How to hire a community health nurse

How to hire a community health nurse, step by step

Here's a step-by-step community health nurse hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a community health nurse job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new community health nurse
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a community health nurse do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the community health nurse you need to hire. Certain community health nurse roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A community health nurse's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, community health nurses from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents community health nurse salaries for various positions.

   Type of Community Health Nurse	Description	Hourly rate
   Community Health Nurse	Registered nurses (RNs) provide and coordinate patient care, educate patients and the public about various health conditions, and provide advice and emotional support to patients and their family members.	$19-40
   Registered Nurse Charge Nurse	A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge... Show more	$22-52
   Nurse	Nurses are medical professionals assigned to a specific department in the hospital and provide their trusted department services. Nurses are in charge of taking patients' medical histories, getting vital signs, preparing patients for checkups or procedures, explaining upcoming practices, answering any questions, and communicating any concerns to the assigned doctor... Show more	$18-41

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Community Health
   • Home Health
   • Public Health
   • Quality Care
   • Mental Health
   • Health Education
   • Physician Orders
   • Disease Prevention
   • Community Resources
   • Primary Care
   • Health Promotion
   • Patient Education
   • Triage

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Participate in manage care activities to produce health change, specifically providing diabetes education and lifestyle counseling in chronic disease areas.
   • Assist in GYN unit and in NICU.
   • Administer medications via PO, IM, SC.
   • Provide a caring & safe environment for neonatal, pediatric populations & couplet mother-baby care.
   • Record information and counsele patients regarding communicable diseases as required by law.
   • Communicate with MD and collaborate with disciplinary team to formulate comprehensive care plans for patients.

   More community health nurse duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your community health nurse job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A community health nurse can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, community health nurses' average salary in south carolina is 51% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level community health nurses 52% less than senior-level community health nurses.
   • Certifications. A community health nurse with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a community health nurse's salary.

   Average community health nurse salary

   $59,638yearly

   $28.67 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level community health nurse salary

   $41,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average community health nurse salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$89,469	$43
   2	Oregon	$80,262	$39
   3	District of Columbia	$78,301	$38
   4	Washington	$69,444	$33
   5	Delaware	$68,722	$33
   6	New Jersey	$67,959	$33
   7	Massachusetts	$67,859	$33
   8	Connecticut	$63,992	$31
   9	Maine	$62,454	$30
   10	Pennsylvania	$60,328	$29
   11	Maryland	$58,162	$28
   12	New Hampshire	$58,054	$28
   13	Florida	$56,708	$27
   14	Ohio	$54,503	$26
   15	Virginia	$54,375	$26
   16	Colorado	$53,904	$26
   17	Illinois	$53,840	$26
   18	Iowa	$51,403	$25
   19	South Dakota	$51,197	$25
   20	Nebraska	$50,611	$24

   Average community health nurse salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cottage Health	$88,076	$42.34	36
   2	Dignity Health	$88,046	$42.33	595
   3	Huntington Hospital	$77,456	$37.24	17
   4	Maxim Healthcare Group	$71,442	$34.35	595
   5	City of Springfield	$70,959	$34.11	1
   6	WakeMed	$70,622	$33.95	3
   7	Aya Healthcare	$70,527	$33.91	66
   8	Cook Children's Medical Center	$69,707	$33.51	20
   9	Heartland Home Health Inc.	$68,434	$32.90	34
   10	Heartland Health Centers	$67,956	$32.67
   11	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$67,573	$32.49	10
   12	Nebraska Methodist Health System	$67,119	$32.27	20
   13	Mcgriff, Seibels & Williams	$66,893	$32.16
   14	Healthpoint	$66,648	$32.04	2
   15	City of Baltimore	$66,470	$31.96	2
   16	City of York	$66,109	$31.78
   17	PHMC	$64,564	$31.04	2
   18	Universal Health Services	$63,859	$30.70	1,041
   19	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$63,527	$30.54	16
   20	Quest Diagnostics	$63,279	$30.42	41

4. Writing a community health nurse job description

   A community health nurse job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a community health nurse job description:

   Community health nurse job description example

   Announcement # 2022-021

   Closing Date : Open until filled

   The COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSE is full-time, 40 hour per week, Civil Service and Union represented.

   Columbia County Public Health is committed to improving qualify of life and protecting the health and well-being of all residents by addressing social, economic and environmental conditions. We want to ensure that all people in Columbia County have the opportunity for a healthy life.

   DUTIES : Coordinate and implement community health nursing programs in Columbia County, with primary focus on Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Services (MCAH). Ensure Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Services are available in the County to strengthen families and improve health status of women and children. Develop and coordinate a local delivery system for MCAH services. Provide services via home visits, coordinate referrals to primary care and other agencies, and collect and submit client encounter data while adhering to state requirements.

   EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE : Bachelor's degree in nursing from an accredited college or university. At least three years of work experience as a Registered Nurse, two of which must have been in a community health nursing. Any satisfactory equivalent combination of experience and training which demonstrates the ability to perform the above-described duties may be acceptable.

   SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS : Current licensure in good standing as a registered nurse in the State of Oregon. Possession of a driver's license valid in the State of Oregon and an acceptable driving record.

   KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY : Knowledge of the principles, practices and procedures of public health nursing; the methods and techniques of nursing; modern office procedures, methods and computer equipment; principles and procedures of record keeping and reporting; the American Nurses Association standards and policies; the principles of harm reduction; the theories and practices of public health administration; school exclusion requirements; public health laws and regulations, including communicable disease reporting requirements and laws related to prevention and control of communicable diseases.

   Skill in the use and care of nursing and medical equipment. Skill in the operation of various software applications programs, including word processing, spreadsheets and electronic mail. Skill in using communicable disease control and prevention systems. Skills in organization and project management.

   Ability to express ideas effectively, verbally and in writing. Ability to meet deadlines and work independently in cooperation with agency, community and industry representatives. Ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive information. Ability to develop and maintain harmonious and effective working relationships with employees, other agencies, County officials and the public.
   

   
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right community health nurse for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   To find community health nurse candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with community health nurse candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new community health nurse

   Once you've decided on a perfect community health nurse candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new community health nurse. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a community health nurse?