Community living assistant vs direct care worker

The differences between community living assistants and direct care workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a community living assistant has an average salary of $30,317, which is higher than the $29,343 average annual salary of a direct care worker.

The top three skills for a community living assistant include medication reminders, quality care and patients. The most important skills for a direct care worker are direct care, patients, and CPR.

Community living assistant vs direct care worker overview

	Community Living Assistant	Direct Care Worker
Yearly salary	$30,317	$29,343
Hourly rate	$14.58	$14.11
Growth rate	12%	36%
Number of jobs	72,067	140,788
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	High School Diploma, 32%
Average age	43	48
Years of experience	12	-

What does a community living assistant do?

Community living assistants provide fundamental health care and assist patients with daily living activities. They apply practical intervention procedures for behavioral issues as well. It is their job to lessen discomfort and preserve patient dignity while performing duties like bathing. Also, they support housing administration through equipment maintenance, staff contractors, and expense monitoring.

What does a direct care worker do?

A Direct Care Worker's responsibility revolves around overseeing clients' welfare and health care from different ages and conditions. Most of the duties will involve assistance in basic hygienic tasks such as bathing or going to the toilet, performing light chores such as preparing healthy meals and cleaning a bedroom, and ensuring the patient's medication intake aligns with the schedule. Furthermore, it is also the duty of a Direct Care Worker to empathize and build rapport with clients to make them feel more at ease.

Community living assistant vs direct care worker salary

Community living assistants and direct care workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Community Living Assistant	Direct Care Worker
Average salary	$30,317	$29,343
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $41,000	Between $23,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	West Windsor, NJ	Portland, ME
Highest paying state	North Dakota	Washington
Best paying company	American Senior Benefits	Arizona Training & Evaluation Center
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Professional

Differences between community living assistant and direct care worker education

There are a few differences between a community living assistant and a direct care worker in terms of educational background:

	Community Living Assistant	Direct Care Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	High School Diploma, 32%
Most common major	Nursing	Psychology
Most common college	University of Virginia	-

Community living assistant vs direct care worker demographics

Here are the differences between community living assistants' and direct care workers' demographics:

	Community Living Assistant	Direct Care Worker
Average age	43	48
Gender ratio	Male, 23.0% Female, 77.0%	Male, 23.4% Female, 76.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.0% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%	Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 7.6% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	11%	7%

Differences between community living assistant and direct care worker duties and responsibilities

Community living assistant example responsibilities.

Monitor patient's vital signs in order to improve their rehabilitation.
Work with dementia and Alzheimer's residents.
Provide primary first aid, CPR, etc.
Provide care to the resident by feeding, bathing, assistance in ADL'S when need.
Attend staff meetings as well as staying up to date on CPR and first aid training sessions.
Preserve patient dignity and minimize discomfort while carrying out duties such as bathing, assist in ADL's.

Direct care worker example responsibilities.

Provide caring companionship to elderly and developmentally disable patients with or without chronic health diagnosis.
Assist individuals with developmental/intellectual disabilities with ADL's.
Conduct socialization groups to aid individuals in development of ADL and socialization skills.
Prepare daily documents administer medications handle patients hygiene house cleaning and provide transportation to and from appointment
Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
Provide day to day services that include transport, nutrition, hygiene, housekeeping and activities to MRDD clients.

Community living assistant vs direct care worker skills

Common community living assistant skills

Medication Reminders, 23%
Quality Care, 7%
Patients, 7%
Rehabilitation, 6%
Culinary, 6%
State Regulations, 5%

Common direct care worker skills

Direct Care, 22%
Patients, 11%
CPR, 7%
Developmental Disabilities, 4%
Crisis Intervention, 4%
Vital Signs, 4%

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Community and Social Services Industry
Community Living Assistant
Community Living Assistant vs Direct Care Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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