working directly with other people with leading, persuading, selling and making decisions. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ESFJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 67.3% of recreation workers, against 47.1% of all employed people: more women than in the workforce as a whole. 20.6% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 31.8 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.