Community & Social Service
Clergy
SOC 21-2011
Lead a congregation in worship, teaching, and care through life's milestones.
The job
Median pay
$61k
$48k to $77k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing
+2.4% projected
Openings a year
19k
BLS projection
Typical education
Varies
Our model
AI displacement risk
Very high
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
7/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
94th pct
More exposed than 94% of occupations · modeled estimate · 85th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
47/100
Key skills
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
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. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 7,790 | 0.8 | 2.2× | $59k |
| California | 7,110 | 0.4 | 1.1× | $78k |
| Oregon | 3,850 | 2.0 | 5.3× | $63k |
| Florida | 3,560 | 0.4 | 1.0× | $57k |
| Texas | 3,180 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $59k |
| Illinois | 2,200 | 0.4 | 1.0× | $62k |
| Pennsylvania | 2,150 | 0.4 | 1.0× | $58k |
| Ohio | 2,020 | 0.4 | 1.0× | $59k |
| Michigan | 1,880 | 0.4 | 1.2× | $56k |
| New Jersey | 1,460 | 0.3 | 0.9× | $66k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 1,430 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $60k |
| Georgia | 1,380 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $61k |
| Virginia | 1,220 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $55k |
| Minnesota | 1,160 | 0.4 | 1.1× | $61k |
| Arizona | 1,070 | 0.3 | 0.9× | $62k |
| Indiana | 1,060 | 0.3 | 0.9× | $59k |
| Washington | 1,060 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $81k |
| Missouri | 920 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $59k |
| Connecticut | 900 | 0.5 | 1.4× | $63k |
| Alabama | 850 | 0.4 | 1.1× | $50k |
| Massachusetts | 840 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $72k |
| Wisconsin | 770 | 0.3 | 0.7× | $61k |
| Hawaii | 720 | 1.1 | 3.1× | $61k |
| Tennessee | 710 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $57k |
| Montana | 680 | 1.3 | 3.6× | $60k |
| Maryland | 670 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $62k |
| Utah | 608 | 0.4 | 0.9× | $58k~ |
| Oklahoma | 510 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $59k |
| Kansas | 450 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $52k |
| South Carolina | 450 | 0.2 | 0.5× | $57k |
| Colorado | 440 | 0.2 | 0.4× | $64k |
| Kentucky | 410 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $59k |
| Louisiana | 400 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $54k |
| Iowa | 370 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $61k |
| Arkansas | 350 | 0.3 | 0.7× | $49k |
| Washington DC | 310 | 0.4 | 1.2× | $65k |
| West Virginia | 290 | 0.4 | 1.1× | $48k |
| Nebraska | 270 | 0.3 | 0.7× | $58k |
| New Mexico | 270 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $64k |
| Mississippi | 250 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $52k |
| Rhode Island | 230 | 0.5 | 1.3× | $60k |
| Nevada | 210 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $74k |
| Maine | 160 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $64k |
| Alaska | 150 | 0.5 | 1.3× | $56k |
| Idaho | 150 | 0.2 | 0.5× | $60k |
| South Dakota | 140 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $60k |
| Delaware | 120 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $63k |
| North Dakota | 120 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $61k |
| New Hampshire | 100 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $65k |
| Vermont | 50 | 0.2 | 0.5× | $65k |
| Wyoming | 40 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $62k |
Top metro areas
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ6,110 jobs · $62k median
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA1,750 jobs · $66k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN1,690 jobs · $62k median
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA1,130 jobs · $75k median
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL990 jobs · $58k median
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD950 jobs · $63k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX920 jobs · $60k median
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ890 jobs · $63k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Clergy 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.