Pay by state · 53 areas

Recreation Worker Salary by State (2026)

Name: Recreation Worker annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Recreation Workers earn the most in District of Columbia at $46,460 a year and the least in Arkansas at $27,770 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $36,560. The table below covers all 50 states, DC, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $46,460District of Columbia
National median: $36,560BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median: $27,770Arkansas
Areas reporting: 53of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for recreation workers

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. After cost of living, South Dakota comes out ahead instead. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

1District of Columbia$46,460
2Washington$44,890
3South Dakota$42,270
4Hawaii$41,000
5California$39,780

Lowest median pay

1Arkansas$27,770
2Mississippi$28,060
3Alabama$28,360
4Louisiana$28,580
5West Virginia$29,710

All states

Recreation Worker salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of recreation workers OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1	DCDistrict of Columbia	$46,460	$38,420	$50,080	470	$42,274
2	WAWashington	$44,890	$37,420	$50,150	6,380	$41,948
3	SDSouth Dakota	$42,270	$35,900	$48,630	650	$47,716
4	HIHawaii	$41,000	$39,270	$41,000	1,590	$37,289
5	CACalifornia	$39,780	$37,320	$46,550	48,560	$35,928
6	OROregon	$39,610	$35,620	$47,780	4,640	$38,322
7	COColorado	$38,820	$34,320	$44,050	6,100	$37,670
8	MAMassachusetts	$38,540	$36,040	$45,010	11,280	$36,442
9	NYNew York	$38,040	$34,900	$46,070	24,790	$35,248
10	AKAlaska	$37,510	$36,950	$47,410	630	$36,646
11	MNMinnesota	$37,510	$33,220	$44,770	7,940	$38,034
12	MEMaine	$37,450	$32,650	$46,400	1,260	$38,588
13	VTVermont	$37,450	$36,120	$43,620	840	$38,231
14	NDNorth Dakota	$37,310	$30,380	$47,190	730	$41,941
15	MDMaryland	$37,200	$34,960	$44,370	4,350	$35,442
16	NHNew Hampshire	$37,040	$31,890	$45,520	2,030	$35,559
17	NJNew Jersey	$36,880	$33,650	$42,360	7,550	$33,896
18	CTConnecticut	$36,610	$34,670	$44,110	5,000	$35,334
19	RIRhode Island	$36,340	$35,740	$42,110	770	$35,530
20	VAVirginia	$36,120	$31,370	$44,100	9,260	$35,726
21	AZArizona	$35,800	$33,040	$39,480	12,650	$35,559
22	PAPennsylvania	$35,710	$29,630	$43,740	9,850	$36,599
23	WIWisconsin	$35,530	$31,200	$42,290	6,840	$37,760
24	FLFlorida	$35,490	$31,680	$39,490	18,010	$34,318
25	ILIllinois	$35,480	$31,840	$39,800	17,650	$35,495
26	MIMichigan	$35,090	$31,290	$39,970	10,850	$36,470
27	MTMontana	$35,090	$30,730	$43,180	800	$37,075
28	NENebraska	$34,590	$31,400	$41,250	1,510	$38,389
29	MOMissouri	$34,320	$29,850	$38,600	5,380	$37,790
30	DEDelaware	$33,790	$31,200	$37,320	1,230	$33,855
31	IAIowa	$33,700	$28,790	$38,100	2,870	$38,399
32	TNTennessee	$33,580	$29,540	$40,040	3,420	$36,552
33	VIU.S. Virgin Islands	$33,400	$28,980	$41,620	30	N/A
34	UTUtah	$32,890	$28,510	$38,080	5,760	$33,268
35	NCNorth Carolina	$32,720	$26,450	$41,100	9,520	$34,688
36	TXTexas	$32,720	$28,170	$41,520	18,660	$33,712
37	GAGeorgia	$32,540	$25,810	$40,310	8,160	$33,793
38	OHOhio	$32,420	$28,680	$37,300	12,340	$34,945
39	KYKentucky	$32,400	$28,180	$37,110	3,290	$35,937
40	NMNew Mexico	$31,900	$26,510	$40,680	870	$34,594
41	KSKansas	$31,760	$26,780	$36,580	2,990	$35,262
42	OKOklahoma	$31,580	$23,380	$38,160	2,380	$35,951
43	SCSouth Carolina	$31,420	$26,790	$38,710	5,270	$33,515
44	WYWyoming	$30,720	$26,170	$37,290	790	$33,142
45	INIndiana	$30,190	$26,980	$36,100	8,050	$32,348
46	NVNevada	$30,150	$26,930	$35,410	2,570	$30,156
47	IDIdaho	$30,100	$26,710	$38,590	2,080	$31,520
48	WVWest Virginia	$29,710	$26,610	$37,270	1,410	$33,197
49	LALouisiana	$28,580	$22,920	$36,390	2,830	$32,401
50	ALAlabama	$28,360	$22,410	$36,280	4,700	$31,929
51	MSMississippi	$28,060	$21,940	$33,670	2,220	$32,270
52	ARArkansas	$27,770	$24,580	$35,830	1,740	$31,943
53	PRPuerto Rico	$22,210	$21,840	$24,650	850	N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For recreation workers, that changes the ranking: District of Columbia leads on raw pay at $46,460, while South Dakota leads once prices are taken into account at $47,716.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Recreation Worker pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays recreation workers the most?

District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for recreation workers at $46,460 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($44,890) and South Dakota ($42,270).

Which state pays recreation workers the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Arkansas reports the lowest median for recreation workers at $27,770 a year, $18,690 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, U.S. Virgin Islands reports $33,400 and Puerto Rico reports $22,210.

Is the highest-paying state the best for recreation workers after cost of living?

Not on this data. District of Columbia pays the most on paper ($46,460) but ranks 2nd of 51 once each median is divided by the state's BEA Regional Price Parity ($42,274). South Dakota leads after that adjustment at $47,716, from a raw median of $42,270. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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