Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of direct care worker salary by state for the United States:
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Washington has the highest direct care worker salary of $34,899
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Mississippi has the lowest direct care worker salary of $20,974
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The national average salary for direct care workers is $29,343
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The national hourly pay for direct care workers is $14.11
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do direct care workers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for direct care worker by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for direct care workers after this adjustment? That would be Washington.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for direct care worker salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Direct Care Workers By State
| Rank | State | Average Direct Care Worker Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $34,899 | $27,000 | $43,000 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $34,468 | $29,000 | $40,000 |
| 3 | Maine | $33,187 | $28,000 | $38,000 |
| 4 | California | $33,078 | $24,000 | $43,000 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $32,908 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 6 | Oregon | $32,835 | $25,000 | $41,000 |
| 7 | Alaska | $31,872 | $27,000 | $36,000 |
| 8 | New York | $31,611 | $25,000 | $39,000 |
| 9 | North Dakota | $31,477 | $26,000 | $37,000 |
| 10 | Minnesota | $30,795 | $25,000 | $37,000 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $30,652 | $25,000 | $37,000 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | $30,515 | $25,000 | $35,000 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | $30,437 | $24,000 | $38,000 |
| 14 | Vermont | $30,348 | $26,000 | $35,000 |
| 15 | New Hampshire | $29,610 | $25,000 | $34,000 |
| 16 | Texas | $29,240 | $21,000 | $39,000 |
| 17 | Michigan | $28,677 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 18 | South Dakota | $28,584 | $22,000 | $35,000 |
| 19 | Montana | $28,314 | $22,000 | $34,000 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $28,300 | $22,000 | $35,000 |
| 21 | Rhode Island | $28,292 | $23,000 | $33,000 |
| 22 | Maryland | $27,830 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 23 | Illinois | $27,690 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 24 | Arizona | $27,667 | $20,000 | $36,000 |
| 25 | West Virginia | $27,624 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 26 | Idaho | $27,528 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 27 | Colorado | $27,105 | $20,000 | $35,000 |
| 28 | Ohio | $26,627 | $20,000 | $34,000 |
| 29 | Nevada | $26,417 | $20,000 | $34,000 |
| 30 | Nebraska | $26,410 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 31 | Delaware | $25,547 | $19,000 | $32,000 |
| 32 | Iowa | $25,450 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 33 | Utah | $25,437 | $19,000 | $33,000 |
| 34 | New Mexico | $25,214 | $19,000 | $33,000 |
| 35 | Alabama | $24,996 | $18,000 | $33,000 |
| 36 | Indiana | $24,973 | $19,000 | $32,000 |
| 37 | Wyoming | $24,720 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 38 | Kentucky | $24,570 | $18,000 | $31,000 |
| 39 | Missouri | $24,225 | $18,000 | $31,000 |
| 40 | North Carolina | $24,003 | $18,000 | $31,000 |
| 41 | Tennessee | $23,924 | $18,000 | $31,000 |
| 42 | Virginia | $23,708 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 43 | Kansas | $23,272 | $17,000 | $30,000 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $23,258 | $17,000 | $30,000 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | $22,736 | $17,000 | $29,000 |
| 46 | Georgia | $22,368 | $16,000 | $29,000 |
| 47 | Florida | $22,306 | $16,000 | $30,000 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $22,034 | $16,000 | $28,000 |
| 49 | Louisiana | $21,138 | $15,000 | $28,000 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $20,974 | $15,000 | $27,000 |
Methodology: Direct Care Worker Salary By State
To better understand direct care worker pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for direct care workers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for direct care workers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for direct care workers.
Direct Care Worker Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for direct care workers?
The highest-paid state for direct care workers is Washington with an average salary of $34,899 per year.
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What city pays direct care workers the most?
Portland, ME pays direct care workers the most with an average salary of $33,181 per year.
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What is the worst state for direct care workers?
The worst state for direct care workers is Mississippi with an average salary of $20,974 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
