Clergy
SOC 21-2011 · 2024-2034
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.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $79,885per year
- Projected openings
- 15,670
- Projected change
- +6.7%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Instructing
- Judgment and Decision Making
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $95,384 | 350 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $85,821 | 70 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $85,472 | 400 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $85,472 | 80 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $85,449 | 530 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $82,554 | 100 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $81,829 | 1,750 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $80,407 | 530 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $79,473 | 90 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $79,195 | 760 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $78,966 | 870 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $78,620 | 110 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $77,819 | 40 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $77,819 | 190 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $77,501 | 150 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $77,459 | 620 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $77,367 | 20 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $77,131 | 110 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $76,966 | 70 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $76,792 | 40 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $76,340 | 150 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $74,727 | 400 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $73,926 | 50 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $71,759 | 40 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $67,825 | 100 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | $66,520 | 40 |
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | $65,996 | 50 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $60,295 | 80 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $54,225 | 50 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $43,885
- A quarter earn under
- $63,026
- Half earn under
- $79,885
- Three quarters earn under
- $100,373
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $161,426
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directors, Religious Activities and Education | $63,294 | 8,660 | +3.5% |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $67,025 | 60,640 | +14.1% |
| Social and Human Service Assistants | $52,520 | 73,580 | +16.1% |
| Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors | $88,921 | 40,270 | +5.5% |
| Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary | $162,633 | 19,160 | -1.3% |
| Marriage and Family Therapists | $69,184 | 46,570 | +30.7% |