How to hire a community health worker

How to hire a community health worker, step by step

Here's a step-by-step community health worker 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 worker job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new community health worker
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a community health worker do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the community health worker you need to hire. Certain community health worker 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 worker's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, community health workers 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 worker salaries for various positions.

   Type of Community Health Worker	Description	Hourly rate
   Community Health Worker	Health educators teach people about behaviors that promote wellness. They develop and implement strategies to improve the health of individuals and communities... Show more	$12-23
   Health Educator	A health educator is responsible for promoting a healthy lifestyle and wellness by developing programs and practices to improve an individual's physical, emotional, and mental condition, recommending a various approach to deal with stress and anxiety, and other situations affecting the clients' behaviors. Health educators record the clients' progress, educate them about healthy strategies and approaches, and coordinate with other health specialists and medical professionals on disseminating health information... Show more	$14-27
   Lay Health Advocate	A lay health advocate helps the patients prepare for medical appointments, update and organize physicians' information. After the medical appointments, a lay health advocate offers follow-up care services by monitoring patient conditions and ensuring they follow all treatment recommendations... Show more	$12-21

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Community Health
   • Social Work
   • Community Resources
   • CHW
   • Social Services
   • Patient Care
   • Health Education
   • Care Coordination
   • Primary Care
   • Public Health
   • Community Outreach
   • Home Health
   • Compassion

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead process and counseling groups gear toward healing from both PTSD and substance dependence issues.
   • Manage large databases, analyze records, perform literature reviews, prepare PowerPoint presentations, and interpret data for publication.
   • Complete vitals on all patients and record vitals in EMR.
   • Train and educate professionals on HIV prevention and testing in the community.
   • Create program materials such as flyers, letters, banners, handouts, etc.
   • Assess asthma control by completing questionnaires during home visits and communicating this information via EMR.

   More community health worker duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your community health worker job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A community health worker salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a community health worker in Mississippi may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level community health worker usually earns less than a senior-level community health worker. Additionally, a community health worker with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average community health worker salary

   $37,079yearly

   $17.83 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level community health worker salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 9, 2026

   Average community health worker salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$47,225	$23
   2	Connecticut	$46,723	$22
   3	Nevada	$46,526	$22
   4	Rhode Island	$46,392	$22
   5	Illinois	$45,749	$22
   6	New Jersey	$41,756	$20
   7	Massachusetts	$41,662	$20
   8	Maryland	$40,405	$19
   9	Minnesota	$38,919	$19
   10	Oregon	$38,886	$19
   11	Hawaii	$38,571	$19
   12	New York	$38,368	$18
   13	Michigan	$38,124	$18
   14	Washington	$37,918	$18
   15	South Dakota	$37,297	$18
   16	Oklahoma	$35,448	$17
   17	Pennsylvania	$34,410	$17
   18	Kansas	$33,962	$16
   19	Colorado	$33,959	$16
   20	Maine	$33,556	$16

   Average community health worker salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Pacific Northwest National Laboratory	$59,752	$28.73
   2	City of Baltimore	$53,471	$25.71	4
   3	Alameda Health System	$50,564	$24.31	8
   4	Columbia University in the City of New York	$50,559	$24.31
   5	Highland General Hospital	$49,512	$23.80
   6	King County	$49,211	$23.66	5
   7	Skagit County	$46,780	$22.49
   8	Oakland County, Michigan Government	$46,488	$22.35
   9	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$46,407	$22.31	20
   10	San Bernardino County	$46,381	$22.30
   11	North Shore Healthcare	$45,794	$22.02
   12	Terros Health	$45,357	$21.81	10
   13	Centene	$45,301	$21.78	37
   14	Massachusetts General Hospital	$45,077	$21.67
   15	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	$44,957	$21.61
   16	City of San Antonio	$44,947	$21.61	2
   17	Boston Medical Center	$44,946	$21.61	14
   18	Mental Health Partners	$44,946	$21.61
   19	Fort Bend County	$44,902	$21.59	6
   20	MLK Community Healthcare	$44,615	$21.45

4. Writing a community health worker job description

   A job description for a community health worker role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a community health worker job description:

   Community health worker job description example

   You could be the one who changes everything for our 26 million members as a clinical professional on our Medical Management/Health Services team. Centene is a diversified, national organization offering competitive benefits including a fresh perspective on workplace flexibility.
   *Must be located in the Dalton, GA area. This is a field position.
   
   **LPN highly preferred
   
   Position Purpose: Provide a link between members and available resources to provide the necessary resources in a cost effective manner.
   
   • Provide home visits to risk members and families for evaluation of needs in an effort to provide direction of care for desired outcomes in a cost effective manner.
   
   • Report specific health & social information back to the case management team to asset in development of care pathways.
   
   • Assist members with accessing needed services, recognize potentially serious problems to prevent poor health and social outcomes.
   
   Education/Experience: High school diploma or equivalent. 1+ years of experience working with community agency providing services encompassing the basic competency areas of health care (community resources, communication skills, individual and family advocacy, health education, services skills and responsibilities). Member of state's Community Health Worker Association.
   
   License/Certification: Community Health Worker certification through college level program. Valid driver's license.
   
   For Medicare only - Community Health Worker certification through college level program or LPN license required. Valid driver's license.
   
   Our Comprehensive Benefits Package: Flexible work solutions including remote options, hybrid work schedules and dress flexibility, Competitive pay, Paid time off including holidays, Health insurance coverage for you and your dependents, 401(k) and stock purchase plans, Tuition reimbursement and best-in-class training and development.
   
   Centene is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, and values the ways in which we are different. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other characteristic protected by applicable law.
   
   **TITLE:** Community Health Worker LPN
   
   **LOCATION:** Various, Georgia
   
   **REQNUMBER:** 1328678

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right community health worker 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.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your community health worker job on Zippia to find and recruit community health worker candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit community health workers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to 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 worker

   Once you have selected a candidate for the community health worker position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

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 worker?