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The differences between group home workers and direct care workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a group home worker has an average salary of $40,224, which is higher than the $29,343 average annual salary of a direct care worker.
The top three skills for a group home worker include social work, crisis intervention and data entry. The most important skills for a direct care worker are direct care, patients, and CPR.
| Group Home Worker | Direct Care Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $40,224 | $29,343 |
| Hourly rate | $19.34 | $14.11 |
| Growth rate | 36% | 36% |
| Number of jobs | 88,906 | 140,788 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Average age | 50 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A group home worker is an employee who assists with different types of patients staying in group homes to help them develop life skills until they are ready to live independently. Group home workers must assist different types of patients, such as adults diagnosed with mental illness, seniors with disabilities, or young residents who cannot live with their families due to behavioral issues. They must monitor the behavior of residents, especially those with a troubled past.
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.
Group home workers and direct care workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Group Home Worker | Direct Care Worker | |
| Average salary | $40,224 | $29,343 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $54,000 | Between $23,000 And $36,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fairbanks, AK | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Washington |
| Best paying company | Texas | Arizona Training & Evaluation Center |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Professional |
There are a few differences between a group home worker and a direct care worker in terms of educational background:
| Group Home Worker | Direct Care Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between group home workers' and direct care workers' demographics:
| Group Home Worker | Direct Care Worker | |
| Average age | 50 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.8% Female, 73.2% | Male, 23.4% Female, 76.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 24.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 35.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | 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 | 5% | 7% |