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 Puerto Rico at $22,210 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $36,560. All 53 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $46,460
National median: $36,560
Lowest median: $22,210
States reporting: 53

Top 5 states for Recreation Workers

1. District of Columbia$46,460 median · $42,274 adjusted · 470 employed
2. Washington$44,890 median · $41,948 adjusted · 6,380 employed
3. South Dakota$42,270 median · $47,716 adjusted · 650 employed
4. Hawaii$41,000 median · $37,289 adjusted · 1,590 employed
5. California$39,780 median · $35,928 adjusted · 48,560 employed

Lowest-paying states for Recreation Workers

53. Puerto Rico$22,210 median · no price parity · 850 employed
52. Arkansas$27,770 median · $31,943 adjusted · 1,740 employed
51. Mississippi$28,060 median · $32,270 adjusted · 2,220 employed
50. Alabama$28,360 median · $31,929 adjusted · 4,700 employed
49. Louisiana$28,580 median · $32,401 adjusted · 2,830 employed

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
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1	District of Columbia	$46,460	$38,420	$50,080	470	$42,274
2	Washington	$44,890	$37,420	$50,150	6,380	$41,948
3	South Dakota	$42,270	$35,900	$48,630	650	$47,716
4	Hawaii	$41,000	$39,270	$41,000	1,590	$37,289
5	California	$39,780	$37,320	$46,550	48,560	$35,928
6	Oregon	$39,610	$35,620	$47,780	4,640	$38,322
7	Colorado	$38,820	$34,320	$44,050	6,100	$37,670
8	Massachusetts	$38,540	$36,040	$45,010	11,280	$36,442
9	New York	$38,040	$34,900	$46,070	24,790	$35,248
10	Alaska	$37,510	$36,950	$47,410	630	$36,646
11	Minnesota	$37,510	$33,220	$44,770	7,940	$38,034
12	Maine	$37,450	$32,650	$46,400	1,260	$38,588
13	Vermont	$37,450	$36,120	$43,620	840	$38,231
14	North Dakota	$37,310	$30,380	$47,190	730	$41,941
15	Maryland	$37,200	$34,960	$44,370	4,350	$35,442
16	New Hampshire	$37,040	$31,890	$45,520	2,030	$35,559
17	New Jersey	$36,880	$33,650	$42,360	7,550	$33,896
18	Connecticut	$36,610	$34,670	$44,110	5,000	$35,334
19	Rhode Island	$36,340	$35,740	$42,110	770	$35,530
20	Virginia	$36,120	$31,370	$44,100	9,260	$35,726
21	Arizona	$35,800	$33,040	$39,480	12,650	$35,559
22	Pennsylvania	$35,710	$29,630	$43,740	9,850	$36,599
23	Wisconsin	$35,530	$31,200	$42,290	6,840	$37,760
24	Florida	$35,490	$31,680	$39,490	18,010	$34,318
25	Illinois	$35,480	$31,840	$39,800	17,650	$35,495
26	Michigan	$35,090	$31,290	$39,970	10,850	$36,470
27	Montana	$35,090	$30,730	$43,180	800	$37,075
28	Nebraska	$34,590	$31,400	$41,250	1,510	$38,389
29	Missouri	$34,320	$29,850	$38,600	5,380	$37,790
30	Delaware	$33,790	$31,200	$37,320	1,230	$33,855
31	Iowa	$33,700	$28,790	$38,100	2,870	$38,399
32	Tennessee	$33,580	$29,540	$40,040	3,420	$36,552
33	U.S. Virgin Islands	$33,400	$28,980	$41,620	30	N/A
34	Utah	$32,890	$28,510	$38,080	5,760	$33,268
35	North Carolina	$32,720	$26,450	$41,100	9,520	$34,688
36	Texas	$32,720	$28,170	$41,520	18,660	$33,712
37	Georgia	$32,540	$25,810	$40,310	8,160	$33,793
38	Ohio	$32,420	$28,680	$37,300	12,340	$34,945
39	Kentucky	$32,400	$28,180	$37,110	3,290	$35,937
40	New Mexico	$31,900	$26,510	$40,680	870	$34,594
41	Kansas	$31,760	$26,780	$36,580	2,990	$35,262
42	Oklahoma	$31,580	$23,380	$38,160	2,380	$35,951
43	South Carolina	$31,420	$26,790	$38,710	5,270	$33,515
44	Wyoming	$30,720	$26,170	$37,290	790	$33,142
45	Indiana	$30,190	$26,980	$36,100	8,050	$32,348
46	Nevada	$30,150	$26,930	$35,410	2,570	$30,156
47	Idaho	$30,100	$26,710	$38,590	2,080	$31,520
48	West Virginia	$29,710	$26,610	$37,270	1,410	$33,197
49	Louisiana	$28,580	$22,920	$36,390	2,830	$32,401
50	Alabama	$28,360	$22,410	$36,280	4,700	$31,929
51	Mississippi	$28,060	$21,940	$33,670	2,220	$32,270
52	Arkansas	$27,770	$24,580	$35,830	1,740	$31,943
53	Puerto Rico	$22,210	$21,840	$24,650	850	N/A

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.

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?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Recreation Workers at $22,210 a year, $24,250 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Recreation Workers earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts South Dakota first at $47,716 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $42,270. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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