Community & Social Service
Child Development Specialists
SOC 21-1021
Assess children's developmental progress and design support plans.
The job
Median pay
$60k
$48k to $76k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+4.4% projected
Openings a year
34k
BLS projection
Typical education
Bachelor's
Our model
AI displacement risk
Moderate
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
5/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
34th pct
More exposed than 34% of occupations · modeled estimate · 95th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
57/100
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Writing
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 60,310 | 3.3 | 1.3× | $65k |
| New York | 30,170 | 3.1 | 1.2× | $65k |
| Texas | 21,670 | 1.5 | 0.6× | $56k |
| Illinois | 19,860 | 3.3 | 1.3× | $63k |
| Pennsylvania | 16,200 | 2.7 | 1.1× | $51k |
| Ohio | 16,050 | 2.9 | 1.1× | $52k |
| Michigan | 15,760 | 3.6 | 1.4× | $59k |
| Florida | 14,000 | 1.4 | 0.6× | $57k |
| North Carolina | 13,010 | 2.6 | 1.0× | $60k |
| Massachusetts | 10,900 | 3.0 | 1.2× | $76k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 10,720 | 3.0 | 1.2× | $74k |
| Missouri | 9,620 | 3.3 | 1.3× | $49k |
| Virginia | 9,410 | 2.3 | 0.9× | $61k |
| Kentucky | 8,470 | 4.2 | 1.7× | $59k |
| Colorado | 8,200 | 2.9 | 1.1× | $64k |
| Tennessee | 7,870 | 2.4 | 0.9× | $56k |
| Arizona | 7,560 | 2.3 | 0.9× | $50k |
| New Jersey | 7,360 | 1.7 | 0.7× | $76k |
| Georgia | 7,110 | 1.5 | 0.6× | $48k |
| Indiana | 6,690 | 2.1 | 0.8× | $50k |
| Oregon | 6,630 | 3.4 | 1.3× | $64k |
| Minnesota | 6,540 | 2.2 | 0.9× | $67k |
| Oklahoma | 6,500 | 3.8 | 1.5× | $44k |
| Wisconsin | 5,710 | 1.9 | 0.8× | $59k |
| South Carolina | 5,520 | 2.4 | 0.9× | $52k |
| Connecticut | 5,230 | 3.1 | 1.2× | $79k |
| Nebraska | 4,830 | 4.7 | 1.9× | $48k |
| Maryland | 4,710 | 1.7 | 0.7× | $76k |
| Alabama | 4,220 | 2.0 | 0.8× | $47k |
| Nevada | 4,030 | 2.6 | 1.0× | $61k |
| Iowa | 3,410 | 2.2 | 0.9× | $52k |
| Mississippi | 3,310 | 2.8 | 1.1× | $47k |
| Kansas | 3,190 | 2.2 | 0.9× | $54k |
| New Mexico | 2,990 | 3.4 | 1.4× | $56k |
| Rhode Island | 2,450 | 4.9 | 1.9× | $70k |
| Washington DC | 2,430 | 3.5 | 1.4× | $74k |
| West Virginia | 2,380 | 3.4 | 1.3× | $52k |
| South Dakota | 2,050 | 4.5 | 1.8× | $51k |
| Maine | 2,000 | 3.1 | 1.2× | $63k |
| Utah | 1,930 | 1.1 | 0.4× | $52k |
| New Hampshire | 1,700 | 2.5 | 1.0× | $71k |
| Alaska | 1,260 | 3.9 | 1.5× | $63k |
| Montana | 1,250 | 2.4 | 1.0× | $57k |
| Hawaii | 1,170 | 1.9 | 0.7× | $68k |
| Arkansas | 1,150 | 0.9 | 0.3× | $43k |
| Louisiana | 1,110 | 0.6 | 0.2× | $57k |
| Delaware | 910 | 1.9 | 0.7× | $49k |
| North Dakota | 870 | 2.0 | 0.8× | $65k |
| Idaho | 810 | 0.9 | 0.4× | $60k |
| Wyoming | 710 | 2.5 | 1.0× | $56k |
| Vermont | 640 | 2.1 | 0.8× | $67k |
Top metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA26,220 jobs · $71k median
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ24,350 jobs · $67k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN13,550 jobs · $65k median
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH7,070 jobs · $77k median
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD6,850 jobs · $56k median
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI6,540 jobs · $59k median
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV6,490 jobs · $76k median
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA5,840 jobs · $72k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Child Development Specialists interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.