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The differences between public health nurses and community health nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a public health nurse and a community health nurse. Additionally, a public health nurse has an average salary of $60,319, which is higher than the $59,638 average annual salary of a community health nurse.
The top three skills for a public health nurse include community health, patients and health education. The most important skills for a community health nurse are patients, community health, and home health.
| Public Health Nurse | Community Health Nurse | |
| Yearly salary | $60,319 | $59,638 |
| Hourly rate | $29.00 | $28.67 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 310,843 | 403,240 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Public Health Nurse maintains the public's health through providing health services and information. They promote a healthy lifestyle, take part in health campaigns, and educate and inform the public about issues, such as preventing disease.
The main role of a community health nurse is to provide care to patients. Community health nurses make a plan on educational assemblies, conduct health screenings, and hand-out fliers. These nurses administer immunizations and dispense medications. They distribute health-associated items such as pregnancy tests and condoms. Part of their job is to assist the elderly, pregnant women, disabled, or homeless by directing them to social service centers. Also, they may concentrate on offering community health nursing.
Public health nurses and community health nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Health Nurse | Community Health Nurse | |
| Average salary | $60,319 | $59,638 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $84,000 | Between $41,000 And $85,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New York |
| Best paying company | Dignity Health | Cottage Health |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a public health nurse and a community health nurse in terms of educational background:
| Public Health Nurse | Community Health Nurse | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between public health nurses' and community health nurses' demographics:
| Public Health Nurse | Community Health Nurse | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5% | Male, 9.2% Female, 90.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |