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Role hub · Clergy

Pastor: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of pastors earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$60,810
Hourly
$29.24
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Pastors conduct religious worship and perform other spiritual functions associated with beliefs and practices of religious faith or denomination. The median pay is $60,810 a year ($29.24 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a master's degree (48% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$60,810
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
57,200
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 5 of 5
extensive preparation
Most common education
Master's Degree
48% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Clergy (O*NET-SOC 21-2011.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Key facts

Pastors at a glance

  • Clergy in the United States earned a median annual wage of $60,810 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for clergy in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of clergy in the United States to grow 2.4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 19,200 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 57,200 people were employed as clergy in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Pastors

SalaryPastor salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomePastor how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumePastor resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsPastor interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Career changePastor career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What pastors do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Pray and promote spirituality.
  2. Prepare and deliver sermons or other talks.
  3. Read from sacred texts, such as the Bible, Torah, or Koran.
  4. Organize and lead regular religious services.
  5. Instruct people who seek conversion to a particular faith.
  6. Share information about religious issues by writing articles, giving speeches, or teaching.
  7. Counsel individuals or groups concerning their spiritual, emotional, or personal needs.
  8. Administer religious rites or ordinances.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all pastor jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations80.4% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.4% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $66,420
  2. Ambulatory healthcare services4.8% of all jobs in this occupation · +18.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $69,750
  3. Hospitals; state, local, and private4.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $66,190
  4. Educational services; state, local, and private1.7% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.4% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $60,930
  5. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals1.3% of all jobs in this occupation · -0.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $77,760
  6. Nursing and residential care facilities1.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $60,610

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

SpeakingcoreActive ListeningcoreSocial PerceptivenesscoreInstructingService OrientationPersuasionJudgment and Decision MakingTime ManagementReading Comprehension

Knowledge areas: Philosophy and Theology, English Language, Administration and Management, Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training, Therapy and Counseling.

Tools and technology

Software pastors use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
  • Email softwareElectronic mail software
  • Event scheduling softwareCalendar and scheduling software
  • GroupMeInstant messaging software
  • Membership databasesData base user interface and query software
  • TwitterInstant messaging software
  • Web browser softwareInternet browser software

Also called: Clergy, Bishop, Chaplain, Children's Minister, Imam, Minister.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.