Youth pastor vs priest

The differences between youth pastors 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 a youth pastor and a priest. Additionally, a priest has an average salary of $44,712, which is higher than the $39,712 average annual salary of a youth pastor.

The top three skills for a youth pastor include outreach events, disciple and youth program. The most important skills for a priest are pastoral care, spiritual care, and educational programs.

Youth pastor vs priest overview

	Youth Pastor	Priest
Yearly salary	$39,712	$44,712
Hourly rate	$19.09	$21.50
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	3,120	80
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	4	4

Youth pastor vs priest salary

Youth pastors and priests have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Youth Pastor	Priest
Average salary	$39,712	$44,712
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $50,000	Between $24,000 And $82,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Campbell, CA
Highest paying state	Maine	Maine
Best paying company	First Presbyterian Church	Prime Healthcare
Best paying industry	Education	Non Profits

Differences between youth pastor and priest education

There are a few differences between a youth pastor and a priest in terms of educational background:

	Youth Pastor	Priest
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Theology	Theology
Most common college	Boston University	Emory University

Youth pastor vs priest demographics

Here are the differences between youth pastors' and priests' demographics:

	Youth Pastor	Priest
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3%	Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 6.6% White, 68.1% 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 youth pastor and priest duties and responsibilities

Youth pastor example responsibilities.

Develop, provide oversight and lead all ministries for middle school and high school students and their parents.
Plan monthly activities, summer camp, teen VBS, and other schedule events.
Offer help with additional CRBC events and services (funerals, VBS, etc.
Create PowerPoint presentations for community and area businesses at community meetings.
Develop all graphics and designs for sermon PowerPoint presentations and ministry events.
Maintain regular office hours with primary responsibility being given to leadership within the congregation.

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.

Youth pastor vs priest skills

Common youth pastor skills

Outreach Events, 20%
Disciple, 12%
Youth Program, 11%
Bible Study, 6%
Oversight, 4%
Public Speaking, 4%

Common priest skills

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