Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023
21-2011 Clergy
Conduct religious worship and perform other spiritual functions associated with beliefs and practices of religious faith or denomination. Provide spiritual and moral guidance and assistance to members.
National estimates for Clergy
Industry profile for Clergy
Geographic profile for Clergy
National estimates for Clergy:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Clergy:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 56,640 |
2.2 % |
$ 30.64 |
$ 63,720 |
1.2 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Clergy:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 17.02 |
$ 21.89 |
$ 28.33 |
$ 35.87 |
$ 46.44 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 35,400 |
$ 45,540 |
$ 58,920 |
$ 74,620 |
$ 96,600 |
Industry profile for Clergy:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Clergy are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Clergy, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Clergy:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Religious Organizations |
26,850 |
13.75 |
$ 31.39 |
$ 65,280 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
8,390 |
0.15 |
$ 29.72 |
$ 61,810 |
| Home Health Care Services |
8,280 |
0.52 |
$ 30.00 |
$ 62,400 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
2,020 |
0.02 |
$ 27.00 |
$ 56,150 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
1,560 |
0.11 |
$ 26.81 |
$ 55,750 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Clergy:
Top paying industries for Clergy:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Child Care Services |
180 |
0.02 |
$ 44.44 |
$ 92,440 |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) |
1,160 |
0.05 |
$ 43.01 |
$ 89,470 |
| Grantmaking and Giving Services |
110 |
0.07 |
$ 35.95 |
$ 74,770 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
170 |
0.05 |
$ 35.31 |
$ 73,450 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools |
1,350 |
0.04 |
$ 34.11 |
$ 70,940 |
Geographic profile for Clergy:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Clergy are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Clergy, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Clergy:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York |
7,910 |
0.84 |
2.26 |
$ 34.31 |
$ 71,360 |
| California |
6,360 |
0.35 |
0.95 |
$ 40.03 |
$ 83,270 |
| Oregon |
4,670 |
2.40 |
6.45 |
$ 31.32 |
$ 65,140 |
| Florida |
3,570 |
0.37 |
1.00 |
$ 28.26 |
$ 58,790 |
| Texas |
2,620 |
0.19 |
0.52 |
$ 26.38 |
$ 54,860 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Clergy:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Oregon |
4,670 |
2.40 |
6.45 |
$ 31.32 |
$ 65,140 |
| Montana |
680 |
1.36 |
3.66 |
$ 28.34 |
$ 58,950 |
| New York |
7,910 |
0.84 |
2.26 |
$ 34.31 |
$ 71,360 |
| Hawaii |
480 |
0.78 |
2.10 |
$ 36.22 |
$ 75,330 |
| Michigan |
2,340 |
0.54 |
1.44 |
$ 23.56 |
$ 49,000 |
Top paying states for Clergy:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Nevada |
160 |
0.11 |
0.29 |
$ 40.45 |
$ 84,130 |
| California |
6,360 |
0.35 |
0.95 |
$ 40.03 |
$ 83,270 |
| Connecticut |
770 |
0.46 |
1.24 |
$ 36.92 |
$ 76,790 |
| Hawaii |
480 |
0.78 |
2.10 |
$ 36.22 |
$ 75,330 |
| New Jersey |
1,390 |
0.33 |
0.89 |
$ 35.54 |
$ 73,910 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Clergy:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
6,160 |
0.65 |
1.74 |
$ 36.69 |
$ 76,320 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
2,210 |
1.83 |
4.90 |
$ 33.89 |
$ 70,490 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
2,170 |
0.35 |
0.94 |
$ 43.37 |
$ 90,210 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
1,720 |
0.38 |
1.02 |
$ 28.48 |
$ 59,240 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
1,190 |
0.52 |
1.40 |
$ 32.97 |
$ 68,580 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
1,140 |
0.42 |
1.12 |
$ 30.09 |
$ 62,590 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
990 |
0.35 |
0.94 |
$ 30.43 |
$ 63,290 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
930 |
0.38 |
1.02 |
$ 37.48 |
$ 77,950 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
860 |
0.28 |
0.75 |
$ 30.67 |
$ 63,780 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
850 |
0.45 |
1.20 |
$ 24.58 |
$ 51,120 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Clergy:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Albany, OR |
170 |
3.61 |
9.67 |
$ 29.29 |
$ 60,920 |
| Salem, OR |
560 |
3.05 |
8.19 |
$ 29.91 |
$ 62,220 |
| Corvallis, OR |
110 |
2.82 |
7.56 |
$ 33.55 |
$ 69,780 |
| Eugene, OR |
380 |
2.41 |
6.45 |
$ 28.80 |
$ 59,890 |
| Medford, OR |
210 |
2.36 |
6.33 |
$ 30.82 |
$ 64,110 |
| Grants Pass, OR |
70 |
2.25 |
6.04 |
$ 29.33 |
$ 61,000 |
| Bend-Redmond, OR |
190 |
2.08 |
5.58 |
$ 29.18 |
$ 60,690 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
2,210 |
1.83 |
4.90 |
$ 33.89 |
$ 70,490 |
| Great Falls, MT |
60 |
1.67 |
4.48 |
$ 25.45 |
$ 52,940 |
| Billings, MT |
130 |
1.43 |
3.84 |
$ 33.70 |
$ 70,090 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Clergy:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
310 |
0.27 |
0.73 |
$ 48.73 |
$ 101,350 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
60 |
0.31 |
0.84 |
$ 43.93 |
$ 91,380 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
2,170 |
0.35 |
0.94 |
$ 43.37 |
$ 90,210 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
50 |
0.26 |
0.70 |
$ 43.01 |
$ 89,460 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
130 |
0.12 |
0.31 |
$ 42.34 |
$ 88,070 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
120 |
0.37 |
0.99 |
$ 40.98 |
$ 85,250 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT |
260 |
0.45 |
1.21 |
$ 40.78 |
$ 84,820 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
430 |
0.26 |
0.70 |
$ 39.36 |
$ 81,870 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
60 |
0.40 |
1.08 |
$ 39.06 |
$ 81,230 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
610 |
0.40 |
1.08 |
$ 38.54 |
$ 80,170 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Clergy:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Clergy:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Clergy:
About May 2023 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: April 3, 2024
United States Department of Labor
