Ordained minister vs priest

The differences between ordained ministers and priests can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an ordained minister and a priest. Additionally, an ordained minister has an average salary of $48,558, which is higher than the $44,712 average annual salary of a priest.

The top three skills for an ordained minister include pastoral care, public speaking and GOD. The most important skills for a priest are pastoral care, spiritual care, and educational programs.

Ordained minister vs priest overview

	Ordained Minister	Priest
Yearly salary	$48,558	$44,712
Hourly rate	$23.35	$21.50
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	103	80
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	4	4

Ordained minister vs priest salary

Ordained ministers and priests have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Ordained Minister	Priest
Average salary	$48,558	$44,712
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $91,000	Between $24,000 And $82,000
Highest paying City	-	Campbell, CA
Highest paying state	-	Maine
Best paying company	-	Prime Healthcare
Best paying industry	-	Non Profits

Differences between ordained minister and priest education

There are a few differences between an ordained minister and a priest in terms of educational background:

	Ordained Minister	Priest
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Theology	Theology
Most common college	Northwestern University	Emory University

Ordained minister vs priest demographics

Here are the differences between ordained ministers' and priests' demographics:

	Ordained Minister	Priest
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 60.4% Female, 39.6%	Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 68.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 6.6% White, 68.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between ordained minister and priest duties and responsibilities

Ordained minister example responsibilities.

Lead church to incorporate a vision for integrating evangelistic and discipleship efforts.
Supervise the administrative staff and day-to-day operations of a 1200-member, three campus organization to include business development and programmatic oversight.
Supervise the administrative staff and day-to-day operations of a 1200-member, three campus organization to include business development and programmatic oversight.

Priest example responsibilities.

Lead Jr and Sr high youth ministries.
Commence a teleconference prayer program to serve church members and the community.
Engage and encourage urban working class congregation through preaching, prayer and share community service.
Participate in all phases of parish life in assignments in inner city, suburban, and rural parishes.
Serve, support and encourage the pastoral leadership by providing oversight of the spiritual health and care of the church body.
Develop and participate in leadership workshops for new leaders and assist new leaders in assuming leadership responsibilities.

Ordained minister vs priest skills

Common ordained minister skills

Pastoral Care, 48%
Public Speaking, 21%
GOD, 11%
Memorial Services, 7%
Spiritual Guidance, 7%
PowerPoint, 6%

Common priest skills

Pastoral Care, 28%
Spiritual Care, 13%
Educational Programs, 7%
Financial Statements, 6%
CPE, 6%
Spiritual Support, 5%